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Science 4 August 2000:
Vol. 289. no. 5480, p. 721
DOI: 10.1126/science.289.5480.721
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News Focus

EPIDEMIOLOGY:
Duke Study Faults Overuse of Stimulants for Children

Eliot Marshall

Some experts are growing concerned that Ritalin, a stimulant of the central nervous system used to calm a type of fidgety behavior called "attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder" (ADHD), is overused. Most psychiatrists think, however, that stimulants are being underprescribed, because too many cases of ADHD are going untreated. Now, an authoritative study published in this month's Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry shows that Ritalin is being given to many children who don't fit the diagnosis of ADHD, while others who do are not receiving the drug.

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THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES:
Methylphenidate Administration to Juvenile Rats Alters Brain Areas Involved in Cognition, Motivated Behaviors, Appetite, and Stress.
J. D. Gray, M. Punsoni, N. E. Tabori, J. T. Melton, V. Fanslow, M. J. Ward, B. Zupan, D. Menzer, J. Rice, C. T. Drake, et al. (2007)
J. Neurosci. 27, 7196-7207
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »
Who First Suggests the Diagnosis of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder?.
L. Sax and K. J. Kautz (2003)
Ann. Fam. Med 1, 171-174
   Abstract »    Full Text »    PDF »


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Science. ISSN 0036-8075 (print), 1095-9203 (online)