DexyDrain wrote: » Stimulant medications prevent the neurotransmitters from being withdrawn too quickly, which is why they are so enormously successful in treating the disorder.
DexyDrain wrote: » As for ADHD, this is one of the most studied disorders of the brain and the scientific evidence for it's biological basis is not seriously in dispute among scientifically literate people.
Wibbs wrote: » Autism is being mentioned, but unless I've read him wrong the OP didn't mention autism? A very serious condition indeed. Although on the same spectrum as autism, asbergers, particularly mild asbergers is likely to be a whole lot less crippling for the sufferer. Plus with asbergers it might be environmental, whereas autism seems to be an organic problem in the brain or manifesting there anyway.
Naikon wrote: » Bullsh4t. Point to some credible research. Pharma published studies do not count.
NIMAN wrote: » Is there a direct correlation between the rise of these disorders and the end of kids being slapped by parents/teachers?
DexyDrain wrote: » Sorry, fixed the link and provided and alternative.
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common neuropsychiatric syndrome with onset in childhood, most commonly becoming apparent (and thus coming to medical attention) during the first few years of grade school.
In addition, some critics have complained that overemphasis on psychopharmacological treatment has led to neglect of other treatment modalities or served as a distraction from family problems or school shortcomings. It should be stressed that these issues have been raised polemically or theoretically, rather than on the basis of particular scientific findings.
To make this diagnosis appropriately, the clinician must be familiar with normal development and behavior, gather information from several sources to evaluate the child's symptoms in different settings, and construct an appropriate differential diagnosis for the presenting complaints. This helps, for example, to distinguish children with ADHD from unaffected children whose parents or teachers are mislabeling normal behavior as pathological.
There have been more than 170 studies involving more than 6000 school-aged children using stimulant medication for ADHD. The response rate for any single stimulant drug in ADHD is approximately 70%, and up to 90% of children will respond to at least 1 stimulant without major adverse events if drug titration is done carefully. A "response" in this context means a statistically or clinically significant reduction in hyperactivity or increase in attention as rated by parents, teachers, and/or research raters. There have been only about a half-dozen studies in adolescents.49-50
By contrast, some 20 studies have refuted the efficacy of dietary manipulations (eg, the Feingold diet) in ADHD.62
There is evidence to suggest that stimulants in ADHD populations are simply being used more broadly, for longer periods, and without interruptions in recent years than was done previously. Overall, there has been a 2.5-fold increase in the prevalence of child and adolescent methylphenidate treatment from 1990 to 1995, so that some 2.8% of US youth between the ages of 5 and 18 years were taking this medication in mid 1995. A recent national study found no evidence of overdiagnosis of ADHD or overprescription of methylphenidate.
Another concern has been raised by the dramatic increase in methylphenidate (Ritalin) hydrochloride production and use in the United States in the past decade. This has raised questions about whether there has been a true increase in the prevalence of ADHD in this time period; a change in diagnostic criteria affecting practice; improved physician recognition of the disorder; a broadened spectrum of indications for use of stimulants; and an increase in stimulant abuse, diversion, and prescription for profit.
There are several important clinical reasons for the increased diagnosis and stimulant treatment of ADHD. These include increased public and physician awareness and acceptance of the condition; acceptance of a broader case definition as appropriate; greater knowledge of the illness course, justifying lengthier treatment (eg, of adolescents); fewer interruptions in treatment because of diminished concerns about growth retardation; and increased treatment of adults.
Author Affiliations From the Council on Scientific Affairs, American Medical Association, Chicago, Ill. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Members of the Council on Scientific Affairs at the time this report was written include the following: Mitchell S. Karlan, MD, Los Angeles, Calif (chair); Ronald M. Davis, MD, Detroit, Mich (chair-elect); Roy D. Altman, MD, Miami, Fla; Rebecca J. Bezman, MD, Chicago, Ill; Scott D. Deitchman, MD, MPH, Decatur, Ga; Myron Genel, MD, New Haven, Conn; John P. Howe III, MD, San Antonio, Tex; Nancy H. Nielsen, MD, PhD, Buffalo, NY; Joseph A. Riggs, MD, Haddon Field, NJ; Priscilla J. Slanetz, MD, MPH, Boston, Mass; Michael A. Williams, MD, Baltimore, Md; Donald C. Young, MD, Iowa City; Larry S. Goldman, MD (staff); Robert C. Rinaldi, PhD (secretary); Linda Bresolin, PhD (assistant secretary). This report was presented at the 1997 House of Delegates Annual Meeting as Report 5 of the Council on Scientific Affairs. The recommendations were adopted, and the remainder of the report was filed. This report is not intended to be construed or to serve as a standard of medical care. Standards of medical care are determined on the basis of all the facts and circumstances involved in an individual case and are subject to change as scientific knowledge and technology advance and patterns of practice evolve. This report reflects the scientific literature as of March 1997.
DexyDrain wrote: » Oh I just knew some wise folks would ask that without checking To publish stories that ADHD is a fictitious disorder or merely a conflict between today's Huckleberry Finns and their caregivers is tantamount to declaring the earth flat, the laws of gravity debatable, and the periodic table in chemistry a fraud. ADHD should be depicted in the media as realistically and accurately as it is depicted in science -- as a valid disorder having varied and substantial adverse impact on those who may suffer from it through no fault of their own or their parents and teachershttp://www.russellbarkley.org/images/Consensus 2002.pdf Or http://www.naceonline.com/article-consensus-statement-on-adhd.php The actual consensus statement is only a few pages long, easy to read, no big words. Please read carefully, or just read the last paragraph if you are stuck for time. The reason the PDF is so large is because it has 6 pages of signatories from phd's and md's across the globe and 16, yes 16 pages of scientific studies, articles and publications, most peer reviewed, that you can browse. Have fun with that. Sheesh.
Naikon wrote: » This is rubbish. It does not address the apparent etiology of ADHD in any shape or form. No number of interest signatures negates the basic fact that there is no real credible research backing up the ADHD label.http://www.critpsynet.freeuk.com/Acritiqueofconsensus.htm
DexyDrain wrote: » That is why they have 16 pages of references. That response was from 2002, the research has moved along at an even faster pace since. I will get you a sampler if you like.
Naikon wrote: » This is rubbish. It does not address the apparent etiology of ADHD in any shape or form. No number of interest signatures negates the basic fact that there is no real credible research backing up the ADHD label..
Naikon wrote: » The majority of those links are Psychiatry/Psychology endorsed. That fact alone raises some questions.
jive wrote: » My opinion is set in stone on this so I'm not going to bother discussing it further. It's not necessary to have more terms just to classify delinquents.
Irish Guitarist wrote: » Do people actually believe that when a child is diagnosed with one of these conditions that the parents say "great, now we have an excuse when she/he misbehaves"? Although my brother and his wife wouldn't change their son and daughter for anything now they certainly weren't celebrating when they were diagnosed with autism and Aspergers.
weedhead wrote: » Seems alot more acceptable as opposed to people blaming their crappy parenting.
conorhal wrote: » Autism and Aspergers are not ADHD though, a clinical diagnosis of those conditions is often quite clear cut (perhaps less so with Aspergers). There was a shocking report on the BBC or C4 recently that cited a 500% increase in ADHD prescriptions since 1991 in the UK and it exposed the regular prescription of ADHD medication to children far below the recommended age at which such drugs should be prescribed and at far higher doses, in some cases 5 timed the recommended dosage for a child. Perhaps it's down to overstretched child welfare services that are unable to devote the time to diagnosing the underlying causes for behavioral problems in favor of a 'quick fix' medication solution, or perhaps they just hand out these rather powerful mind altering medications like candy, either way, those statistics suggest quite clearly that we are either in the grip of a burgeoning epidemic, or that something is quite rotten in the psychiatric profession at the moment.
