ADHD Treatment Study

The most intensive study off Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to date is the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder study, also known as the MTA study. The study was 14 months long and included 579 school children aged 7 to 9 years. During the study the children were assigned four different treatments: medication management, intensive behavioral management, combined medication and behavioral management and standard community care.

The study was done by the National Institute of Mental Health and concluded that long-term combination of treatments (medications and behavioral management) and medication management alone, were the best and most effective treatments for ADHD. With the combined treatment of behavioral therapy and medication the children improved in parent-child relations, social skills, anxiety, and oppositionality.

It is thought that Ritalin, Adderall and Concerta were the most effective medications, all stimulants. Ritalin is the most popular medication for ADHD and does have common side effects such as insomnia, irritability, dry mouth, loss of appetite, headaches and stomach aches, among other side effects. Although these side effects are present, there has been no evidence that Ritalin causes dependence or drug abuse. Ritalin is the trade name for methylphenidate, a central nervous system stimulant .

However, the FDA reported that 19 children taking ADHD medications died of sudden causes between the years of 1999 and 2004. In addition, during those same years 26 children taking ADHD medications experienced cardiac arrests, strokes and heart palpitations. These cardiac events caused much concern for parents, although the American Heart Association released a statement that recommended an EKG (electrocardiogram) for children pre-medication, to detect certain heart conditions that increase the risk of cardiac events in children taking ADHD medications.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects somewhere between 4 and 12 percent of school-age children. ADHD is a brain disorder that has many symptoms ranging from disorganization, hyperactivity, difficulty concentrating and fidgeting, to acting impulsively, interrupting others and talking very fast. There are three different types: inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. All three have different symptoms and the most common form of ADHD is a combination of inattentive/hyperactivity/impulsive disorder, which includes symptoms from all three different types.





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