Marion Valette, Gwenaelle Diene, Mélanie Glattard, Julie Cortadellas, Catherine Molinas, Sandy Faye, Grégoire Benvegnu, Kader Boulanouar, Pierre Payoux, Jean-Pierre Salles, Catherine Arnaud, Sophie Çabal, Maithé Tauber
{"title":"Early oxytocin treatment in infants with Prader-Willi syndrome is safe and is associated with better endocrine, metabolic and behavioral outcomes.","authors":"Marion Valette, Gwenaelle Diene, Mélanie Glattard, Julie Cortadellas, Catherine Molinas, Sandy Faye, Grégoire Benvegnu, Kader Boulanouar, Pierre Payoux, Jean-Pierre Salles, Catherine Arnaud, Sophie Çabal, Maithé Tauber","doi":"10.1186/s13023-025-03560-3","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Background: </strong>Oxytocin (OT) plays an important role in modulating behavior, social interactions and feeding. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, is a model of hypothalamic disorder including OT dysfunction. We previously showed that infants with PWS who had received an early short course (7 days) of intranasal OT treatment improved their oral and social skills. We aim to document the long-term tolerance and effects of early intranasal OT treatment on the disease trajectory.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>We performed a comparative clinical trial including the 17 children who had received OT as infants in our previous study and compared them to 17 PWS non-exposed children at 3-4 years old. Primary endpoint was the total communication score on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-2nd edition (VABS-II). Secondary endpoints were the other domains of VABS-II, behavior scored by the Child Behavior Checklist, feeding skills, endocrine and metabolic profiles, and brain connectivity on functional magnetic resonance imaging.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>We documented the long-term safety of early OT treatment. The VABS-II communication score was not different between the two groups, defined as OT-exposed and non-exposed, whereas a trend toward a higher socialization score was found in the OT-exposed children (p = 0.06). Circulating IGF-1 and HDL cholesterol were significantly higher in the OT-exposed group (p < 0.05). OT-exposed children had normal acylated ghrelin levels, which were lower than those observed in non-exposed children (p = 0.06), and they displayed higher connectivity of the orbitofrontal cortex brain region.</p><p><strong>Conclusion: </strong>Early OT treatment in infants with PWS is safe up to 3-4 years of age. OT-exposed children display better social, endocrine and metabolic outcomes. This study documents for the first time in human the biological window of opportunity of early OT treatment, which may change the trajectory of the PWS condition.</p><p><strong>Trial registration: </strong>Clinical trial NCT03081832 Retrospectively registered https://clinicaltrials.gov/search?cond=NCT03081832 .</p>","PeriodicalId":19651,"journal":{"name":"Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases","volume":"20 1","pages":"96"},"PeriodicalIF":3.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11872305/pdf/","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1186/s13023-025-03560-3","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"GENETICS & HEREDITY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Background: Oxytocin (OT) plays an important role in modulating behavior, social interactions and feeding. Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), a rare genetic neurodevelopmental disorder, is a model of hypothalamic disorder including OT dysfunction. We previously showed that infants with PWS who had received an early short course (7 days) of intranasal OT treatment improved their oral and social skills. We aim to document the long-term tolerance and effects of early intranasal OT treatment on the disease trajectory.
Methods: We performed a comparative clinical trial including the 17 children who had received OT as infants in our previous study and compared them to 17 PWS non-exposed children at 3-4 years old. Primary endpoint was the total communication score on the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales-2nd edition (VABS-II). Secondary endpoints were the other domains of VABS-II, behavior scored by the Child Behavior Checklist, feeding skills, endocrine and metabolic profiles, and brain connectivity on functional magnetic resonance imaging.
Results: We documented the long-term safety of early OT treatment. The VABS-II communication score was not different between the two groups, defined as OT-exposed and non-exposed, whereas a trend toward a higher socialization score was found in the OT-exposed children (p = 0.06). Circulating IGF-1 and HDL cholesterol were significantly higher in the OT-exposed group (p < 0.05). OT-exposed children had normal acylated ghrelin levels, which were lower than those observed in non-exposed children (p = 0.06), and they displayed higher connectivity of the orbitofrontal cortex brain region.
Conclusion: Early OT treatment in infants with PWS is safe up to 3-4 years of age. OT-exposed children display better social, endocrine and metabolic outcomes. This study documents for the first time in human the biological window of opportunity of early OT treatment, which may change the trajectory of the PWS condition.
期刊介绍:
Orphanet Journal of Rare Diseases is an open access, peer-reviewed journal that encompasses all aspects of rare diseases and orphan drugs. The journal publishes high-quality reviews on specific rare diseases. In addition, the journal may consider articles on clinical trial outcome reports, either positive or negative, and articles on public health issues in the field of rare diseases and orphan drugs. The journal does not accept case reports.