Mental health professionals have long been concerned about the impact of psychostiumulants on brain development. article published in Medscape Medical News February 3, 2009 examines this issue. The article reports on a study published recently in the American Journal of Psychiatry (Am J Psychiatry. 2009; 166:58-63). The researchers “examined changes in cortical thickness based on 2 neuroanatomic scans in 43 subjects with ADHD. Their mean age was 12.5 years at the time of the first scan and 16.4 years at the time of the second….The scans of 19 subjects with ADHD not treated with psychostimulants were compared with an age-matched group of 24 individuals with ADHD who were treated with these medications. In addition, researchers further compared scans of the entire study cohort with 620 scans of 294 typically developing youths without ADHD.” The results were interesting. “There were some areas of the brain, including the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and motor strip, where there was a significant difference between the 2 study groups…the study showed that children who were on medication tended to have a trajectory of brain development that more closely resembled that of the typically developing comparison group….In contrast, subjects who were not on stimulants tended to differ more in cortical development compared with their typically developing teenage peers.” Overall, the researchers found that “…there were few differences between ADHD subjects taking stimulants and their untreated counterparts. In addition, there were no differences in clinical outcomes between the 2 groups.” The results of this study are important for those parents with young ADHD children who are hesitate to put their children on psychostimulants due to fear that these medications may harm their children’s brain development.
The
Bottom Line: The results of this study suggest
that psychostimulants do not harm brain development in children.
Resources:
Thirteen Great Books on ADHD
- Driven To Distraction : Recognizing and Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder from Childhood Through Adulthood by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (Paperback - Mar 2, 1995)
- Answers to Distraction by Edward M. Hallowell and John J. Ratey (Paperback - Mar 1, 1996)
- Odd One Out: The Maverick's Guide to Adult ADD by Jennifer Koretsky (Paperback - Sep 24, 2007)
- Survival Tips for Women with AD/HD: Beyond Piles, Palms, & Post-its by Terry Matlen (Paperback - Jan 1, 2005)
- ADD-Friendly Ways to Organize Your Life by Judith Kolberg and Kathleen Nadeau (Paperback - Aug 2002)
- Organizing Solutions for People With Attention Deficit Disorder: Tips and Tools to Help You Take Charge of Your Life and Get Organized by Susan C Pinsky (Paperback - Dec 1, 2006)
- Making ADD Work: On-the-Job Strategies for Coping with Attention Deficit Disorder by Blythe Grossberg (Paperback - Sep 6, 2005)
- Women with Attention Deficit Disorder: Embrace Your Differences and Transform Your Life by Sari Solden, Edward T. Hallowell, and John J. Ratey (Paperback - Nov 29, 2005)
- Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with ADHD by Lenard Adler and Mari Florence (Hardcover - May 4, 2006) - Bargain Price
- 10 Simple Solutions to Adult ADD: How to Overcome Chronic Distraction & Accomplish Your Goals (10 Simple Solutions) by Stephanie Sarkis (Paperback - Jan 2, 2006)
- You Mean I'm Not Lazy, Stupid or Crazy?!: The Classic Self-Help Book for Adults with Attention Deficit Disorder by Kate Kelly, Peggy Ramundo, and Edward M., M.D. Hallowell (Paperback - April 25, 2006)
- Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults, 4th Edition: A Different Way of Thinking by Lynn Weiss (Paperback - Nov 25, 2005)
- The Disorganized Mind: Coaching Your ADHD Brain to Take Control of Your Time, Tasks, and Talents by Nancy A. Ratey (Hardcover - April 1, 2008)
Resource and Support Groups for ADHD
- Attention Deficit Disorder Association
- The Center
- Adders.org
- Daily Strength
- ADHD news.com
- Additude
- About.com ADD ADHD
- WebMD
- The Real Beauty of ADHD Support Groups
- Wegohealth
Additional Resources:
Great Informational Websites Created by Dr. Speller and Dr. Korkosz:
Additional Resources:
- For related articles on ADHD on the Web, click on: “Sphere: Related Content” located at the bottom of this blog post.
- For related books or blog posts with related content in Dr. Jeff’s and Dr. Tanya’s Blog, go to “Psychiatric Disorders: ADHD: General” or type in the keyword “ADHD and Children” into “Google Search” located in the sidebar.
- For more books with related content, click any hyperlinked keyword in the blog or type in the keyword, “ADHD and Children” into “Amazon Search” on the Amazon banner located in the side bar.
How to Understand the Treatment of ADHD in Children. Watch this top rated video from Yourtube:
Sources: Orginal article, See also blogposts in: Psychiatric Disorders: ADHD: General and Children, Youtube
Dr. Tanya Korkosz
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