Methylphenidate-induced mania in a prepubertal child.

A case of methylphenidate-induced mania is described in a 10-year-old boy with severe hyperactivity and a positive family history for bipolar illness. Similarities between symptoms manifested in this patient and developmental disturbances observed in young offspring of affectively ill parents are discussed. Although the predictive relationship between early childhood psychopathology and later emergence of manic-depressive illness remains unknown, caution is suggested when using psychostimulant medications in children with familial affective disorders.