The University of California San Diego School of Medicine is about to begin testing whether or not a drug that has already shown to reverse the symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in mice will safely and effectively work in humans.

For the new clinical trial, the drug known as Suramin will be given to 20 qualified children and will mark the first time the drug has ever been tested on people. Suramin is an antimicrobial drug that was originally developed in 1916 and is still being used to treat African sleeping sickness. The World Health Organization includes this drug on its list of essential medicines.

The trial is being led by Robert K Naviaux, a UCSD professor of medicine and pediatrics who has already published research that says that the injection of the drug reversed symptoms of autism in mice. While rodents are often used as a model for humans, drugs that show promise in rats and mice do not always work in humans.

"Hundreds of genetic and environmental factors have been shown to increase the risk of ASD, but treatment options for the core symptoms are limited," Naviaux says. "To date, there are no medications that can cure ASD, and very few that can improve its core symptoms."

Currently, the university is recruiting participants for the trial. For this first human trial, the researchers are looking for boys age 4 to 17 who have been diagnosed with ASD by a physician or psychologist. For participants to qualify, they must reside in San Diego County and must not be taking any other types of prescription drugs. In addition, they must not have any known genetic cause of mutation. Researchers are also limiting the trial to children who have not been hospitalized in the last two months.

According to the CDC, about 1 percent of the population has ASD with more 3.5 million Americans living with the disorder. Occurrences of the disorder has been on the rise with the prevalence increasing by 6 to 15 percent each year from 2002 to 2010. It is estimated that the cost of care for a person with autism is about $2.4 million over their lifespan. Only about 19.3 percent of people with disabilities in the United States participate in the labor force.

Researchers hope that this new drug could reverse some of the symptoms of autism allowing people suffering from the disorder to lead more normal lives that allow them to more fully participate in the labor force while at the same time reducing the cost of care over the course of their lifetime.