ADHD drugs: They work only for the first 3 years

November 16, 2007

ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) drugs such as Ritalin

work only for the first three years. Despite this, they are often

prescribed throughout childhood and well into adolescence.

After those first three years, ADHD can be just as successfully

treated with behavioural therapy.

The Multimodel Treatment Study has been monitoring the health of 600

young people with ADHD since the early 1990s.

In addition to discovering the short-term benefits of drugs such as

Ritalin and Concerta, the study has discovered that the drugs could

also stunt children's growth.

Ironically, it was the initial findings of the same study that

sparked much of the growth in ADHD drug sales. In 1999, the study

concluded that the drugs worked better than therapy over the first

year.

Prof William Pelham, one of the study's co-authors, said: " I think

that we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first

study. We had thought that children medicated longer would have

better outcomes. That didn't happen to be the case. "

(Source: BBC Panorama, November 12, 2007).

Story from WDDTY:

for-the-first-3-years.html

Published: 15/11/2007 11:44:01 GMT

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