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| |  Once-Daily Adderall As Effective As Twice Daily For ADHD CLEVELAND, OH -- June 29, 1999 -- An amphetamine for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, given once each morning, has been shown to be as effective as the standard drug treatment, which requires two doses each day. This finding was published in the July issue of The Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. The study compared the effectiveness of a single dose of Adderall(R) (amphet asp/amphet/D-amphet), mixed salts of a single-entity amphetamine product, given in the morning, with two daily doses of methylphenidate, given in the morning and at noon during school. The study was a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial involving 84 children with ADHD -- half of whom took Adderall and half of whom were given methylphenidate (most commonly known as Ritalin). The children's behavior was rated by parents and teachers using standardized ADHD rating scales and questionnaires. "The study indicates that a once-a-day dose of Adderall is as effective as the standard drug therapy for improving common symptoms of ADHD, including inattention and hyperactivity," said principal investigator Michael Manos, Ph.D., a Cleveland Clinic pediatric psychologist. "Dosing is the key issue here. It is easier to manage administration of medication with one dose in the morning rather than relying on the patient to take a second dose later in the day -- usually during school hours. "Medical management of children in schools is always a concern to both families and the school personnel. The ability to manage the medical regimen of a child outside the parameters of the school appears quite beneficial to the child in terms of privacy and to the school in terms of time savings." The study also showed that Adderall is effective in children who had been unsuccessfully treated with methylphenidate. In fact, 37 percent of the children in the Adderall group had been unsuccessfully treated with methylphenidate. No statistically significant side effects were reported among the Adderall or methylphenidate-treated groups. The most common side effects associated with stimulant use are loss of appetite, trouble sleeping, headache and irritability. "These results confirm what has been suggested in two other recent studies," Dr. Manos said. "However, we still need to conduct more studies into why some patients respond so differently to the two medications." Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is the most commonly diagnosed behavior disorder in children. Characterized by inattention, impulsivity and hyperactivity, ADHD is estimated to affect between five percent and 15 percent of school-age children. Related Link: Adderall
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