Case Series for Microcurrent Therapy in Autism Spectrum Disorder:
Evidence for Symptom Reduction and Dose-Response Relationship
Abstract
Microcurrent therapy (MCT) is an emerging field within medicine. Our
goal was to explore MCT effect on autism spectrum disorder (ASD)
patients using a pilot study. 21 pediatric patients and 1 adult with ASD
received an average of 32 MCT sessions using a standardized protocol.
The Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) pre- and post-MCT
assessed symptom severity. We compared pre- and post-MCT ATEC scores;
compared MCT ATEC scored with aged-matched historical controls, and
determined dose response. There were no serious side effects, and the
therapy was well tolerated. 22 patients completed 32 sessions on
average. In paired t-testing, MCT produced a statistically significant
average decrease of 28.6 (42.8%) on ATEC (p = 0.007; 95% CI =
8.3-48.9). In unpaired t-testing comparing MCT with age-matched
historical controls, the treatment group average improvement was 26.4
(42.6%), compared to aged-matched controls of 7.9 (13.2%) (p=0.0001;
95% CI 19.9 - 47.5). Linear regression showed a strong direct
relationship between the number of microcurrent sessions and magnitude
of improvement R = 0.693; F = 18.5; P = 0.0003; CI: 95%. Initial
evidence showed MCT can reduce ASD symptoms.