Oxytocin may be useful to increase trust in others and decrease disruptive behaviours in patients with Prader-Willi syndrome: a randomised placebo-controlled trial in 24 patients

Abstract

Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS) is a complex neurodevelopmental genetic disorder with hypothalamic dysfunction, early morbid obesity with hyperphagia, and specific psychiatric phenotypes including cognitive and behavioural problems, particularly disruptive behaviours and frequent temper outbursts that preclude socialization. A deficit in oxytocin (OT)-producing neurons of the hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus has been reported in these patients.