Stimulant medications can be an effective treatment for ADHD. However, a growing problem that we face is the inappropriate use of such medications among those who do not need them. Below is a recent article in NewsTimes regarding the abuse of medications for academic performance. The National Survey on Drug Use and Health Rates by the National Institute on Drug Abuse in 2005 found that 6.3% of 18 - 25 year olds took prescription-type drugs for nonmedical uses. The primary motive for illicit use on the college campus is for academic performance, not for getting high. As clinicians and parents, the data reminds us to follow up closely to insure safety and appropriate use of such controlled substances. It is the shorter acting tablet form of the stimulants, ritalin and adderall, that are most likely to be abused rather than the long acting formulations such as the extended release capsules.

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Finally, more information coming about preschoolers and medication:

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Treatment with methylphenidate reduces the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in preschoolers and most children tolerate this treatment well, new research suggests. However, the benefit from the drug may be smaller than that observed in school-age children.

Methylphenidate, a mild central nervous system stimulant, is sold as

Ritalin, Methylin and under other trade names. It is available in intermediate and long-acting formulations, and comes in tablet, chewable and liquid form.

“These results give us the missing links in the decision to prescribe a drug that’s been widely used off-label in preschool-age children,” study co-author Dr. Mark Riddle, from Johns Hopkins Children’s Center in Baltimore, said in a statement.

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I found this interesting article reporting on the benefits of Ritalin in preschoolers. Given how long Ritalin has been in the public, this study feels long over due!

The first long-term government study of preschoolers who take Ritalin, the popular attention deficit disorder drug, warns of side effects but also found benefits in children with severe problems.

The first long-term government study of preschoolers who take Ritalin, the popular attention deficit disorder drug, warns of side effects but also found benefits in children with severe problems.

The drug isn’t approved for use in children under age 6, and the researchers said those youngsters need close monitoring. Preschoolers are more likely than older children to develop side effects, experts said.

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Another interesting article:

WEDNESDAY, Oct. 4 (HealthDay News) — In the two years before and after they’re diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), children with the condition typically use more health-care services than other children, U.S. research shows.It also found that white children with ADHD accumulate more expenses than other children with the disorder.

Researchers in California analyzed health-care costs for more than 3,100 children, aged 2 to 10, who were diagnosed with ADHD between 1996 and 2004. They then compared those expenditures to health-care costs for more than 15,000 children without ADHD.

Compared to children without ADHD, those with the condition had average health care costs that were $488 higher in the second year before their diagnosis, $678 higher in the year before diagnosis, $1,328 higher in the year following diagnosis, and $1,040 higher in the second year after diagnosis.

Compared with white children with ADHD, Asian, black and Hispanic children showed lower annual costs for ADHD medications. Overall spending on ADHD services for Asian children was 30 percent lower ($221) than for white children, the study found.

The study was published in the October issue of the Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine.

“Parents commonly state that behavioral problems predate their child’s ADHD diagnosis, often by several years, and these problems may affect their use of health services,” said a team led by G. Thomas Ray of the Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program in Oakland.

“In our study sample, costs were significantly higher in the two years before the index date among children subsequently diagnosed with ADHD, and costs remained higher for at least two years following the initial ADHD diagnosis,” the researchers noted. “Much of the excess cost was due to increased pediatric and psychiatric services, which were higher in the first year after diagnosis than in the second year.”

Cultural acceptance of ADHD diagnosis and treatment could explain ethnic differences in costs and use of ADHD medications, the study authors said.