A study that appeared in the journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry reports that children who had been prescribed Ritalin for ADHD were still affected by the condition eight years later.

A July 7 article by Kim Thomas of the New Zealand-based website stuff.co.nz provided the following details about the study:

Researchers reassessed participants when they were in their teens and found they had higher than average levels of delinquency, aggression, and arrests by police than the general population. ...

University of Canterbury psychologist Dr Julia Rucklidge, an ADHD expert, said the research showed Ritalin was a "band aid" which gave some short-term relief for sufferers and their parents, but had no long-term effect.

Rucklidge said the study was significant because it highlighted the need for a fresh look at Ritalin prescribing and at new treatments.

"Ritalin has been seen as this amazing drug but this research is showing that really it is just acting as a band-aid. While it improves behaviour in the short term, it has no lasting effects. These kids continue to struggle in the long term despite taking Ritalin."

Labels: research, ritalin

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A research team at Weil Cornell Medical College has discovered some potential long-term effects of Ritalin use on brain development. The study was conducted on very young rats that were given injections of Ritalin from the time they were seven to 35 days old.

"The changes we saw in the brains of treated rats occurred in areas strongly linked to higher executive functioning, addiction and appetite, social relationships and stress," the study's senior author, neuroscience professor Dr. Teresa Milner, wrote. "These alterations gradually disappeared over time once the rats no longer received the drug."

According to July 18 article on the www.news-medical.net, Dr. Miner also reported that that the study emphasizes the degree of caution that doctors must use in diagnosing ADHD before prescribing Ritalin. For example, the brain changes noted in the study would be helpful for someone with ADHD, but could harm an individual with healthy brain chemistry.

Labels: research, ritalin, brain_chemistry

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A Norwegian study of 24 boys (ages 8 to 12) has led researchers to conclude that a single dose of the popular ADHD medication Ritalin can lead to short-term improvements in muscle control and movement among children with a specific type of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Amy Norton of the Reuters News Service reported on the study in a June 4 article:

The study, reported in the online journal Behavioral and Brain Functions, focused on 24 boys newly diagnosed with hyperkinetic disorder (HKD), a diagnosis nearly identical to attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder-combined type (ADHD-C).

Children with ADHD-C commonly have increased muscle tension, which can hinder normal movement. This, in turn, may manifest as problems such as stiffness, restlessness as a child repeatedly shifts to get comfortable, and even poor handwriting, explained Liv Larsen Stray of the University of Stavanger, the lead researcher on the study.

"Our study shows that a single dose of methylphenidate typically led to improvement of the muscular tone and to a more fluent movement in children with ADHD-C/HKD," Stray told Reuters Health.

Stray's report was first published May 13 on the website of the journal Behavioral and Brain Functions.

Labels: medications, Attention_Deficit_Hyperactivity_Disorder, ritalin, motor_skills

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