The Drugging of Our Children: Kid's Excessive Medication. Fac_ArnoldE_JAttentionDis_2000_3_4. What is the evidence of impaired motor skills and motor control among children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? Systematic rev... Methylphenidate and the risk of trauma. Background and objective: Children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are prone to sustaining trauma that requires emergency department (ED) admission. Methylphenidate (MPH) can reduce ADHD symptoms and may thus theoretically reduce the risk of trauma-related ED admission, but previous studies do not make this association clear. This study examines this association. Methods: A total of 17 381 patients aged 6 to 19 years who received MPH prescriptions were identified by using the Clinical Data Analysis & Reporting System (2001-2013).
Using a self-controlled case series study design, the relative incidence of trauma-related ED admissions was compared with periods of patient exposure and nonexposure to MPH. Results: Among 17 381 patients prescribed MPH, 4934 had at least 1 trauma-related ED admission. Conclusions: This study supports the hypothesis that MPH is associated with a reduced risk of trauma-related ED admission in children and adolescents. Long-term safety of stimulant medications used to treat children with ADHD. Risk of serious cardiovascular problems with medications for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a chronic neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by persistent symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and/or impulsivity. The proportion of patients diagnosed with ADHD receiving pharmacological treatments has increased enormously in recent years. Despite the well established efficacy and the good safety and tolerability profile, there is concern about the potential for rare but serious cardiovascular adverse events, as well as sudden cardiac death, with pharmacotherapies used for treating ADHD in children, adolescents and adults. The present paper aims to comprehensively and critically review the published evidence on the controversial association between medications approved for treating patients with ADHD and the risk of serious cardiovascular problems, specifically the risk of corrected QT interval (QTc) prolongation, and the risk of sudden cardiac death.
The Sandcastle Continues to Crumble: ADHD Does Not Exist. Richard C. Saul, MDADHD Does Not Exist: The Truth About Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder Publication date: February 18, 2014 Those of us on this side of the psychiatry debate have been saying for decades that the condition known as ADHD is not an illness, but is rather an arbitrarily delineated cluster of vaguely defined problems that children have acquired in various ways. We have also pointed out that psychiatry’s labeling of this condition as an illness is simply another instance of their inexorable turf expansion, and that their widespread drugging of the individuals so labeled is destructive and disempowering. And, also for decades, psychiatry has been marginalizing us as unscientific mental illness deniers, who seek to put the clock back and deprive people suffering from this “illness” of the vital “treatment” that they so desperately need.
In recent years, we have seen some fracturing in psychiatry’s defenses. And now their voices are joined by Richard C. Dr. Methylphenidate (DB00422) Summary Methylphenidate is a stimulant used in the management of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Brand Names Adhansia, Aptensio, Biphentin, Concerta, Cotempla, Daytrana, Foquest, Jornay, Metadate, Methylin, Quillichew, Quillivant, Relexxii, Ritalin Generic Name Methylphenidate DrugBank Accession Number Background Methylphenidate is a central nervous system stimulant used most commonly in the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and for narcolepsy.
While its exact mechanism is unclear, methylphenidate (MPH) has been shown to act as a norepinephrine and dopamine reuptake inhibitor (NDRI), thereby increasing the presence of these neurotransmitters in the extraneuronal space and prolonging their action.6 There is a dose-related effect of psychostimulants on receptor stimulation, where higher doses are shown to increase norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) efflux throughout the brain which can result in impaired cognition and locomotor-activating effects. Stimulant side effects: prefrontal/basa... [Australas Psychiatry. 2014] Background: While side effects of stimulant medication used to treat children for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have been clinically described as mild but variable, there is little or no research or understanding of biological mechanisms involved.
Method: The present short review extends the 'tonic-phasic' dopamine hypothesis in terms of prefrontal and subcortical dopamine receptor (D1/D2) imbalance. Results: The minor allele of the dopamine D1 receptor predicts the 'zombie-like' motor side effect clinically described in some children treated with stimulant medications. Conclusion: Stimulant side effects may be best understood as reflecting imbalance in parallel cortico-thalamic-striatal circuits, and motor side effects as a result of prefrontal D1/D2 imbalance allowing greater motor inhibitory effects at subcortical D2 receptors.
This is a variation of the 'tonic-phasic' hypothesis, which takes D1 allelic variation into account. Are ADHD Medications Overprescribed? - WSJ. Mechanism of action of methylphenidate: insig... [J Atten Disord. 2002] Methylphenidate (MPH) is the most commonly prescribed drug for the treatment of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). We have used Positron Emission Tomography (PET) to investigate the mechanism of action of MPH in the human brain. We have shown (a) that oral MPH reaches peak concentration in the brain 60-90 minutes after its administration, (b) that therapeutic doses of MPH block more than 50% of the dopamine transporters (DAT), and (c) that of the two enantiomers that compose MPH, it is d-threo-methylphenidate (d-MPH) and not l-threo-methylphenidate (l-MPH) that binds to the DAT.
We have also shown that therapeutic doses of MPH significantly enhance extracellular dopamine (DA) in the basal ganglia, which is an effect that appears to be modulated by the rate of DA release and that is affected by age (older subjects show less effect).