To print: Select File and then Print from your browser's menu --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Title: DG DISPATCH - AACAP: Treat Depression First, Then AD/HD, Says Researcher URL: http://www.pslgroup.com/dg/13EE7A.htm Doctor's Guide October 27, 1999
By Lara Pullen Special to DG News CHICAGO, IL -- October 27, 1999 -- As more and more children and adolescents are being diagnosed with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), practitioners require new strategies for patients who do not respond to or cannot tolerate the stimulant medications that are typically prescribed. One approach toward the treatment of these patients, who may also be suffering from depression, is to remove the stimulant and treat the depression first. At the 46th annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Dr. Timothy E. Wilens, of Massachusetts General Hospital, in Boston, reviewed pharmacological strategies for treating AD/HD children who have not responded to first-line therapy. Four over-arching themes emerged from Dr. Wilen's presentation: - Treat mood disorders first and then treat AD/HD. While very few physicians take this approach, it has been effective with some of his patients, he said. - Increase the dose of the medication. With Ritalin (methylphenidate; MPH), patients are frequently under-dosed and he recommended increasing the dosage to get optimal response. - Switch stimulants if one is not working. While MPH is the most frequently prescribed stimulant, other effective stimulants include amphetamine compounds such as dextroamphetamine (Adderall; Dexedrine). - Combine drugs. The benefits of combination pharmacotherapy include treatment of co-morbidity, enhanced specificity and potential synergy of medications. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright © 1999 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of P\S\L content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of P\S\L. P\S\L shall not be liable for any errors, omissions or delays in this content or any other content on its sites, newsletters or other publications, nor for any decisions or actions taken in reliance on such content. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- This news story was printed from *Doctor's Guide to the Internet* located at http://www.docguide.com --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Return to News Story Page This site is maintained by webmaster@pslgroup.com Please contact us with any comments, problems or bugs. All contents Copyright (c) 1998 P\S\L Consulting Group Inc. All rights reserved.