l-Carnosine is an amino acid that acts as an anti-oxidant, anti-toxic and neuroprotective agent. There is a paucity of data about the effectiveness of l-Carnosine in the management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in children. This study aimed at investigating the effectiveness of l-Carnosine as adjunctive therapy in the management of ASD. This was a randomized controlled trial. Children aged 3–6 years with a diagnosis of mild to moderate ASD were assigned to standard care arm (occupational and speech therapy) and intervention care arm (l-Carnosine, 10–15 mg/kg in 2 divided doses) plus standard care treatment. The children were assessed at the baseline and the end of 2 months for the scores of Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition—Standard Version (CARS2-ST), Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), BEARS sleep screening tool and 6-item Gastrointestinal Severity Index (6-GSI). Of the sixty-seven children enrolled, sixty-three children had completed the study. No statistically significant difference (p > 0.05) was observed for any of the outcome measures assessed. Supplementation of l-Carnosine did not improve the total score of CARS2-ST, ATEC, BEARS sleep screening tool and 6-GSI scores of children with ASD. Further investigations are needed with more objective assessments to critically validate the effectiveness of l-Carnosine on ASD children for more decisive results.

l -肌肽是一种氨基酸，可作为抗氧化剂、抗毒剂和神经保护剂。关于l-肌肽在治疗儿童自闭症谱系障碍 (ASD) 中的有效性的数据很少。本研究旨在调查l-肌肽作为 ASD 辅助治疗的有效性。这是一项随机对照试验。诊断为轻度至中度 ASD 的 3-6 岁儿童被分配到标准护理组（职业和言语治疗）和干预护理组（l-肌肽，10–15 mg/kg，分 2 次服用）加上标准护理。在基线和 2 个月结束时对儿童进行儿童自闭症评定量表第二版标准版 (CARS2-ST)、自闭症治疗评估清单 (ATEC)、BEARS 睡眠筛查工具和 6 项胃肠道评分。严重性指数 (6-GSI)。在登记的 67 名儿童中，有 63 名儿童完成了研究。 对于任何评估的结果测量，没有观察到统计学上的显着差异（p > 0.05）。补充l-肌肽没有提高 ASD 儿童的 CARS2-ST、ATEC、BEARS 睡眠筛查工具和 6-GSI 总分。需要通过更客观的评估进行进一步调查，以严格验证l-肌肽对 ASD 儿童的有效性，以获得更具决定性的结果。