ADHD meds do not induce cell damage
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - 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.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Related Posts:
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research suggests that airline pilots with long-term flying experience may be exposed to higher than average levels of radiation, resulting in more chromosomal translocations than usually seen. Further studies with longer follow-up and more subjects, however, will be needed to determine if these pilots are at increased risk for cancer,
Full Post: Chromosomal changes seen in long-term airline pilots
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The practice of transcendental meditation may help children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder manage their symptoms, research suggests. In a pilot study, researchers found that lessons in transcendental meditation, or TM, appeared to calm the anxiety of children with ADHD, and improve their behavior and ability to think and concentrate. TM is considered
Full Post: Meditation seen promising as ADHD therapy
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - In children with arthritis, the time from diagnosis to the start of treatment with methotrexate appears to be an important predictor of their response to the drug at 6 months, Dutch investigators report. “Our results suggest that earlier initiation of methotrexate treatment will lead to an increased response,” Dr. R. ten
Full Post: Kids with arthritis benefit from early treatment
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A certain gene abnormality raises the chance of relapse for children with the most common form of childhood cancer, a discovery that could change the way doctors treat them, U.S. researchers said on Wednesday. Children with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, or ALL, who have abnormalities in a gene called IKZF1 are three
Full Post: Study unlocks mystery of child leukemia relapse
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - New research indicates that most children who are 5-year survivors of liver transplantation have good graft function; however, chronic medical conditions and complications affecting other organs are common in this patient population. “The success of liver transplantation in children is defined by more than just excellent survival rates. Better understanding of
Full Post: Children do well 5 years after liver transplant