FDA Hearing to Weigh Safety of ADHD Drugs

[Celebration]

http://www.forbes.com/lifestyle/health/feeds/hscout/2006/03/22/hscout531695.html

WEDNESDAY, March 22 (HealthDay News) -- The safety of drugs used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder will be in the spotlight once more on Wednesday, when a federal panel will scrutinize the psychiatric and cardiac side effects that have surfaced with growing use of these medications.

At the end of its deliberations, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration's pediatric advisory committee will consider strengthening label warnings about the possible risks of psychosis, mania and cardiac problems posed by several different drugs that belong to several different classes of ADHD medication.

"These medications all have side effects, and the new alarm is just that they're trying to figure out whether the risk-benefit ratio is worth taking the risk," said Dr. Eugenio Rothe, an associate professor of psychiatry at the University of Miami School of Medicine.

Under consideration are all marketed drugs for ADHD, including amphetamines (Adderall XR), methylphenidates (Ritalin, Concerta and Metadate) and the non-stimulant Strattera, along with Sparlon, a narcolepsy drug that is being considered as a treatment for ADHD. A separate FDA advisory committee will consider a new drug application for Sparlon's use as an ADHD drug on Thursday.

[Untermonkey]

Kids need more drugs.

That's the best way to get them to do as they're told and not question authority.

[trotsky]

7. It's not like that at all.

As the parent of a child with ADHD, I would appreciate you not making such an unwarranted judgment. My son struggled mightily to focus on tasks in the classroom. His sensory systems craved stimulation, resulting in him twirling around incessantly, jabbering constantly, and being a general disruption.

After starting on some of these drugs, he INSTANTLY improved. He's able to focus on the tasks at hand. His grades are outstanding - top of the class. He's now finishing 1st grade and reading at a 5th grade level. Most importantly, he's fitting in with his peers and making friends much more easily. It took a few weeks to find the right drug, and the right dosage, but now that we're there, it's making all the difference in the world.

And the best part? He's just as much of a rebel as he always was, and continues to question my authority. I swear he'll make a great lawyer, always looking for loopholes. He's the same kid, my wonderful little boy.

[Jackpine Radical]

1. The sasd thing is that there are alternatives to pharma treatment.

EEG biofeedback combined with cognitive interventions & family therapy can in many cases eliminate all need for meds. The two major problems are that it is a relatively expensive way to go, and the drug cos. are actively suppressing information about these alternatives. The interlocking drug & health insurance/HMO industry won't generally pay for EEG Tx.

[Warpy]

2. They're safe, just overprescribed

Honestly, if your kid has been identified as ADHD by a school, get to a pediatric psychologist or pediatric neurologist as quickly as possible and get the poor kid tested! Don't just put the kid on drugs because somebody thinks s/he is bouncing off the walls too much.

Ritalin is a very old drug and it can literally be a lifesaver when it's prescribed to the kids who need it.

It just sucks for the kids who don't need it, and it's up to parents to get the tests done to be able to tell the difference.

[enlightenment]

4. I second that!

My kid first started acting out when he started school (5 yo) and was diagnosed, after many visits, tests, and doctors, in the 3rd grade. I rejected any drug therapy for several years, preferring to work with him (and the school) on behavior modification. After I found him kneeling, banging his head on the floor and crying (what are you doing? Make it stop, mom! Stop what, honey? All the stuff coming into my head.) I finally capitulated on the drugs. I'm glad I did because it helped him.

But that went along with intensive study of both the drugs and the condition; intensive, careful, and complete interaction with the psychologists, doctors, counselors, teachers, and administrators throughout his years of school (he is 26 now) - and a commitment to helping him live with ADD (no 'H' for him). Over the years I gained a tremendous amount of knowledge (one article does not an instant expert make), but I would not pretend to know much about it today as research has undoubtedly changed the paradigm.

Still, with all respect to the professions; pediatricians and school counselors are not qualified to make the decision to prescribe (or suggest) these drugs -- or even to diagnose the condition.

Sometimes I think we (as a society) just want to drug our kids into compliance -- quiet, complacent drones.

Pharmaceuticals are neither the only cause nor the only cure for childhood behavioral disorders -- like most things in life, they have great potential to help and an equally great potential to harm. Rejecting them completely is foolish, as is using them without knowledge, care, and caution.

[trotsky]

8. Well said, Warpy.

See my post #7.

[Blaze Diem]

3. After 30 years of promoting and pumping kids full of these drugs,

the results are finally in??? Geez have the Pharma's little guinea pigs grown up and been gradually phased into the antidepressant, antipsychotic adult population now?

Just when their own doubt spills out about the freakin side affects..30 years later..ahh yes, a new miracle drug appears..keep the generations believing they NEED the latest drug.

Pharmaceutical Corporate are making a damn killing..and they've got a plan for generations to come.

drug 'em from childhood, through their teens and on through adulthood all the way to the aged until they drop dead.

The profits are set for pharma giants..

Meds anyone?

[Odin2005]

5. Methylphenidate is a powerful narcotic.

It should only be used by people like me who have severe ADHD, it is WAY overprescribed, mostly because it's easier and cheaper for a school to tell a parent to put his/her kid on Ritalin then on modifying the curriculum, especially in our age of teaching to standardized tests since the "fun" things that would keep a kid with ADHD interested in class take time away from making sure the rest of the kids are going to pass that test.

[Jackpine Radical]

6. Well--technically it's not a narcotic at all. It's a stimulant.

That is to say, it's more like an amphetamine than like an opiate.