ADHD Treatment Efficacy - Questions Concerning The Use Of ADHD Stimulant Medications Arise
The topic of ADHD treatment efficacy is one that sparks a great deal of dissension amongst experts.
It seems on one side of the debate you have prescription stimulant manufacturers and medical doctors and the other side of the debate natural health advocates along with a great many psychiatrists.
The conventional wisdom is that ADHD treatment efficacy, when it comes to stimulant medications such as Ritalin and Adderall, is in the 70 percentile range in the very short-term.
While an impressive number included are those who only have shown marginal improvement.
Side Note: It reminds me of the argument drug companies make for the hair re-growth product minoxidil where they claim hair re-growth is seen 80 percent of the time.
The only problem is only 15 percent of the hair growth actually resembles hair, the other 85 percent looks more like peach fuzz.
As you may know stimulant medications work by causing more dopamine or norepinephrine (or both) to be released into the synapses, and by causing more dopamine and norepinephrine to be retained in the synapses for a longer period of time.
So in other words stimulant medications for treating ADHD symptoms are attempting to alter brain chemistry.
While this approach is widely accepted by doctors one study put forth by the National Institute of Mental Health this year may cause the objective observer to take pause when determining ADHD treatment efficacy.
In a nutshell the study found that in many cases ADHD symptoms were caused by underdevelopment in the areas of the brain controlling self-regulation.
In fact, the average in developmental lag was 3 years when comparing those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to those children without the condition.
Another interesting study published last month was one of the few that actually looked at long-term ADHD treatment efficacy.
The types of studies are far and few between with most studies being conducted over a one year period or less.
What this study looked at was the differences in populations where prescription medications are rarely prescribed to treat ADHD and those where ADHD stimulant medications are widely prescribed.
One finding was that the number of cases, along with the prevalence of symptoms, was roughly the same.
There was also another blow levied regarding the effectiveness of stimulant medication in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when youth in northern Finland, which are rarely treated with ADHD stimulant medications, were compared to children in the United States which are regularly treated with these types of drugs.
The researchers found that ADHD prevalence, symptoms, cognition, and psychiatric co-morbidity to be almost the same.
The researchers involved with this study were quick to point out that this raises important issues about ADHD treatment efficacy (stimulant meds) when observed from a longer-term perspective.
What the above research seems to be telling us is that while stimulant medications may work relatively well for some in the short-term the picture becomes less clear as one moves farther out on the curve.
Perhaps not exactly the news many of the large drug companies want to hear.
What next? For those struggling with ADHD finding an effective treatment option is an important first step.
The risk of side effects, the lack of success (30% of the time), along with the new research noted above should be enough to prompt many to look for safer, more effective, treatment options.
A couple examples of these are behavior modification therapy and/or homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathic remedies for ADHD are a side effect free way to address such problematic symptoms as inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, erratic behavior and hyperactivity and can be used both as a standalone treatment or as a compliment to other non-prescription alternatives.
They also have been shown to produce long-term lasting benefits about half of the time according to one small British Study.
It seems on one side of the debate you have prescription stimulant manufacturers and medical doctors and the other side of the debate natural health advocates along with a great many psychiatrists.
The conventional wisdom is that ADHD treatment efficacy, when it comes to stimulant medications such as Ritalin and Adderall, is in the 70 percentile range in the very short-term.
While an impressive number included are those who only have shown marginal improvement.
Side Note: It reminds me of the argument drug companies make for the hair re-growth product minoxidil where they claim hair re-growth is seen 80 percent of the time.
The only problem is only 15 percent of the hair growth actually resembles hair, the other 85 percent looks more like peach fuzz.
As you may know stimulant medications work by causing more dopamine or norepinephrine (or both) to be released into the synapses, and by causing more dopamine and norepinephrine to be retained in the synapses for a longer period of time.
So in other words stimulant medications for treating ADHD symptoms are attempting to alter brain chemistry.
While this approach is widely accepted by doctors one study put forth by the National Institute of Mental Health this year may cause the objective observer to take pause when determining ADHD treatment efficacy.
In a nutshell the study found that in many cases ADHD symptoms were caused by underdevelopment in the areas of the brain controlling self-regulation.
In fact, the average in developmental lag was 3 years when comparing those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder to those children without the condition.
Another interesting study published last month was one of the few that actually looked at long-term ADHD treatment efficacy.
The types of studies are far and few between with most studies being conducted over a one year period or less.
What this study looked at was the differences in populations where prescription medications are rarely prescribed to treat ADHD and those where ADHD stimulant medications are widely prescribed.
One finding was that the number of cases, along with the prevalence of symptoms, was roughly the same.
There was also another blow levied regarding the effectiveness of stimulant medication in treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder when youth in northern Finland, which are rarely treated with ADHD stimulant medications, were compared to children in the United States which are regularly treated with these types of drugs.
The researchers found that ADHD prevalence, symptoms, cognition, and psychiatric co-morbidity to be almost the same.
The researchers involved with this study were quick to point out that this raises important issues about ADHD treatment efficacy (stimulant meds) when observed from a longer-term perspective.
What the above research seems to be telling us is that while stimulant medications may work relatively well for some in the short-term the picture becomes less clear as one moves farther out on the curve.
Perhaps not exactly the news many of the large drug companies want to hear.
What next? For those struggling with ADHD finding an effective treatment option is an important first step.
The risk of side effects, the lack of success (30% of the time), along with the new research noted above should be enough to prompt many to look for safer, more effective, treatment options.
A couple examples of these are behavior modification therapy and/or homeopathic remedies.
Homeopathic remedies for ADHD are a side effect free way to address such problematic symptoms as inattention, distractibility, impulsivity, erratic behavior and hyperactivity and can be used both as a standalone treatment or as a compliment to other non-prescription alternatives.
They also have been shown to produce long-term lasting benefits about half of the time according to one small British Study.
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