A Review of Stimulant Drug Research With Hyperactive Children

Abstract

SUMMARY A number of studies using stimulant drugs with hyperactive children are reviewed. Results indicated that most children are judged as improved on the drugs while a small percentage are not. Although most side effects are transitory, suppressed weight and height gain may remain problematic throughout treatment. The drugs appear to energize the central nervous system of these children while increasing their ability to concentrate without responding impulsively. Changes in other abilities are occasionally observed but appear to result from improvement in attentional processes. In contrast, follow‐up studies find the long‐term psycho‐social adjustment of these children to be essentially unaffected by stimulant drug treatment.

Does methylphenidate improve academic performance? A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…In the past, there have been several reviews of the effects of stimulant medication on academic performance [10][11][12][13][14][15][16]. These reviews report little evidence for positive effects [10,11,16,17].…”

“…These reviews report little evidence for positive effects [10,11,16,17]. However, the first meta-analysis [13], demonstrated 9.7-14.4% (p < .001) improvements with stimulant medication compared to placebo in seatwork productivity (number of assignments completed) and on-task behavior (amount of time actively spend on seatwork).…”

“…The existing reviews [10][11][12][13][14][15][16] and meta-analysis by Prasad et al [13] have a number of limitations. First, because the negative association between ADHD symptoms and both reading and math is stronger than the association between ADHD symptoms and spelling [5] and there is evidence from recent medication trials that medication efficacy differs between academic subjects [18,19], it is important to Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (http s://doi.org/10.1007 /s007 87-018-1106 -3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.…”

Atomoxetine Increases Extracellular Levels of Norepinephrine and Dopamine in Prefrontal Cortex of Rat A Potential Mechanism for Efficacy in Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

“…Dopamine plays a key role in attentional, psychomotor, reinforcing and rewarding behaviors that are deficient in ADHD. Amphetamine and methylphenidate, which have been widely used to treat ADHD, block DA and norepinephrine (NE) transporters and thereby enhance catecholamine neurotransmission (Barkley 1977;Spencer et al 1995;Gatley et al 1996).…”

“…However, about 10-30% are non-responders or are intolerant to psychostimulant therapy (Barkley 1977;Elia et al 1991;Greenhill 1995). Adverse reactions associated with stimulant use include insomnia, tics, anorexia, anxiety, and dysphoric mood (Gittelman 1980;Greenhill 1995).…”