Legal drugging of healthy children is outrageous

My husband and I were outraged when we read an Associated Press story in the Sept. 11 Register saying that dangerous, highly addictive stimulant drugs, such as Ritalin, have been OK'd by the Food and Drug Administration's Pediatric Committee and will be given to physically normal, healthy children as part of a brain study meant to lead to a definitive diagnosis for ADHD. In the study, led by Dr. Judith Rapoport, "MRIs would be used to reveal if the brains of children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder respond to stimulants in fundamentally different ways than children who are physically normal," a question pursued by Rapoport for the past 30 years.

The FDA Pediatric Committee agreed that the "scientific advancement outweighs the risk" for children used as lab rats in these clinical trials.

"Researchers were rebuked by Vera Sharav, president of the New York-based Alliance for Human Research Protection who said, 'Why are we even considering using children as human guinea pigs?'" the article reported. The message to poor children, lured by the $570 offered participants, would be "to earn money, sign up for drug tests."

Daniel Pine, child psychiatrist and co-investigator on the project, said, "The study, funded by the National Institutes of Health, could lead to tests that would diagnose the disorder more precisely."

Why is this outrageous? Because for all of the scientific advancements, countless clinical trials and studies conducted over the past 100 years, there is still no definitive evidence or test that confirms the existence of ADHD.

A collection of behaviorial symptoms was first called "Morbid Defect of Moral Control" in 1902, then "Minimal Brain Dysfunction" in 1960, and is now called ADHD. It was first recognized as an official disorder by the National Institute of Mental Health in 1980.

1. Yes, there IS a big ethics problem with this study if children without any signs of ADHD will be given Ritalin.

2. Yes, there are children who have serious problems concentrating on and completing tasks, who exhibit the symptoms associated with what is called ADHD, and are helped by Ritalin. When I was a teacher, I witnessed the dramatic difference it made for one student - and this was 30 years ago.

3. Yes, there is a huge problem nowadays with ADHD being an all-too-easy "diagnosis" being made by school personnel, leading to Ritalin being prescribed for children (boys in particular) who are just very fidgety.

In fact, I know of one high school student who persuaded his mother that he had ADHD, just so he could get away with bad behavior. His father was furious, but the kid and mother found a psychologist and doctor willing to go along.

4. Ritalin has become a serious drug problem in schools - kids sell their doses to "normal" kids.

5. Researchers' studies are sloppy. Here are excerpts from one - notice whose name appears. Details at http://www.personalmd.com/news/a1996071803.shtml :

"In the study of 57 boys aged 5-18 years who have been diagnosed with ADHD, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans found that the entire right half of their brains were, on average, 5.2% smaller than those of boys without the disorder. In most people, the right cerebral hemisphere is larger than the left. Hence, the ADHD children, as a group, had abnormally symmetrical brains."

"Senior author Dr. Judith Rapoport, also of the NIMH, says these "subtle differences" hold promise as "telltale markers" for future studies of ADHD, but she points out that MRI scans cannot be used to definitively diagnose ADHD in any given individual."

"Still, the authors caution about limitations of their study. They point out that because almost all the boys (93%) with ADHD had been treated with stimulant drugs, the standard therapy today, "we cannot be certain that our results are not drug related." They say another study with ADHD youngsters without histories of stimulant treatment is underway."

"Meanwhile, the treatment of ADHD is now under consideration by a congressional oversight committee chaired by Rep. Christopher Shays of Connecticut."

"His committee, which convened for the first time on July 16, will look at the extent to which ADHD and the related disorder ADD (attention deficit disorder) may be over- or under-diagnosed."

"There is... continuing concern over the appropriate role of stimulant drugs in the treatment of school-aged children," Shays says. "We want to hear from medical experts, parents, and educators on these issues."

"The most commonly used treatment for children who are diagnosed as hyperactive or impulsive is methylphenidate, or Ritalin. This prescription drug is in such demand that its production has increased 500% during the past five years, according to the Drug Enforcement Administration."

I fought the notion that my son was ADD for so long. I modified his diet to remove refined sugars, msg, etc. (which helped somewhat btw). We would spend 3+ hours a night doing 30 minutes of homework. He spilled every drink he was given. ....and I mean that literally. Every drink. But I didn't want to put him on such powerful drugs for a problem that I did not believe was real.

One night I was determined to keep him on task and get his homework done without any 'drifting off'. I sat right next to him and made him stay on task. After about 30 minutes he had his head in his hands crying because his head hurt and I had witnessed someone who was not able to focus and stay on task. I knew that he needed some help. I told our doctor how I felt about Ritalin and ADD, but made sure that I related all the details of the signs I had seen in my son.

We started my son on a low dosage, and the results I saw were almost immediate, and certainly significant. My son entered 6th grade reading at a low 3rd grade level, but between the Ritalin and tutoring at Sylvan Learning Centers, he is, almost 2 years later, out of the remedial classes, and reading at grade level.

He's still an ADD child, and as such is more work than other kids. But he feels normal now. Not stupid. Not an outsider. And not out of control.

Do I think ADD is overdiagnosed? Yep. Do I think the study referenced above is outrageous? Yep.

But ADD is real. And Ritalin can help those kids who are legitimately affected.

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