Treatment of ADHD With Stimulant Medications: Response to Nissen Perspective in The New England Journal of Medicine

Abstract

This article is a response to Dr. Steven E. Nissen's comments ( Nissen, 2006 Nissen SE ADHD drugs and cardiovascular risk. N Engl J Med. 2006; 354: 1445-1448 Crossref PubMed Scopus (289) Google Scholar ) about attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and its treatment with stimulant medications. For many years we have worked as clinicians caring for children, adolescents, and adults with ADHD (and their families) and as researchers characterizing the course, comorbidity, neurobiology, and treatment of ADHD. Nissen, in his perspective and in his public comments during and after the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) advisory committee meeting February 9, 2006 ( U.S. Food and Drug Administration, 2006 U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2006), Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee. Available at: http://www.fda.gov/oc/advisory/accalendar/2006/cder12535dd02091006.html. Accessed March 22, 2006 Google Scholar ; http://content.NEJM.org), trivialized ADHD, dismissed it as overdiagnosed and overtreated, and asserted that its treatment with stimulant medication is dangerous and should be “…limited to the most severe cases, maybe 100,000.” At best, Nissen's comments are biased, misinformed, and dangerously misleading. We would like to refute his arguments and provide accurate information.