Ritalin 'may cause damage to brains'

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" ash dawn " <kathvan2003

 

> This is

> 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

>

>