Contrary to an earlier study, new research funded by the US National Institutes of Health shows that the stimulant drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) don't cause chromosome changes in children. ADHD shares many symptoms with autism, and the same drugs are sometimes used in autism.
The earlier study, which looked at blood cells (lymphocytes) from 12 children taking methylphenidate, reported DNA damage and chromosome abnormalities that could raise the risk of cancer. It was published in the December 2005 issue of the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Although its results couldn't be repeated, it raised much public concern. So researchers recruited 63 children aged 6 to 12 with ADHD who had never taken these drugs. 34 were treated with methylphenidate (Ritalin LA or Concerta) and 29 with mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall or Adderall XR); after 3 months, 25 and 22 children respectively had completed the study.
There was no significant treatment-related chromosome damage in any of the 47 children's blood cells after 90 days of treatment. This suggests no obvious harm, but larger and longer studies are needed. The study was published in the same journal in 2008.
Like
Love
Angry
Dislike
