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By: Psych Central News Editor
on Tuesday, Oct, 17, 2006
Reviewed by: John M. Grohol, Psy.D.
on Tuesday, Oct, 17, 2006
Researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) have found that low doses of methylphenidate (Ritalin) are a safe and effective treatment for preschoolers who have attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
In the first long-term, large-scale study designed to determine the safety and effectiveness of treating ADHD preschoolers with methylphenidate (Ritalin), the study also found that children this age are more sensitive than older children to the medication’s side effects and therefore should be closely monitored.
The 70-week, six-site study was funded by the National Institutes of Health’s National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and was described in several articles in the November 2006 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
“The Preschool ADHD Treatment Study, or PATS, provides us with the best information to date about treating very young children diagnosed with ADHD,” said NIMH Director Thomas R. Insel, MD. “The results show that preschoolers may benefit from low doses of medication when it is closely monitored, but the positive effects are less evident and side-effects are somewhat greater than previous reports in older children.”
Methylphenidate is the most commonly prescribed medication to treat children diagnosed with ADHD. But its use for children younger than 6 years has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. And until PATS, very few studies–and no large-scale ones–have been conducted to collect reliable, consistent data to help guide practitioners treating preschoolers with ADHD.
The 303 preschoolers enrolled in the study ranged in age from 3 to 5 years.
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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him." Leo Tolstoy, 1897
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A recent study reveals that the drug being prescribed to tens of millions of school-age children for a scientifically unproved mental disorder is more potent than cocaine.
Thirty years ago the World Health Organization (WHO) concluded that Ritalin was pharmacologically similar to cocaine in the pattern of abuse it fostered and cited it as a Schedule II drug — the most addictive in medical use. The Department of Justice also cited Ritalin as a Schedule II drug under the Controlled Substances Act, and the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) warned that “Ritalin substitutes for cocaine and d-amphetamine in a number of behavioral paradigms.”
Despite decades of official warnings and supporting research confirming the similarities of methylphenidate (Ritalin) and cocaine, tens of millions of children in the United States have been prescribed this psychotropic drug for a widely accepted yet scientifically unproved mental condition: attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Now a recently concluded study at the Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) not only confirms the similarities of cocaine and Ritalin, but finds that Ritalin is more potent than cocaine in its effect on the dopamine system, which many doctors believe is one of the areas of the brain most affected by drugs such as Ritalin and cocaine.
According to the DEA, the number of prescriptions written for Ritalin since 1991 has increased by a factor of five (2.2 million) and about 80 percent of the 11 million prescriptions written for Ritalin are to “treat” ADHD. This means that nearly 9 million children have been prescribed the cocainelike “medication.”
Furthermore, according to a study published last February in the Journal of the American Medical Association, “Trends in the Prescribing of Psychotropic Medications to Preschoolers,” psychotropic medications have tripled in preschoolers ages 2 to 4 during a five-year period. More disturbing, say critics, given Volkow’s recent revelations, is that during the last 15 years the use of Ritalin increased by 311 percent for those ages 15 to 19 and 170 percent for those ages 5 to 14.
The most recent figures available reveal that in 1998 there were approximately 46 million children in kindergarten through grade 12. Twenty percent — one of every five children in school — have been doped with the mind-altering drug.
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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him." Leo Tolstoy, 1897
It's actually a Republican solution. Meds are cheaper than therapy, and the pharmaceutical companies are big Republican supporters. I think we should offer therapy, even if it means government funding of such care for those who can't afford it.
My grandson, who we raised until he was seven, is dx ADHD.. talk about a long journey, conflicting dx, unresponsive schools, inadequate systems.. and we are pretty resourceful. He is doing better now, but it takes a lot of work and assistance on our part to get him through it. Personally we hate the meds, but nothing else will help him concentrate through any given day.
__________________ "Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.
It's actually a Republican solution. Meds are cheaper than therapy, and the pharmaceutical companies are big Republican supporters. I think we should offer therapy, even if it means government funding of such care for those who can't afford it.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA............
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To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him." Leo Tolstoy, 1897
My grandson, who we raised until he was seven, is dx ADHD.. talk about a long journey, conflicting dx, unresponsive schools, inadequate systems.. and we are pretty resourceful. He is doing better now, but it takes a lot of work and assistance on our part to get him through it. Personally we hate the meds, but nothing else will help him concentrate through any given day.
I'm sorry but I just can't comprehend giving 3,4,5,6,7,8,9....year olds drugs that are chemically equivalent to cocaine. What happened to being a kid? I'm 32, and went to catholic schools. Had I been in a public school today, with my hyperactivity, they'd have drugged me for certain. ******* sad. I'm sure their may be some extreme cases of imbalance, but the amount of kids being drugged up is criminal. In 20 years when this generation is in the 20-30year age bracket, the consequences of what we are doing will be substantial.
__________________
To view links or images in signatures your post count must be 10 or greater. You currently have 0 posts.
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"The most difficult subjects can be explained to the most slow-witted man if he has not formed any idea of them already; but the simplest thing cannot be made clear to the most intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he knows already, without a shadow of doubt, what is laid before him." Leo Tolstoy, 1897
I'm sorry but I just can't comprehend giving 3,4,5,6,7,8,9....year olds drugs that are chemically equivalent to cocaine. What happened to being a kid? I'm 32, and went to catholic schools. Had I been in a public school today, with my hyperactivity, they'd have drugged me for certain. ******* sad. I'm sure their may be some extreme cases of imbalance, but the amount of kids being drugged up is criminal. In 20 years when this generation is in the 20-30year age bracket, the consequences of what we are doing will be substantial.
They would have put me in the electric chair, they had the right to strap us back then, when the principle strapped my hands I used to laugh at him, then he would go home sick.
Morse Grammar School Cambridge Mass 1932 - 1050.
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Harry Boy (Genius)
In The Absence Of Law And Order Society Will Surely Destroy Itself
I'm sorry but I just can't comprehend giving 3,4,5,6,7,8,9....year olds drugs that are chemically equivalent to cocaine. What happened to being a kid? I'm 32, and went to catholic schools. Had I been in a public school today, with my hyperactivity, they'd have drugged me for certain. ******* sad. I'm sure their may be some extreme cases of imbalance, but the amount of kids being drugged up is criminal. In 20 years when this generation is in the 20-30year age bracket, the consequences of what we are doing will be substantial.
I would not suspect that you would understand my post, but I have come to expect your judgemental stance. WE HAD NO CHOICE, THERE ARE NO EASY ANSWERS, DRUGS ARE NOT OUR FIRST CHOICE, WE TRIED EVERY ALTERNATIVE EXPLORED EVERY AVENUE, HE HAS DONE OK, WE DO NOT GIVE THEM ON WEEKENDS OR DURING THE SUMMERTIME.. WE ARE CONCERNED ALSO, BUT HAVE NO CHOICE.
__________________ "Being the best doesn't mean you always win. It just means you win more than anyone else".. tweet from Kurt Warner to Tom Brady.
I would not suspect that you would understand my post, but I have come to expect your judgemental stance. WE HAD NO CHOICE, THERE ARE NO EASY ANSWERS, DRUGS ARE NOT OUR FIRST CHOICE, WE TRIED EVERY ALTERNATIVE EXPLORED EVERY AVENUE, HE HAS DONE OK, WE DO NOT GIVE THEM ON WEEKENDS OR DURING THE SUMMERTIME.. WE ARE CONCERNED ALSO, BUT HAVE NO CHOICE.
Don't let a couple of E-bullies tell you what's best for your kid. You're the one who's there. You're the one who sees the difference. You know, they don't. Its real popular to say that any kid on any of this sort of medecine is being 'drugged.' That doesn't make it so. Since when does some internet yahoo have more gravitas when it comes to medical decisions than an MD?
It's actually a Republican solution. Meds are cheaper than therapy, and the pharmaceutical companies are big Republican supporters. I think we should offer therapy, even if it means government funding of such care for those who can't afford it.
My daughter went through grade school with a real ADHD kid ...I can see why they need the medicine...this kid would have been institutionalized in the 1800's and earlier 1900's.
Only 2% to 3% of kids actually have it and of those ... there is still some debate as to whether is is really a "disorder". The average class size of public schools is around 20 kids ... depending on the state I believe.
There was always at least 3 kids in my daughters and my sons classes during grade school who were on the medicine ... and no other kid was anywhere near like my neighbors kid ... it was easy to see this medicine was overprescribed...no question. There were rumors of teachers pushing for the medicine or certain kids would be moved to special schools. So, some parents were put in a dangerous 20/20 situation...I feel for them.
BTW Patters...the popularity increased during Clinton when the NEA was still extremely strong... just for the record. Also...like I said above ... the teachers were the driving force behind the popularity increase. I am surprised that you would make such a claim Patters.
Government Education at its best!
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