A study out of France has found a link between iron deficiencies and attention issues in children. The study, which appeared in the Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, reported that 84 percent of children with ADHD had low ferritin levels.

Ferritin is a type of protein that stores iron and is concentrated in the brain. The lower the iron, the more severe the symptoms. & Iron is essential to produce dopamine, a neurotransmitter that controls attention, behavior, and cognition. If not enough is available, the result can be dopamine dysfunction, symptoms of ADHD, and lower cognition. [Source: Utica Observer-Dispatch]

Unfortunately, a standard blood test won't catch low ferritin levels. Blood must be drawn from a vein. A child who has attention issues, and is also a picky eater, may have a ferritin deficiency. If you think this may apply to your child, your doctor should be able to administer the test.

Source: Utica (NY) Observer-Dispatch

Labels: causes

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Stories, research, and opinions about the over-medication of children with ADHD are plentiful. Many parents (and some who are not parents) accuse the medical community of misdiagnosing kids who are really just being kids. Judith Warner used to be one of those people, until she started doing some research of her own.

Warner, the author of We've Got Issues: Children and Parents in the Age of Medication, wrote about her findings in a March 23 article on the CNN website:

Surveys and statistics showed that the story of over-diagnosis and overmedication was wrong; 5 percent of children in America take psychotropic medication, while 5 to 20 percent are estimated to have mental health issues. The vast majority of those in need of help never get any care at all. ...

Interviews with about 100 parents and doctors showed that rather than rushing to pathologize and medicate their kids, parents did all they could to avoid "labeling" their children and put off using medication -- if they used it at all -- until they really were desperate.

What these interviews showed above all is that for parents and children (and grown children) dealing with mental health issues, life is complicated, unsure and filled with unanswered questions that can't be addressed by gross generalizations about the "medicated child" in our time.

Labels: medications

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When a child is diagnosed with ADHD, parents often worry about how their child will struggle in school, on the job and in relationships.

However, as the website of Parenting magazine has reported, many successful people once struggled with ADHD. Here are seven notable names from Parenting's "19 Famous People with ADHD" list:

1. Jim Carrey
2. Bruce Jenner
   
3. Solange Knowles
   
4. Michael Phelps
5. Michelle Rodruquez
   
6. Will Smith
   
7. Justin Timberlake
   

Labels: celebrities, success

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If you have a child whos taking ADHD medication, and you have a cat, you'll want to store the medication as far out of feline reach as possible. The National Animal Poison Control Center has found that the ADHD drug Adderall has become one of the most common household causes of feline poisoning:

Most poisoning cases that the ASPCA's center learns about involve dogs, [Sharon] Gwaltney-Brant says, because they're fairly indiscriminate about what theyll eat.

Not cats. Out of curiosity, they might sample a pill or capsule -- but seldom finish it, she says. As soon as they bite in and discover its bland or even objectionable flavor, they tend to walk away.

Except when it comes to Adderall XR. Cats not only bite in but readily finish every bit. [Source: Science News]

Vets don't know what makes the medication so enticing to felines, but just one 20-milligram capsule can be deadly to a curious kitten. Signs of medication poisoning include distressed meowing, anxiety, agitation, pacing and disorientation. A cat that's exhibiting these signs needs to be taken to a vet immediately.

Labels: dangers, safety, adderall

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A hormone that promotes mother baby bonding, socialization, and trust may help people with Asperger's Syndrome, a disorder on the autism spectrum.

• Researchers from the University of Lyons in France had 13 people with Asperger's and a control group matched for gender and age sniff the hormone oxytocin.
  
• The subjects with the high functioning autism improved their social learning skills and spent more time looking at pictures of faces after using the hormone.

This study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.

Labels: aspergers

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A study released this month has found that thousands of Israeli children who have been prescribed Ritalin to treat attention disorders have been improperly diagnosed. Researchers from the Maccabi Health Maintenance Organization say many of the kids have psychological issues, and should not have been prescribed the popular ADHD medications.

Ritalin and the related drug Concerta are popular treatments for attention disorders including attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The researchers found that professionals often prescribe these drugs without taking into account their young patients' coexisting conditions. This means that one in five children are receiving treatment they do not need. [Source: Haaretz News]

The study involved 520 children between the ages of six and 18, who were monitored for two years. In all, seventy percent of the patients had conditions such as Oppositional Defiant Disorder, which werent being treated. The researchers concluded that more than 13 percent of the children who were receiving Ritalin or Concerta shouldn't have been given the drugs.

Labels: medications, research

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A new study from the University of California in Davis found that symptoms of autism occur in the latter part of the first year of life, and are not detectable in babies under six months old.

Instead of asking parents about their children's symptoms, a research team led by Professor Sally Ozonoff observed and recorded children's smiles, babbles, and eye contact at ages six, 12, 18, 24, and 36 months old.

"This study tells us that screening for autism early in the first year of life probably is not going to be successful because there is not going to be anything to notice," said Dr. Ozonoff.

This study appeared in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Labels: autism

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In a March 7 article on the Huffington Post, writer Katlin Bell rebukes stereotypes that have been applied to children (now young adults) who have been on long-term medication for ADHD and related disorders, and the parents who agreed to the ADHD medication regimen in the first place:

Based on my own experience and dozens of interviews, I can confidently attest that the drugs are anything but a quick fix for the young people who take them. Rather, they are complicated and imperfect remedies that raise perhaps as many issues as they resolve.

The young adults I have interviewed -- even those whose parents or doctors pushed treatment on them as young children -- have presented more varied and more subtle accounts of their experiences than you might assume, given the tenor of the current debate.

That is, they weren't just passive receptacles for psychopharmaceuticals. Nor were they "drugged" into some never-ending state of unthinking acceptance or comfortable numbness.

Ten or fifteen or twenty years into their relationship with medication, they have had plenty of time to consider the drugs' potential impacts on their day-to-day lives and long-term development.

Labels: medications, adult_ADHD

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A U.S. District Court has given exclusivity rights to Shire for its ADHD drug Vyvanse. The decision comes in the wake of a lawsuit filed by Actavis Elizabeth which sought permission to begin selling a generic version of the drug.

"The FDA gave the ADHD drug Vyvanse (lisdexamfetamine disemsylate) five years of market exclusivity on account of its being a new chemical entity in 2007.

For that reason, it refused to file an approval application for a generic version of the drug submitted by Actavis Elizabeth. Actavis sued the FDA in February 2009 & to challenge the decision." [Source: Alaric DeArment, Drug Store News, March 4]

Shire's exclusivity will expire in February 2012. As a result, applications for generic versions can't be filed until then.

Like other popular ADHD medications (such as Ritalin and Adderall), Vyvanse is a stimulant that is used to control symptoms in children and adults.

Labels: medications, vyvanse

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A new research study from the University of Edinburgh found that the part of the brain that responds to touch is formed late in laboratory animals with Fragile X syndrome.

The implication of this study is that people with autism may be hypersensitive to physical contact because certain parts of their brain are late to mature.

"The study has implications for the treatment of autism since the changes in the brains of Fragile X and autistic people are thought to significantly overlap," said Professor Peter Kind, lead author of the study. "Autism is common in people with Fragile X syndrome."

Only males have Fragile X syndrome.

Labels: autism, fragile x syndrome

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Helping a child manage ADHD symptoms is no easy task. Parents typically consider a wide range of treatment options, including medication and educational plans tailored to their child.

In a March 1 article on examiner.com, teacher April Brownlee discussed the benefits of encouraging ADHD kids to become involved in sports and other types of extracurricular activities:

The power of extracurricular activities should not be ignored as the right activity will help a child's motor skills, assist with improved focusing and help with social interactions.

An activity, such as martial arts or swimming will provide a child with ADHD, focus, drive and a means to learn when and how to communicate.

A glowing example is Olympic gold medalist, Michael Phelps who [was] diagnosed with ADHD but channels the negative effects through determination to succeed at his sport.

Labels: sports

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The BBC Trust has ruled that an episode of its show Panorama that focused on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder "failed to meet the expected standards of accuracy and impartiality," and that the BBC must make a public apology and correction.

A complainant who had already dealt with BBC management's editorial complaints unit procedure appealed to the ESC [editorial standards committee], arguing that Panorama's report was "seriously inaccurate and unbalanced in the way it dealt with the issue of how ADHD should be treated" and was "likely to cause serious harm to children with the condition." [Source: The Guardian (UK)]

The BBC Trust has ordered Panorama to pull the episode in question, titled What Next for Craig? from the BBC website and refrain from selling the episode to other broadcasters.

Labels: media

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Staying "on task" is one of the hardest things for a child with ADHD to do. There's a simple, inexpensive tool that might help: a timer.

"Anytime you begin working on a project or task, set the timer. As a rule, you should set the timer every time you direct your attention to a screen (computer, BlackBerry, PDA). ...

When the timer goes off, ask yourself Am I doing what I am supposed to be doing? If not, [you can] get back on track." [Source: Cedar Rapids Examiner]

The sound of a timer can help refocus child who gets distracted, and can be especially helpful for children with competitive natures.

Labels: focus, attention

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