Adults 13 to 30, male only, with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Autistic Disorder. Patients with the condition only — healthy volunteers not accepted.
Results — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov
Per-arm endpoint measurements with 95% confidence intervals where reported. Source: trial results section.
Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) Total Score at BaselinePrimary· Baseline
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2 provides a T-score that is scaled such that the mean is 50 and the SD is 10. Higher scores indicate a higher presence and severity of autistic social impairment. A T-score of 76 or higher is considered "severe". T-scores between 66 and 75 are considered as "moderate". T-scores between 60 and 65 are considered "mild". A T-score
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
75.6
± 7.4
Placebo
72.6
± 4.6
Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) Total Score at Week 4Primary· Week 4
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2 provides a T-score that is scaled such that the mean is 50 and the SD is 10. Higher scores indicate a higher presence and severity of autistic social impairment. A T-score of 76 or higher is considered "severe". T-scores between 66 and 75 are considered as "moderate". T-scores between 60 and 65 are considered "mild". A T-score
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
74.1
± 7.4
Placebo
74.1
± 4.6
Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) Total Score at Week 8Primary· Week 8
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2 provides a T-score that is scaled such that the mean is 50 and the SD is 10. Higher scores indicate a higher presence and severity of autistic social impairment. A T-score of 76 or higher is considered "severe". T-scores between 66 and 75 are considered as "moderate". T-scores between 60 and 65 are considered "mild". A T-score
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
73.7
± 7.4
Placebo
74.5
± 4.6
Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) Total Score at Week 12Primary· Week 12
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2 provides a T-score that is scaled such that the mean is 50 and the SD is 10. Higher scores indicate a higher presence and severity of autistic social impairment. A T-score of 76 or higher is considered "severe". T-scores between 66 and 75 are considered as "moderate". T-scores between 60 and 65 are considered "mild". A T-score
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
75.3
± 7.4
Placebo
72.9
± 4.6
Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) Total Score at Week 16Primary· Week 16
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2 provides a T-score that is scaled such that the mean is 50 and the SD is 10. Higher scores indicate a higher presence and severity of autistic social impairment. A T-score of 76 or higher is considered "severe". T-scores between 66 and 75 are considered as "moderate". T-scores between 60 and 65 are considered "mild". A T-score
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2-Social Awareness subscale measures a participant's ability to recognize social cues. This subscale comprises 8 items with scores ranging from 1 to 4 for a total range of scores from 8 to 32. A higher score represents a greater ability to recognize social cues.
Subscales are not diagnostic in nature, but they provide some insi
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2-Social Cognition subscale measures a participant's ability to interpret social behavior. This subscale comprises 12 items with scores ranging from 1 to 4 for a total range of scores from 12 to 48. A higher score represents a greater ability to interpret social behaviors. Subscales are not diagnostic in nature, but they provide
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2-Social Communication subscale measures a participant's ability to assess reciprocal communication in social situations. This subscale comprises 22 items with scores ranging from 1 to 4 for a total range of scores from 22 to 88. A higher score represents a greater ability to assess reciprocal communication. Subscales are not di
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2-Social Motivation subscale measures the degree to which a participant is motivated to participate in social interactions. This subscale comprises 11 items with scores ranging from 1 to 4 for a total range of scores from 11 to 44. A higher score represents a greater motivation to participate in social interaction. Subscales are
The Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2) is a 65-item caregiver report that includes 5 subscales covering core symptom domains of ASD (Social Awareness, Social Cognition, Social Communication, Social Motivation, and Restricted Interests/ Repetitive Behaviors). The SRS-2-Restricted Interests/Repetitive Behaviors subscale assesses the participant's level of stereotypy and circumscribed interests. This subscale comprises 12 items with scores ranging from 1 to 4 for a total range of scores from 12 to 48. A higher score represents a greater level of stereotypy and circumscribed interests. Subscale
The Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) is a 58-item caregiver questionnaire developed to assess medication effects in individuals with developmental disorders and includes 5 distinct subscales of behavioral symptoms. The ABC-Social Withdrawal subscale assesses the participant's level social withdrawal. This subscale comprises 16 items with scores ranging from 0 to 3 for a total range of scores from 0 to 48. A higher score represents a greater level of social withdrawal. This subscale was measured at Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, and Week 16.
The Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) is a 58-item caregiver questionnaire developed to assess medication effects in individuals with developmental disorders and includes 5 distinct subscales of behavioral symptoms. The ABC-Hyperactivity subscale assesses the participant's level hyperactivity and non-compliance. This subscale comprises 16 items with scores ranging from 0 to 3 for a total range of scores from 0 to 48. A higher score represents a greater level of hyperactivity/non-compliance. This subscale was measured at Baseline, Week 4, Week 8, Week 12, and Week 16.
Baseline
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
14.3
± 5.7
Placebo
10.8
± 3.6
Week 4
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
13.0
± 5.7
Placebo
12.1
± 3.6
Week 8
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
12.6
± 5.7
Placebo
12.5
± 3.6
Week 12
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
13.7
± 5.7
Placebo
11.3
± 3.6
Week 16
Group
Value
95% CI
Sulforaphane
13.6
± 5.7
Placebo
11.5
± 3.6
Adverse events — posted to ClinicalTrials.gov
Time frame: Adverse events were assessed from baseline to week 16 (a total of 16 weeks)..
Reporting threshold: 0%.
Adverse-event reports describe events observed during the trial — not all are caused by the drug.
The aim of this randomized controlled trial is to determine if a nutritional supplement containing broccoli sprout and seed extracts, a rich source of sulforaphane, is effective in reducing core symptoms of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The study will also explore the safety and tolerability of a sulforaphane supplement in young men with ASD, as well as its effects on challenging neuropsychiatric symptoms that are commonly associated with ASD, such as hyperactivity, irritability, and repetitive movements.
Publications & conference data
8 peer-reviewed publications reference this trial (live from Europe PMC):
NCT06594536 — Study of the Efficacy of Sulforaphane in Children Aged 6 to 12 With Attention Deficit Disorder With or Without Hyperacti
· NA
· not yet recruiting
NCT07047976 — Mechanism Study of Sulforaphane in ASD Improvement
· NA
· withdrawn
NCT05653492 — Safety, Feasibility, and Tolerability of Sulforaphane in Children with Chronic Kidney Disease
· Phase 2
· active not recruiting
NCT04848792 — Treatment Strategy to Enhance Nrf2 Signaling in Older Adults
· NA
· completed
NCT04805957 — Validation Digital Bio-markers During Sulforaphane Treatment.
· NA
· enrolling by invitation
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Other University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill trials
Publications: Europe PMC API search by NCT ID, retrieved 10 June 2026
Drug + disease cross-links: matched in real time against Drug Landscape's normalised drug + company + condition tables
Sponsor: as reported to ClinicalTrials.gov by University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill
Last refreshed: 4 June 2020
Drug Landscape aggregates and links these public records for informational use only. Always verify against the primary source before clinical or regulatory decisions. Canonical URL: https://druglandscape.com/trial/NCT02909959.