Management of hyperactive inattentive children

Abstract

Neither J M Swanson and colleagues1Swanson JM Sergeant JA Taylor E Sonuga-Barke EJS Jensen PS Cantwell DP Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and hyperkinetic disorder.Lancet. 1998; 351: 429-433Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (631) Google Scholar nor R Beach and R Proops2Beach R Proops R Management of hyperactive, inattentive children.Lancet. 1998; 351: 387Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar mention the role of food intolerance in hyperactive children, despite the fact that there have been two successful double-blind placebo-controlled trials3Egger J Carter CM Gumley D et al.A controlled trial of oligoantigenic diet treatment in the hyperkinetic syndrome.Lancet. 1985; i: 940-945Google Scholar, 4Carter CM Urbanowicz M Hemsley R et al.Effect of a few food diet in attention deficit disorder.Arch Dis Childh. 1995; 69: 564-568Crossref Scopus (130) Google Scholar of the food allergy hypothesis (any food in any combination can cause it). One trial was published in The Lancet, and one of the authors (E Taylor) of the seminar was an author of the other.The drug treatment Swanson and colleagues describe has been established by appropriate trials, but it is mere symptomatic treatment. Dietary treatment, at its best (and this is difficult in this disease) is curative, and so points to possible pathogenetic mechanisms. Our interest started in diet and hyperactivity when we noticed that some children with migraine whom we treated in this way5Egger J Carter CM Wilson J et al.Is migraine food allergy?.Lancet. 1983; ii: 865-869Summary Scopus (3) Google Scholar also recovered from severe behaviour disorder. Swanson notes several associated symptoms, many of which we have seen also to respond to diet. Intellectual honesty would require extrapolation to investigate the possible role of diet treatment of these too. But that is difficult. It is easier, and ostrich-like, to pretend that diet treatment is not there. Neither J M Swanson and colleagues1Swanson JM Sergeant JA Taylor E Sonuga-Barke EJS Jensen PS Cantwell DP Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and hyperkinetic disorder.Lancet. 1998; 351: 429-433Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (631) Google Scholar nor R Beach and R Proops2Beach R Proops R Management of hyperactive, inattentive children.Lancet. 1998; 351: 387Summary Full Text Full Text PDF PubMed Scopus (2) Google Scholar mention the role of food intolerance in hyperactive children, despite the fact that there have been two successful double-blind placebo-controlled trials3Egger J Carter CM Gumley D et al.A controlled trial of oligoantigenic diet treatment in the hyperkinetic syndrome.Lancet. 1985; i: 940-945Google Scholar, 4Carter CM Urbanowicz M Hemsley R et al.Effect of a few food diet in attention deficit disorder.Arch Dis Childh. 1995; 69: 564-568Crossref Scopus (130) Google Scholar of the food allergy hypothesis (any food in any combination can cause it). One trial was published in The Lancet, and one of the authors (E Taylor) of the seminar was an author of the other. The drug treatment Swanson and colleagues describe has been established by appropriate trials, but it is mere symptomatic treatment. Dietary treatment, at its best (and this is difficult in this disease) is curative, and so points to possible pathogenetic mechanisms. Our interest started in diet and hyperactivity when we noticed that some children with migraine whom we treated in this way5Egger J Carter CM Wilson J et al.Is migraine food allergy?.Lancet. 1983; ii: 865-869Summary Scopus (3) Google Scholar also recovered from severe behaviour disorder. Swanson notes several associated symptoms, many of which we have seen also to respond to diet. Intellectual honesty would require extrapolation to investigate the possible role of diet treatment of these too. But that is difficult. It is easier, and ostrich-like, to pretend that diet treatment is not there. Management of hyperactive inattentive childrenAuthors' reply Full-Text PDF