Ritalin May Cause Brain Change in Children

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> Ritalin May Cause Brain Change in Children

 

> The stimulant Ritalin, a drug used to help children with attention deficit

hyperactivity disorder, may cause long-term changes in the brain,

researchers reported yesterday.

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> The changes look similar to those seen with other stimulants such as

amphetamine and cocaine, at least in rats, the team at the University of

Buffalo found.

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> " Clinicians consider Ritalin to be short-acting, " Joan Baizer, a professor

of physiology and biophysics who led the study, said in a statement.

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> " When the active dose has worked its way through the system, they consider

it 'all gone.' Our research with gene expression in an animal model suggests

that it has the potential for causing long-lasting changes in brain cell

structure and function. "

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> But Baizer said that Ritalin, known generically as methylphenidate,

probably is not addictive in the way drugs of abuse are if it is used

properly.

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> " Children have been given Ritalin daily for many years, and it is

extremely effective and beneficial, but it's not quite as simple as a

short-acting drug, " she said. " We need to look at it more closely. "

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> High doses of amphetamine and cocaine have been found to switch on genes

known as " immediate early genes " in brain cells. One of the genes, called

c-fos, has been linked with addiction when it is activated in certain parts

of the brain.

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> The researchers gave rat pups sweetened milk carrying methylphenidate in

comparable doses and at similar times to what a child would get. C-fos genes

were activated in their brains in a pattern similar to that seen in cocaine

and amphetamine use, the researchers told a meeting of the Society for

Neuroscience in San Diego.

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> " These data do suggest that there are effects of Ritalin on cell function

that outlast the short term, and we should sort that out, " Baizer said.

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> She said perhaps a gene chip -- a microarray -- could be used to see just

which genes are turned on and off by methylphenidate.

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