Scroll Up
Scroll Down
Play Play Play Play
Unregistered User
Click here if this is not your Personal Edition
 
Contact Us | Free E-Mail Updates | Journals | Register a colleague
 
 
Psychiatry Other
 
   
 
SEARCH   
Doctor's Guide Free CME
Medline
Congress Resource Centre
 

 EXPLORE :
   Most Read News
 All News  All News
 All Webcasts / CME  All Webcasts / CME
 All Cases  All Cases
 Congress Resource Centre  Congress Resource Centre
 All Medical Resources  All Medical Resources
 Medical  My Personal Edition



Warning | Privacy

 

 
 Recent news - Psychiatry Other
    Asenapine, Olanzapine Effective in Patients With Bipolar 1 Disorder: Presented at WCBP - (DGDispatch)
    FDA: Boxed Warning Required for Varenicline, Buproprion Due to Risk of Suicidal Behaviour - (DGNews)
    Quetiapine Monotherapy Shows Potential in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder: Presented at WCBP - (DGDispatch)
    Olanzapine Effective for Bipolar Disorder in Naturalistic Setting: Presented at WCBP - (DGDispatch)
    Study Suggests Irritability Should Be Considered When Diagnosing Bipolar Disorder in Children - (DGNews)

    News archive

     Recent webcasts/CME - Psychiatry Other
      A Guide to Advances in Pain Management: A Synopsis of Roundtable Discussions
      Recognizing and Managing Psychotic and Mood Disorders in Primary Care
      Challenges of the Comorbid Patient: Evaluating Common Comorbidities in Adults and Children/Adolescents and Treatment Considerations
      Mixed States: Practical Application of Evidence, Guidelines, and Clinical Judgment
      Hypomania: The Clinical Reality of Diagnosing Adult and Child/Adolescent Patients

      Webcasts/CME archive

       Recent cases - Psychiatry Other
        Female Sexual Dysfunction as a Comorbid Illness
        11p Microdeletion Including WT1 but not PAX6, Presenting with Cataract, Mental Retardation, Genital Abnormalities and Seizures: Case Report
        Comorbidity of Asperger's Syndrome and Bipolar Disorder
        Psychiatric Disorder Associated with Vacuum-Assisted Breast Biopsy Clip Placement: A Case Report
        Treating Bipolar Disorder in Patients with Renal Failure Having Haemodialysis: Two Case Reports

        Cases archive
          




        my personal edition > psychiatry other > news
        divider

          E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague

        DGDispatch


        Atomoxetine Unlikely to Have Long-Term Impact on Growth in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: Presented at AACAP

        By Paula Moyer

        WASHINGTON, DC -- October 25, 2004 -- Treatment with atomoxetine (Strattera) is unlikely to adversely affect growth in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to findings presented here October 22nd at the 51st annual meeting of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.

        "We've been hearing a lot about the long-term effects of treatments for ADHD and whether the medications change the trajectory of a child's height and weight," said principal investigator Christopher J, Kratochvil, MD. "In this study we found no significant difference in a child's place on the height and weight curve before starting treatment and where they were several years later. After an initial weight loss, they catch up." Dr. Kratochvil is an associate professor of psychiatry at the Psychopharmacology Research Center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

        In order to find out if atomoxetine had any effect on treated children's growth patterns, the researchers conducted a meta-analysis consisting of 203 patients with ADHD who had initially enrolled in placebo-controlled clinical trials of atomoxetine who went on to participate in long-term open-label extension studies. Therefore, the patients had been receiving atomoxetine for at least 3 years.

        The patients were 6 to 16 years of age at the start of the treatment period and received up to 1.8 mg/kg of atomoxetine daily. The investigators analyzed the patients' weight and height measurements as actual values, percentiles, and z-scores. They calculated the patients' expected weight and height at endpoint by extrapolating from the patients' baseline percentiles. The percentiles were obtained from growth charts developed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

        After 3 years of treatment, the children's height increased an average of 19.4 cm, which reflected a decrease of 1.4 percentiles relative to their baseline percentiles. The actual height gain at the three-year mark was 0.40 cm less than predicted by the growth charts. This difference was not statistically significant, Dr. Kratochvil said.

        Similarly, the children's weight increased an average of 17.9 kg, which reflected an increase of 0.19 percentiles relative to the baseline percentile. The actual weight gain at the three-year mark was 0.52 kg more than predicted by the growth charts. (P = .896). Again, this difference between actual and predicted weight gain was not statistically significant, Dr. Kratochvil explained.

        Interestingly, for both height and weight, the smallest children had a slight increase in their endpoint percentile, while patients in the highest quartile had a decrease in both measures. For both extremes, atomoxetine was associated with a slight normalisation of height and weight, but only slightly so, he said.

        "It is important for clinicians to assess growth periodically during treatment," Dr. Kratochvil said. "For those patients who appear to be growing more slowly than expected, consider whether atomoxetine is a factor."


        [Presentation title: Long-term effects of atomoxetine on growth in children with ADHD. Abstract: C3]



        E-Mail this DGDispatch to a colleague   To print, use this version






        All contents Copyright (c) 1995-2009 Doctor's Guide Publishing Limited. All rights reserved.



        The NTK initiative. Physicians helping physicians identify Need-To-Know science
           Feedback
        Please rate this article: Strongly DISAGREE...Strongly AGREE NTK logo
        Question 1 - Physicians need to become aware of this information as soon as possible. Question 2 - This information is likely to have an impact on the way physicians practice medicine.
        1
        2
        3
        4
        5
        6
        7
        Send