Oxytocin
Status
FDA-approved. FDA-approved labeling exists for injectable oxytocin for the initiation or improvement of uterine contractions and for control of postpartum bleeding. It carries a boxed warning stating it is not approved for elective induction of labour. No approved indication exists for social, psychiatric or sexual use, and no intranasal product is approved in the United States.
What it is
A hormone studied for social bonding and used clinically in obstetrics.
What published research measured
A nonapeptide hormone of the posterior pituitary with a long-established obstetric evidence base for labour induction and control of postpartum haemorrhage. The literature relevant to the uses that bring it into this library — social bonding, anxiety, sexual function — is substantially weaker than its popular reputation. Intranasal oxytocin research expanded rapidly on early positive findings and has since seen repeated failures to replicate, and a live methodological dispute over how much intranasally administered peptide reaches the brain at all. A large randomized trial in autism found no benefit over placebo. Intravenous oxytocin has real haemodynamic effects and, given in large volumes of hypotonic fluid, can cause water intoxication and hyponatraemia through its antidiuretic activity.
Source
Sikich et al. 2021, New England Journal of Medicine — intranasal oxytocin in autism · FDA labeling for oxytocin injection, including the boxed warning
Sources
No linked primary source is on file for this entry yet.
Educational use only, never medical advice. No doses.