OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between age and short-term clinical response to psychostimulant treatment in youths with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to examine whether weight-corrected doses of optimized psychostimulant therapy varied as a function of patient age. METHOD:One hundred seventy-seven patients were treated with eithermethylphenidate (MPH) or Adderall (ADL). Sixty-six youths received ADL and 111 patients were treated withMPH. All youths were evaluated at baseline and after receiving a week of treatment at each blinded, randomized dose level (placebo, 5, 10, or 15 mg). A "best dose" for each patient was assigned before the medication blind was broken. Behavioral ratings by both teachers and parents were examined for dose and medication effects. RESULTS: The medications had similar efficacy in children and teenagers. Older youths, however, benefited from a smaller weight-adjusted dose of medication than did the younger children. Similar efficacy was observed between the medications. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that psychostimulants are equally effective in treating children and adolescents with ADHD. Adolescents with ADHD may not necessarily require more medication than younger children to achieve a similar therapeutic response.
RCT Entities:
OBJECTIVES: To examine the relationship between age and short-term clinical response to psychostimulant treatment in youths with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and to examine whether weight-corrected doses of optimized psychostimulant therapy varied as a function of patient age. METHOD: One hundred seventy-seven patients were treated with either methylphenidate (MPH) or Adderall (ADL). Sixty-six youths received ADL and 111 patients were treated with MPH. All youths were evaluated at baseline and after receiving a week of treatment at each blinded, randomized dose level (placebo, 5, 10, or 15 mg). A "best dose" for each patient was assigned before the medication blind was broken. Behavioral ratings by both teachers and parents were examined for dose and medication effects. RESULTS: The medications had similar efficacy in children and teenagers. Older youths, however, benefited from a smaller weight-adjusted dose of medication than did the younger children. Similar efficacy was observed between the medications. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that psychostimulants are equally effective in treating children and adolescents with ADHD. Adolescents with ADHD may not necessarily require more medication than younger children to achieve a similar therapeutic response.
Authors: Guilherme Polanczyk; Stephen V Faraone; Claiton H D Bau; Marcelo M Victor; Katja Becker; Reta Pelz; Jan K Buitelaar; Barbara Franke; Sandra Kooij; Emma van der Meulen; Keun-Ah Cheon; Eric Mick; Diane Purper-Ouakil; Philip Gorwood; Mark A Stein; Edwin H Cook; Luis Augusto Rohde Journal: Am J Med Genet B Neuropsychiatr Genet Date: 2008-12-05 Impact factor: 3.568
Authors: Ole Jakob Storebø; Erica Ramstad; Helle B Krogh; Trine Danvad Nilausen; Maria Skoog; Mathilde Holmskov; Susanne Rosendal; Camilla Groth; Frederik L Magnusson; Carlos R Moreira-Maia; Donna Gillies; Kirsten Buch Rasmussen; Dorothy Gauci; Morris Zwi; Richard Kirubakaran; Bente Forsbøl; Erik Simonsen; Christian Gluud Journal: Cochrane Database Syst Rev Date: 2015-11-25