http://www.chicagotribune.com /news/opinion/letters/chi-0212120105dec12,1,1757926.story ?coll=chi%2Dnewsopinionvoice%2Dhed Ritalin is effective and safe treatment for ADHD Rafael Muniz, MD, Associate medical director, Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corp Published December 12, 2002 East Hanover, N.J. -- I'm concerned about the Chicago Tribune's decision to reprint a HealthScout News Service report on a study in the Journal of Neuroscience. The news brief, "Drugs and young brains" (Q, Nov. 10), included information that could potentially mislead and misinform patients, parents and the general public about medical treatments for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Specifically the article stated that ADHD treatments such as Ritalin may "upset brain chemistry" during adolescence. It is important to point out that the study in question, which investigated the effects of cocaine and amphetamine on the brains of adolescent mice, did not include Ritalin. Contrary to what the article implies, Ritalin is not an amphetamine. Therefore, it is misleading to make conclusions about Ritalin, which has been used safely and effectively in the treatment of ADHD for more than 45 years. Moreover, neither the researchers nor the article mention other published peer-reviewed human studies demonstrating that stimulant treatment for ADHD actually reduces the risk for substance abuse among ADHD patients, who are at an increased risk for this behavior when left untreated. One such study, conducted by researchers at Harvard, was published in the August 1999 issue of Pediatrics and found a significant decrease in substance abuse among adolescent and adult ADHD patients who were treated with stimulants. Copyright © 2002, Chicago Tribune -----------------------------------------------------------------------------
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