Stimulants

Service users taking drugs to treat ADHD may be at increased risk for hypertension and arterial disease

Leading ADHD researchers outline four mistakes that turned ADHD from a description of behavior into a medical disease.

Adults receiving ADHD medications and therapy frequently experience adverse events that interfere with employment and daily life.

“Efforts to improve learning in children with ADHD should focus on obtaining effective academic instruction rather than stimulant medication.”

Risk of depression increased when children were taking methylphenidate for ADHD, but once they stopped taking the drug, depression risk dropped to normal levels.

The prescribing of stimulants to preschoolers diagnosed with ADHD is on the rise, which is said to be an "evidence-based" practice. A review of that "evidence base" reveals that claims that ADHD is characterized by genetic and brain abnormalities are belied by the data, and that the NIMH trial of methylphenidate in this age group told of long-term harm.

Medical researchers present evidence that ADHD is overdiagnosed in children and teens, which can lead to significant harm.

The article suggests that research challenging the evidence for ADHD drugs does not lead to changes without public campaigns.

According to researchers, children are being increasingly prescribed multiple different psychiatric medications.

Qualitative study examines patterns in teacher attitudes and knowledge related to medication of students for ADHD-type behaviors.

Adhering to a commonly prescribed medication for ADHD in children is associated with higher chances of being prescribed antidepressants in adolescence.

Twice as many teenagers with ADHD experienced severe psychosis when taking Adderall, as compared to Ritalin, according to a new study.

A recent Cochrane review has found that serious adverse events occur for about 1% of children and adolescents treated with Ritalin.

Two new articles find that rates of ADHD diagnosis and stimulant prescription continue to rise all over the world.

Hallucinations and other psychotic symptoms have been reported after methylphenidate (Ritalin) treatment for ADHD.

New data shows that calls to US poison control centers have increased significantly for children taking stimulant ADHD drugs.

Study of students without an ADHD diagnosis finds that stimulants (Adderall) have little impact on cognitive performance.

A new study finds that stimulant prescribing rates to children continue to rise despite the well-established evidence documenting overdiagnosis of ADHD and overprescription of stimulants.

Study uncovers teachers’ attitudes surrounding ADHD medication use and examines the influence of race and social class on teacher beliefs.

Psychostimulant prescriptions have increased by 344% (from 2003 to 2015) for women of reproductive age (15-44 years old).

New research demonstrates that children diagnosed with ADHD at younger ages are more likely than those diagnosed later to receive multiple medications within five years of their diagnosis.

New evidence suggests that children on ADHD medication may have stunted growth initially but more rapid increases in body mass over time.

Study examines racial and ethnic disparities in the quality of care for Medicaid-enrolled children starting ADHD medication.

Lancet Psychiatry, a UK-based medical journal, recently published a study that concluded brain scans showed that individuals diagnosed with ADHD had smaller brains. That conclusion is belied by the study data. The journal needs to retract this study. UPDATE: Lancet Psychiatry (online) has published letters critical of the study, and the authors' response, and a correction.

Findings suggest that treatment not only fails to reduce the severity of “ADHD” symptoms in adulthood but is associated with decreased height.