News: Conflicts-of-interest halt ADHD guidelines in Australia
Conflicts-of-interest in a panel writing guidelines for ADHD in Australia led the government to halt distribution of the recommendations according to the Australian press. Seven of the nine doctors on the panel received a gift of some form -- meals, international travel, hotels -- from drug companies.
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News: Safety of atypical antipsychotics
Atypical antipsychotic drugs are used widely beyond the original group of mental disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, for which they were initially approved.
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News: Stigma starts early in childhood
Children believe if someone tries hard enough, he or she can overcome ADHD or depression, suggest authors. . .
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News: ADHD stimulants and cardiac deaths
A first-of-its-kind study about ADHD and stimulants asked whether the medications contributed to the "rare event of sudden unexplained death in children and adolescents." The authors found that 10 of the 564 (1.8 percent) children were taking stimulants for ADHD....
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News: Rx for kids: problem with label or doctor?
Despite lack of evidence, label warnings, side effects, and doubts about its efficacy for youngsters under 13, Risperdal and Zyprexa are being prescribed (including off-label use for ADHD) in record numbers for kids. How to change this becamse the subject of an FDA review panel....
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Did You Know: Boys are twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with ADHD.

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Did You Know: Boys are twice as likely as girls to be diagnosed with ADHD.

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News: Ritalin prescriptions in United Kingdom
British differences in prescribing Ritalin for ADHD have been called "dramatic" and "extraordinary." In some districts, 14 percent of the children are receiving the drug for problems associated with attention deficit behaviors. It is unclear whether the highly variable prescribing rates stem from over use in some districts or under use in others, but the difference between the highest and the lowest districts is 23 fold....
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News: Agreements to delay generics
According to a report in Reuters, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is investigating the pharmaceutical company Shire for possible agreements delaying the generic marketing of Adderall XR, a drug used for attention deficit disorder. Last week the FTC released a report about 33 different agreements in which generic drug manufacturers agreed to delay marketing drugs coming off patent. The availability of generics is estimated to reduce the cost of drugs by as much as 90 percent and cuts into the...
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News: Medicaid screening for kids
Controversy in Mass. is flaring over policies to screen kids on Medicaid for psychiatric disorders. Brought on by a law suit resulting in an expansion of Medicaid services, some worry that pediatricians screening for anxiety disorders, ADHD, depression, and other disorders, leads to over use of medications for young children. The debate falls within a larger issue of medicating children, and then of medicating foster children. From Oregon to New York to Florida there are reports that foster children are...
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Consider This: This campaign misfired
by Phyllis Vine

The Child Study Center withdraws "Ransom Notes."


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News: Promising drug enhances cognition
A review article in Schizophrenia Bulletin (subscription required) reports modifinal, a wake-promoting agent, has shown promising results for its ability "to improve cognition in schizophrenia" The impact on cognition was originally noted in healthy volunteers leading to further study in people where cognitive deficits lead to long term disabilities. According to the authors, it also has "a strikingly similar pattern of cognitive changes in a group of adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)."...
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News: Dusting off an old paradigm: social construction
An interesting discussion about the cultural significance of symptoms is taking place in the American Journal of Psychiatry (October issue). Responding to a study showing variable prevalence of ADHD, Dr. Olavo Amaral, Brazil, addresses the social construction of diagnostic categories....
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News: Assessment of cardiac risks from ADHD meds
Researchers will begin looking at 500,000 clinical records to evaluate the cardiac risks of ADHD medications for children and adults. The federally supported project partners Vanderbilt University with government agencies and private health systems. About $1.3 billion was spent in 2004 on medicine for ADHD, which is estimated to affect about four percent of the population....
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News: Neurofeedback and ADHD
A Swiss and German research team reports that kids with ADHD can learn to reduce impulsive and hyperactive behavior with tools provided by computerized neurofeedback. Observations came from teachers and parents. Researchers emphasize that behavioral training is not a replacement for prescribed medication....
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News: Dopamine, ADHD and addiction
Two articles in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry address the importance of dopamine for ADHD. This comes shortly after a report about pregnant women who were exposed to nicotine during their second and third trimesters, months of brain development. The study (N=204) in the July issue of Child Psychiatry and Human Development showed their children had more symptoms of ADHD. In a July conversation with Terry Gross on Fresh Air, Dr. Nora Volkow, director of the National...
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Links: Children and Youth
These organizations explicitly address children's concerns as they relate to diagnosis, education, statistical prevalence, and medication. Updated 10.03.07
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News: Stigma documented
Findings from a study out of Indiana University point to continuing stigma of people with mental illness. Between 30 to 40 percent of the respondents (N=1,134) said they would not want their child to become friends with someone who was depressed or had ADHD. This compares to about 10 percent who reported negative feelings when asked about asthma....
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News: FDA and ADHD drugs
The FDA has asked the makers of ADHD drugs to develop more comprehensive guidelines about their products including adverse reactions, new symptoms, and possible cardiovascular risks. These recommendations aim to simplify the language and presentation for commonly prescribed medicines such as Ritalin, Adderall, and Daytrana among others....
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