children with ADD and ADHD use of ritalin drug not effective for all with attention-defocit hyperactivity disorders
Study Points to More Targeted Use of Ritalin:
Drug Not Effective For All

support this alternative medicine website for children with ADHD


You may also return to these areas:


Home Page

Overview

Treatments

WebForum

Links
  ADHD ADHD ADHD ADHD

[Color codes: brown = accessible page; tan = page you are on; dark red = under construction]


Study Points to More Targeted Use of Ritalin: Drug Not Effective For All

By William J. Cromie
Gazette Staff

While examining the brains of hyperactive, inattentive boys with a new type of scanner, Harvard researchers found a reduced flow of blood into a specific area of the brain. Known as the putamen and located deep in the center of the brain, this area helps to control movement and attention.

When doctors gave the drug Ritalin to the six of 11 of these boys, blood flow into the putamen increased significantly. The same doses, however, decreased blood flow even further in five other boys.

"This study points to the putamen as an important region of the brain involved in ADHD (Attention Deficit /Hyperactivity Disorder)," says Martin Teicher, associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. "Diminished blood flow may be a new way to objectively diagnose ADHD, rather than relying strictly on reports of behavior. The study also shows that Ritalin may not be effective for all children diagnosed with the disorder."

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder ranks as one of the most common psychiatric problems among children in the United States. Estimates of how many school-age children have the disorder range from 2 million to almost 4 million, a reflection of the uncertainty of diagnosis. Most of these cases are boys 6-12 years old.

Just as the number of cases is imprecise, "so is the use of Ritalin," Teicher concludes. "If a child behaves like we expect someone with ADHD to behave, we label the child with that disorder, then treat him or her with medication. That fails to distinguish between children who can't sit still and those who can but don't."

Six of the boys in Teicher's test fell into the first category. "Giving Ritalin to kids like these can be helpful," he notes. "Those that benefit most from the drug have an impaired ability to control their activity. In the classroom, that can be disruptive, but on the playground they may be no more hyperactive than a normal kid."

The finding adds to a growing body of evidence that ADHD has a biological basis; in other words, it's not just willful, disobedient behavior. These children can be successfully treated with medication and behavior therapy, lifting a great emotional stone from the backs of harassed parents.

Teicher points out that "many girls have a more subtle but measurable form of hyperactivity that would benefit from Ritalin. Because they are not as rambunctious as boys, the disorder is underdiagnosed in girls.

"What is needed for both boys and girls are better objective tests, like blood flow measurement to the putamen, to distinguish between biological abnormalities and natural boisterousness."

As part of the effort to avoid overmedication, this month the American Academy of Pediatrics issued new guidelines for diagnosing ADHD.

© 2000 President and Fellows of Harvard College


You may also return to these areas:


Home Page

Overview

Treatments

WebForum

Links
  ADHD ADHD ADHD ADHD

[Color codes: brown = accessible page; tan = page you are on; dark red = under construction]


Website designed, created and hosted by The Healing Center On-Line © 2000, 2001