- A Probe into the Side Effects of ADHD Drugs
The government is planning to strengthen warnings about possible psychiatric side effects from Concerta and related treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity, and is probing whether other ADHD drugs need updating, too.
- Adderall: Canadian Regulators Order ADD Drug Withdrawn
Shire's best-selling drug was withdrawn from sale in Canada amid reports linking it to 20 sudden deaths. The US FDA has also issued a Public Health Advisory.
- Adderall: Long Term Use?
The effectiveness of ADDERALL XR for long-term use, i.e., for more than 3 weeks in children and 4-weeks in adults, has not been systematically evaluated in controlled trials.
- ADHD and Genetics
Dr. Vance believes he has conclusive evidence that key areas of the brain do not develop as quickly in children with ADHD. These areas, he posits, are linked to a child’s understanding of time and space as well as the ability to use working memory.
"So their ability to read other people's body language, to pick up on the nuances of what their peer group are up to, would clearly be affected by the sort of developmental delays in brain development that we've identified," he said.
- ADHD Diagnosis Caution: No Test Exists to Support Chemical Imbalance Claim
"Psychiatrists are telling parents, whose children may be displaying poor behaviour, that their child has so-called ADHD due to a "chemical imbalance" in the brain. A parent would be prudent to ask the psychiatrist for evidence to support the claim of a "chemical imbalance". If they did ask however, they’d find that the evidence would not be forthcoming – as it doesn’t exist."
- ADHD Drug Treatment
Some people who need medication aren't getting it and some who don't need it are. Research says the people who use medicines the most to treat ADHD are wealthier and have better medical plans from their HMOs.
- ADHD Medications and Neurofeedback
Data from the study were used to evaluate whether stimulant medication effects physical growth in children. The data collected over three years indicates that both height and weight are decreased in children using stimulant medication.
Co-author, Professor William Pelham, of the University at Buffalo, says: "The children had a substantial decrease in their rate of growth so they weren't growing as much as other kids both in terms of their height and in terms of their weight. And the second was that there were no beneficial effects – none."
- ADHD Medications: Mayo Clinic Study Contradicts MTA Study
As I wrote earlier, the longest study actually performed while following live children was the MTA and its 3-Year Follow-up of the NIMH MTA (multi-modal treatment) recently published in the journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Co-author, Professor William Pelham, of the University at Buffalo, says: "The children had a substantial decrease in their rate of growth so they weren't growing as much as other kids both in terms of their height and in terms of their weight. And the second was that there were no beneficial effects – none."
Pelham adds, "In the short run [medication] will help the child behave better, in the long run it won't. And that information should be made very clear to parents."
Here’s the most telling observation of the study: "I think that we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first study. We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes. That didn't happen to be the case. There's no indication that medication's better than nothing in the long run."
- ADHD Study: Faster Diagnosis Urged
Not surprisingly, Dr. Barkley and Lilly think this is too long as children could be started on medication and behavior modification much sooner. While one must agree that a proper, quick diagnosis should be available to all children and adults, sponsorship of the survey is hardly altruistic of Lilly who makes millions of dol
- ADHD: Biofeedback and Neurofeedback: An Introduction
Neurofeedback is a specific type of biofeedback that makes brainwaves perceptible through the use of sensors attached to the head. Such children tend to become more social, more effective at school work, and they perform more adroitly on IQ and other tests. One can think of this process as switching radio stations at will. Neurofeedback students learn to switch from inattentive (daydreaming) states to focused states at will.
- ADHD: Difference or Disability?
In the landscape of spring there is neither better nor worse.The flowering branches grow; some short, some long.-- Zen sayingNo Known Biological Marker For ADHDDr. Russell Barkley essentially has created an industry surrounding his name and ADHD. While saying little that's new to the field, he regurgitates the repetitive paradigm that essentially places AD/HD children and adults into the minimal brain dysfunction category, i.e., ADHD people are brain damaged. He pathologizes ADHD even though no known biological marker exists; no certain neuropathology or brain abnormality exists that definitively establishes the presence or absence of the disorder. The NIH Consensus Statement - Diagnosis and Treatment of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, states: "Although research has suggested a central nervous system basis for ...
- ADHD: The problem is simply diffused attention
Therefore, a new conceptualization of the basic nature and etiology of ADHD behaviors is necessary in which current known research about human potential and learning are incorporated to produce a scientific, systematic approach to teach sustained attention and improve subordinate deficits in related cognitive skills like short-term memory.
- An Innovative Technology for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders
Presently, some researchers and experts recognize that there is a correlation between Attention Deficit / Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Autism Spectrum Disorders. Some believe that ADHD is closely related to Asperger’s Syndrome. Autism Spectrum Disorders and ADHD are developmental disorders that affect the areas of social skills, behavior, and communication.
When combined with special strategies as well as transfer and generalization techniques, Play Attention has produced remarkable results for students with Autism and AD/HD. The core Play Attention system allows the teacher to modify and adjust it curriculum to accommodate the special needs of these children.
- Are ADHD drugs safe? Report finds little proof
At a time when millions of children and adults are taking drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, the most comprehensive scientific analysis of the drugs to date has found little evidence that they are safe, that one drug is more effective than another or that they help school performance.
The 731-page report was done by the Drug Effectiveness Review Project, based at Oregon State University. The group analyzed 2,287 studies – virtually every investigation ever done on ADHD drugs anywhere in the world – to reach its conclusions.
- Brain Volume and ADHD
I've briefly mentioned research studies in the past that find ADHD children have decreased brain volumes (essentially smaller brains) than their peers. Recently, another of these studies was published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (April 2007). Using MRI, the study followed 36 children over two years. How research like this gets published is beyond speculation, but in the publish or perish world of academia, it's fairly standard trash.The journal reports that the researchers (a group of MDs and PhDs) “…compared the volumes of each lobe of the cerebellar hemispheres and vermis in children with ADHD and comparison subjects and used a new regional cerebellar volume measurement to characterize the developmental trajectory of these differences.”
Just an anatomical note, the cerebellar ...
- Can ADHD be identified in blood?
Researchers Sharon A. Murphy, MD, and Douglas Woodruff, MD, psychiatrists in private practice in Baltimore, Maryland presented their findings at the 160th annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Their work is based a particular technique called cell membrane potential. They propose that use of this technique may help medical professionals clearly identify attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), bipolar disorder, and possibly major depressive disorder.
- Can custom-made video games help children with attention deficit disorder?
According to the National Institute of Mental Health, about three percent of American school children take stimulants like Ritalin regularly. However current research suggests a surprising new strategy for treating this disorder: video games linked to brain-wave biofeedback that can help kids with ADHD train their minds to tune in and settle down.
- Can we map attention, memory and language links in the human brain?
"ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder) is probably one of the most over-diagnosed disorders of our time," Christensen said. "The reason for that, I think, is that we really don't know very much about the biological basis of this syndrome. There's a lot of research on it, but there's still a lot of disagreement about what the root cause is, and about whether drugs like Ritalin that are being prescribed to children as young as 2 years old are doing any good, and if we have any business exposing our children to drugs at such a very early age," he added.
- Disorder? A Dubious Diagnosis
Ten years ago, PBS ran the documentary- ATTENTION DEFICIT DISORDER- A DUBIOUS DIAGNOSIS?. The case was made that the epidemic of Attention Deficit Disorder affecting mostly white, middle class boys is to a large extent man-made, one result of a long-term, unpublicized financial relationship between the company that makes the most widely known A.D.D. medication and the nation's largest "A.D.D. Support Group."
- Dubious Disorders
As I wrote about previously, Robert Jergen, an ADHD adult, wrote a book about his ability to regulate his ADHD. It seems that there is a trend to identify oneself with a particular ailment or disorder to sell books.
- Genetics and ADHD ADD
Clearly, there is no current research (2005) that has determined that ADHD is genetic either partially or entirely. While empirical data suggest that a genetic link exists, research is still sparse as scientists primarily focus on childhood onset of the disorder with little research on adult AD/HD.Andrea Chronis of the University of Maryland has focused on AD/HD mothers and their performance as parents. In her study of 70 families with elementary-school-age children she found that:Mothers of ADHD children are 24 times as likely as the average woman to have it Fathers of ADHD children are 5 times higher than average to have it The mothers often weren't very involved with their children The mothers had few skills to cope with ...
- Girls With ADHD and ADD Are Often Overlooked
ADHD likely affects 3% to 7% of the entire child population in the US. However, girls are frequently overlooked because they often do not display hyperactive symptoms.
When teaching at the elementary level, I found this particularly true. Girls with ADHD often were simply daydreamers with poor time management skills. While some did display the outward social and behavioral problems that their male peers did, it was not very frequent.
HealthNewsDigest.com is published by the American Psychological Association. I've cited bits of this report and am alarmed by its look and feel. It reads like an endorsement and advertisement for Adderall XR.
- Good Morning America Features Play Attention
Play Attention was featured on the ABC News Show - Good Morning America on June 20,2005.
- He Is Still a Typical Teenager
The following story is from the Scotsman.com. Pay particular attention to the section where ADHD, Asperger's Syndrome, and dyspraxia are described; they are notably different than our perceptions in the States.
- Hospital Begins Screening for Heart Conditions in ADHD Children
The American Heart Association’s (AHA) recent recommendation that children be screened for possible heart problems before taking ADHD stimulant medication has spurred great anxiety among parents and professionals. The recommendation was given as a response to a number of deaths due to heart failure associated with ADHD stimulant medication.
- Insurers Question Studies of ADHD Drugs
Some journals are trying themselves to help readers discover marketing messages slipped in amid the scientific data. Last year BMJ, a British journal, published a piece called "Users' guide to detecting misleading claims in clinical research reports," which came with a picture of a reader dumping salt on a medical journal. One piece of advice: Beware when the authors break out one subgroup of patients and claim benefits from the treatment that weren't evident in the whole group.
- Is the ADHD Brain Damaged?
...researchers can find numerous parts of the ADHD brain that seem dysfunctional. A major flaw in virtually all of this research is that they use very small groups that cannot depict the vast spectrum brain variability among the human species. This published research confuses many people as it seems the brains of those with ADHD are smaller, have damage in the basal ganglia, putamen, frontal lobes, cerebellum, and brain stem. This amounts to little more than neophrenology. Publication of this neophrenology allows media to portray ADHD individuals as irreparably brain damaged which is both harmful and flagrantly untrue.
- John Ratey: “Train Your Brain”
"Neurons that fire together wire together" means that the more we repeat the same actions and thoughts--from practicing a tennis serve to memorizing multiplication tables--the more we encourage the formation of certain connections and the more fixed the neural circuits in the brain for that activity become.
- New ADHD Drug to Fix Your Child
The public's current perception is that using these medications will indeed 'fix' their broken child. Unfortunately, and according to the National Institutes of Health, more than medication is needed to address the full needs of AD/HD children. So, as long as pharmaceutical companies keep marketing in a manner which encourages the public's 'fix' perception, we'll continue to have kids who historically remove themselves from medication whenever they can (usually upon emancipation) and carry their AD/HD into adulthood with no compensatory skills.
- Overhead camera to detect mental illness
Here’s some true insight: Perry has experimented on about 100 subjects so far and has observed that people with ADHD move around the room more actively than ADHD people.
No kidding. We needed a study for that information.
- Pharmaceutical Makers : Follow the Money
Ever wonder why so much hoopla surrounds ADHD? The media know it's a top of mind issue for parents. However, pharmaceutical makers also know where their bread is buttered. The following article reflects the vast sums of money involved in the business of ADHD medications. Press Release Source: Research and Markets Ltd. Research and Markets: Current Global ADHD Market Is Worth $2.7Bn and is Expected to Reach $3.4Bn by 2015Tuesday June 14, 10:15 am ET DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 14, 2005--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c19199) has announced the addition of Pipeline Insight: ADHD - Shire Driving Diversity in ADHD to their offering. The current ADHD market has long been saturated with traditional methylphenidate and amphetamine based drugs, with the only innovations being ...
- Questioning the growing popularity of drug treatments
Wasowicz questions the growing popularity of drug treatments as an almost reflexive action by healthcare providers. She indicates that current research shows a steady rise in the use of prescription drugs by children and adolescents, particularly among girls.
- States sue over costly ADHD drug program
"The situation is out of control," said David Cohen, a professor at Florida International University who has been studying the use of antipsychotics since 1983. While no long-term studies have been done on the effects the drugs have on children, there is evidence children on the drugs face greater risks of diabetes, hyperglycemia and extreme weight gain, Cohen said.
The Daytona Beach Journal says, “According to a study that looked at three years of data, about 40 percent of the antipsychotics prescribed to Florida Medicaid children were given to children diagnosed with ADHD -- a use not approved by the Food and Drug Administration.”
- Study finds divorce increases Ritalin use in children
Children whose parents divorce are nearly twice as likely to be prescribed Ritalin in the aftermath of the split, a Canadian study reports.
What we need is a deeper understanding of this issue, at the level of the primary care practitioners," said Dr. Abel Ickowicz.
"Because . . . if we are going too quick to prescribe medication, like Ritalin, like methylphenidate, we may not only be masking the normal process of adaptation to divorce, but we may be contributing to the degree of distress the children of divorce are experiencing."
- Study shows Fatty Acids may be helpful for ADHD - Part 1
(Part 1 of 2) Two studies are noted here, one in the UK and one in Australia. Both studies show promising data on HUFAs and ADHD.
- Three-quarters of ADHD diagnoses wrong
Diagnoses labeling children as AD/HD are wrong up to 75% of the time.
- Turning Adult ADHD Around
He became hyper-productive. Jergen kept a log outlining when and where he got the most work done. Then, he designed a work environment that would push out distractions and allow him to remain focused.
- What If Einstein Had Taken Ritalin?
The question is whether the Ritalin Revolution will sap tomorrow's work force of some of its potential genius. What will be the repercussions in corporations, comedy clubs, and research labs?
- What’s the mystery behind ADHD?
The mystery of AD/HD begins because the label, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, is a misnomer of sorts. People with the disorder do not have a deficit of attention, but they do have diffused attention; attention that is fleeting and can be sustained only for short periods before moving to another stimulus.
- Women with ADHD affected more?
In most clinical settings, boys are treated for ADHD at least 4 to 1 over girls. Boys, it is thought, tend to present symptoms outwardly more than girls resulting in physical behaviors that are easily noticeable (hyperactivity).
In an article reported in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, February 2008, author of the University of Utah in Salt Lake City and his colleagues find that the roles are reversed in adults; females seem to be more impacted than men.
"We found that adult women with ADHD frequently have high levels of emotional symptoms as well as the cognitive problems found in ADHD," Dr. Frederick W. Reimherr told Reuters Health.
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