ADHD meds do not induce cell damage

ADHD meds do not induce cell damage


Countering the findings from a 2005 study, new research supported by the United States National Institutes of Health indicates that stimulants used in the treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not cause chromosomal changes in children.

The earlier work identified an increased frequency of DNA damage and structural aberrations in chromosomes, which are associated with an increased risk of cancer. The abnormalities were observed in the white blood cells (lymphocytes) of 12 children after 3 months of methylphenidate, a drug commonly used to treat ADHD, Kristine L. Witt and associates explain in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

Although research since then failed to replicate the earlier findings, "the enormous public health significance of this issue requires additional investigation," note Witt, at the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences in Research Triangle Park, North Carolina, and co-investigators.

To this end, they recruited 63 previously untreated patients ages 6 to 12 diagnosed with ADHD. The children were randomly assigned to treatment with methylphenidate (Ritalin LA or Concerta) or to mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall or Adderall XR). The 3-month trial was completed by 25 and 22 subjects, respectively.

No significant treatment-related increases in cell damage were detected in the lymphocytes of the group as a whole or in the 47 subjects who were treated for the full 90 days.

According to Witt's team, these results add to the growing body of evidence that therapeutic levels of methylphenidate or mixed amphetamine salts do not induce chromosomal damage in humans.

Still, the investigators recommend that studies "continue to monitor these and related genetic damage endpoints in larger study groups...after longer exposure periods."

SOURCE: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, December 2008.

i think my son has that but never in a million year will i get him on meds. that really eff's with their mind. yucky

i know when i have kids im not putting them on them either!!
ive been on meds for it since i was in 1st grade it explains why im so effed up lol!

Admin wrote:i think my son has that but never in a million year will i get him on meds. that really eff's with their mind. yucky

Mine too! The school is pushing it but I think his teacher just doesn't have the patience to deal with him. He's just a very energetic little boy!

haha so is mine!!

omg they always tell me to get him checked out but i think hes fine. just a lil tooo hyper!

oh well. i refuse to put him on meds. im sure there are natural ways of handling it

I get phone calls from my son's teacher, guidance counselor, principal 3-5 times a week usually and he's only in 1st grade! He can be really well behaved and has no trouble focusing on things that interest him, like wrestling. LOL But he just doesn't want to do school work. We'll be switching schools when we move to Fort Campbell so I'm hoping he'll have a teacher who's willing to work with him and be patient.

i heard that keeping them active works a ton too.
when my son becomes old enough my husband wants to enrolled him in karate since it teaches them how to control themselves and not fight out of anger just protection. so i hope it all works out.

im not looking forward to calls fromt he pricipal though lol.
how do you handle that?

Ive been on every medication for ADHD around i was diagnosed when i was in the first grade. Those medications are HORRIBLE. They zombify your kids while at school then all hell will break loose about 5 oclock when they come down off the meds. Eventually they will learn how to make themselves cope with it. I did about the 9th grade.

It's hard but if we had a teacher that was patient enough to work with him and us we'd be better off. She's really sweet but it's almost like she doesn't want to deal with it. It makes it really difficult to handle. Ethan's always responded better to men so it helps that the principal is a man. LOL If he has 5 good days the Mr. Cross, the principal, will let him come up to his office and they'll eat lunch and watch cartoons together. It's really good for him.