Scientists at work in a laboratory. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

Israeli researchers have found that a medication used to treat Alzheimer’s patients also has strong therapeutic effects on autistic children.

The Israeli news site Walla reported that a study conducted by the Sheba Medical Center in Ramat Gan found a marked improvement in language skills after six months of treatment with the drugs Donepezil and Cholin.

The study was conducted on a group of 60 children and teenagers aged five to 16, all of which suffered from autism of varying severity.

Dr. Lidia Gavis, who supervised the study, said that the results indicated that the brains of autistic patients suffered from a lack of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which is also lacking in the brains of Alzheimer’s sufferers.

This is likely the reason that the drug treatment, combined with food supplements and educational therapy, had a positive effect on the autistic subjects.

“The results of the study and the lack of side effects are a very significant achievement,” Gavis noted.