Ritalin 'may cause damage to brains'

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LONDON

17/12/03 - Health & fitness section

 

Ritalin 'may cause damage to brains'

By Pravin Char, Metro

 

Children given Ritalin to control hyperactivity could

be permanently brain damaged, it was claimed

yesterday.

 

Research suggests the controversial 'chemical cosh'

drug raises the risk of depression and anxiety in

adulthood.

 

Ritalin alters the brain's chemical composition so

that it has a lasting effect on mental health, US

scientists believe. Because these changes take place

while a child's brain is growing, they could cause

irreversible damage.

 

The findings will alarm parents using the drug to

control a child's attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder (ADHD).

 

British GPs dispensed a record 254,000 Ritalin

prescriptions last year, up from 208,500 in 2001. One

in 20 children is said to have ADHD, which makes them

boisterous and unfocused.

 

'It is vitally important we evaluate the long-term

effects of these drugs,' said Dr Nora Volkow, director

of the US National Institute on Drug Abuse.

 

Although American studies involved laboratory rats,

the doses given were comparable to those used on

children.

 

In one test, giving Ritalin to young, healthy rats

increased the presence of certain chemicals linked to

depression in adults. Asecond study found higher

levels of stress hormones and anxietylike behaviours.

 

Last night, Shadow children's minister Tim Loughton

urged the Government to investigate Ritalin use.

 

The Royal College of Paediatrics said: 'Ritalin has

been used for 40 years. If there was a long-term

side-effect, it would have been discovered by now.'

 

Novartis, the company which makes Ritalin, insisted

there was no clinical link to depression or anxiety

disorders.

 

 

Find this story at

http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/lifeandstyle/health/articles/8211049?version=1

©2003 Associated New Media

 

 

 

 

 

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