Concerns about ADHD Drugs

08/31/2009

A good leader inspires people to have confidence in the leader. A great leader inspires people to have confidence in themselves.
Eleanor Roosevelt

Scientific American Mind (July 2009) recently raised several concerns about the rapidly expanding prescribing of drugs to treat ADHD in an article, "Do ADHD Drugs Take a Toll on the Brain?".

First, they raised the concern that the drugs are being prescribed without justification: "Over the past 15 years...doctors have been pinning the ADHD label on — and prescribing stimulants for — a rapidly rising number of patients, including those with moderate to mild inattention, some of whom...have a normal ability to focus. This trend may be fueled in part by a relaxation of official diagnostic criteria for the disorder, combined with a lower tolerance in society for mild behavioral or cognitive problems."

Second, they observed that ADHD drugs may pose hidden risks: "A smattering of recent studies, most of them involving animals, hint that stimulants could alter the structure and function of he brain in ways that may depress mood, boost anxiety and, in sharp contrast to their short-term effects, lead to cognitive deficits."

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