Metilfenidato e ADHD

Abstract

Methylphenidate is the first-choice medication for the treatment of ADHD in children and adolescents. Over the past two decades, several randomised controlled trials re-peatedly showed its efficacy on both the core symptoms and the quality of life besides its tolerability in the short term. The most common adverse effects include sleep disturb-ance, nervousness, reduced appetite, weight loss, headache, elevated blood pressure and heart rate. These effects are generally mild, transient and easily manageable by clinicians. Despite the reassuring data in terms of short-term safety and tolerability, some questions still remain open with respect to the treatment effects in the long term. In the meantime it is however appropriate to continue to refer to the current European clinical practice guidelines. The paper reports treatment indications, information about the mechanism of action, the Italian available formulations and the answers to the most frequent questions for a correct clinical and pharmacological monitoring of young pa-tients.