Definition
Antihistamines are a class of drugs that inhibit histamine, a neurotransmitter involved in mood and behavior regulation, by either (a) blocking the action of histamine at the receptor, (b) competing with histamine for binding to the receptor, or (c) displacing histamine from the receptor. In the field of ASD, the majority of interest surrounds mirtazapine and cyproheptadine, both nonselective H1 receptor (histamine receptor) inverse agonists (similar to antagonist). Mirtazapine specifically shows promise in treating inappropriate sexual behaviors associated with autism. However, the mechanism of action of both these drugs in the context of ASD is likely to be through antihistamines’ off-target highly potent antagonism of α-adrenergic receptors (fight-or-flight response) and/or serotonin (mood regulation) receptors as opposed to the H1receptor. Antihistamines may be useful in the treatment of sleeping problems...
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Ardhanareeswaran, K. (2015). Antihistamines: Definition. In: Volkmar, F. (eds) Encyclopedia of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102057-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6435-8_102057-1
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