Stimulants For ADHD Research Articles

Medical Use, Illicit Use and Diversion of Prescription Stimulant Medication

The objective of this study was to examine the prevalence and factors associated with the illicit use of prescription stimulants and to assess the relationship between the medical and illicit use of prescription stimulants among undergraduate college students. A Web survey was self-administered by a random sample of 9,161 undergraduate students attending a large public midwestern university in the spring of 2003. A total of 8.1% reported lifetime illicit use of prescription stimulants and 5.4% reported past year dlicit use. The number of undergraduate students who reported illicit use of prescription stimulants exceeded the number of students who reported medical use of prescription stimulants for ADHD. The leading sources of prescription stimulants for illicit use were friends and peers. Multivariate logistic regression analyses revealed several risk factors for illicit use of prescription stimulants such as being male, White, member of a social fraternity or sorority, Jewish religious affiliation, and lower grade point average. All of these characteristics were also related to medically prescribed use of prescription stimulants. Those who initiated medically prescribed use of prescription stimulants for ADHD in elementary school were generally not at increased risk for illicit use of prescription stimulants or other drugs during college as compared to those who were never prescribed stimulant medication. The present study provides evidence that the illicit use of prescription stimulants is a problem among undergraduate college students, and certain subgroups appear to be at heightened risk.

A comparison of North American versus non-North American ADHD study populations

Few large, prospective clinical studies in Europe have assessed the validity and applicability of research methods used to study ADHD in North America. To assess comparability of study populations, we examined baseline patient characteristics from a group of North American studies against those of a large European/African/Australian study. All studies used identical diagnostic assessments and inclusion criteria, with ADHD diagnosis and the presence of comorbid psychiatric conditions confirmed using the KSADS-PL. Raters were trained and assessed to ensure uniform diagnostic and symptom severity rating standards. Six hundred and four patients (mean age = 10.2 years) enrolled in the non-North American study, and 665 patients (mean age = 10.4 years) enrolled in the North American study. The proportion of girls was higher in the North American studies (29.2% vs. 10.4%, p < 0.001). In both groups, most patients had a positive family history of ADHD and previous stimulant treatment. Fewer had the inattentive subtype of ADHD, and mean severity was slightly higher in the non-North American study. Results demonstrate that, when a uniform set of rigorous, standardized diagnostic criteria are used by skilled clinicians, the patient populations identified are generally similar. This supports the practice of generalizing results from treatment studies across geographies.

Stimulants for ADHD: No Link to Later Drug Abuse

Stimulants for ADHD: No Link to Later Drug Abuse

ADHD Stimulants: No Link to Propensity for Later Drug Abuse

ADHD Stimulants: No Link to Propensity for Later Drug Abuse

Remember the Endocrine System When Using Psychoactive Drugs

Remember the Endocrine System When Using Psychoactive Drugs

Dopamine Transporter Genotype and Methylphenidate Dose Response in Children with ADHD

Stimulant medications, such as methylphenidate (MPH), are the most commonly used, effective treatment for ADHD. MPH acts primarily by inhibiting the dopamine transporter (DAT), a protein responsible for the reuptake of dopamine from the synapse into presynaptic terminals. We sought to evaluate the relationship between DAT1 3'-untranslated region (3'-UTR) variable number tandem repeats (VNTR) genotypes and dose response to MPH. Children with ADHD (n=47), ages 5-16 years (mean=9.02 years), underwent a 4-week, double-blinded, crossover trial with forced weekly dosage changes. Children were genotyped for the DAT1 VNTR and evaluated on placebo and three dosage levels of OROS MPH. Parents and clinicians who were blind to genotype and medication status rated ADHD symptoms, impairment, and stimulant side effects each week. Children who were homozygous for the less common, 9-repeat DAT1 3'-UTR genotype displayed a distinct dose-response curve from that of the other genotype groups, with an absence of typical linear improvement when the dose was increased from 18 mg to 36 and 54 mg. Further research is needed to determine the mechanisms related to poor response in patients with the 9/9-repeat genotype, and to determine if this group responds differentially to alternative treatments.

Use of stimulants for ADHD: is it always right?

Use of stimulants for ADHD: is it always right?

Kansas school nurses' knowledge and opinions about ADHD stimulant medication therapy.

Kansas school nurses' knowledge and opinions about ADHD stimulant medication therapy.

Dopamine dysfunction in AD/HD: integrating clinical and basic neuroscience research

There is strong evidence that the catecholamines dopamine and norepinephrine are both important in the pathophysiology of ADHD, as well as in the mechanism of therapeutic action of stimulant drugs. Due to the known effects of stimulants in blocking reuptake of catecholamines and (in the case of d-amphetamine) facilitating their release, it has traditionally been believed that the stimulants compensate for catecholamine deficiency in ADHD. More recently, however, alternate hypotheses of a hyperdopaminergic and/or hyper-noradrenergic state in ADHD have been suggested. This paper will be limited to a review of the evidence for involvement of dopamine in mediating behavioral and cognitive symptoms and response to stimulants in ADHD, with implications for possible mechanisms.

Stimulants for ADHD in Child Patients with Tourette??s Syndrome

Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics: October 1990 - Volume 11 - Issue 5 - p 269-271

Stimulants for ADHD in Child Patients with Tourette??s Syndrome

Chief, Division of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatric Schneider Children's Hospital Professor of Pediatrics Albert Einstein College of Medicine