This from the American College of Cardiology as reported on MedPage Today regarding testing children pre-stimulant medication for risk of sudden death:
http://www.medpagetoday.com/MeetingCoverage/ACCMeeting/13540
My comment: Quite a turn of events, given that it follows this article just a few weeks earlier…
ADHD Drugs: Sudden Death Risk Higher?
Study Suggests Link Between Some ADHD Drugs and Sudden Cardiac Death in Children
June 15, 2009 — A new study suggests that children and teens who take stimulants like Ritalin for ADHD have an increased risk for sudden cardiac death, but the FDA says the study has major limitations and should not change the way the drugs are used.
There have long been concerns that the stimulants used to treat ADHD may increase the risk for sudden death in children with undiagnosed heart conditions.
The new research finds corroborating evidence for concern, although all agree that the risk of sudden cardiac death is very small.
http://www.webmd.com/add-adhd/news/20090615/adhd-drugs-sudden-death-risk-higher
It seems that someone decided it was worth the cost – especially to the parents of those 1.9% of kids at risk. Thank someone for the injection of sanity.
Another impression comes from noted anti-medication Psychiatrist Dr. Peter Breggin here:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/dr-peter-breggin/stimulants-for-adhd-shown_b_216912.html
Dr. Breggin has some interesting things to say. I would highly recommend you check out this article.
For the record, I am not against medication. I am certainly against the unwarranted use of medication. And I’m only for medication when all other reasonable measures have been tried. Unfortunately, a “quick fix” mentality is pervasive in our society. Parents DON’T want to get those notes from the teachers and principals, so they cave in and go for the medication. Of course, no one tells them that, according to the longitudinal Finnish study that eight years down the road there is no difference between the medicated and non-medicated group.
Researchers also found surprising results regarding the effectiveness of medicine in treating ADHD. In contrast to children in United States, youth in northern Finland are rarely treated with medicine for ADHD, yet the ‘look’ of the disorder — its prevalence, symptoms, psychiatric comorbidity and cognition — is relatively the same as in the U.S., where stimulant medication is widely used. The researchers point out that this raises important issues about the efficacy of the current treatments of ADHD in dealing with the disorder’s long-term problems.
“We know medication is very effective in the short-term,” said Smalley, who authored or co-authored each of the papers. “But the study raises important questions concerning the long-term efficacy of ADHD treatment. Here we have two different cultures and two different approaches to treatment, yet at the time of adolescence, there are few differences in the presentation and problems associated with ADHD.”
But, none of that seems to stop the rapid-fire dispensing of psychotropics, as reported by the
2009 Medco Drug Trend Report(see pg 42), where 1/3rd of the medication used by our children are psychotropics. Is this trend making us a happier, more fulfilled population? What do YOU think?