The American Journal of Psychiatry recently published a study indicating a possible connection to the use of stimulants such as Ritalin to the occurrence of sudden death in children. The study looked at two groups of children: one group who died suddenly versus one group who died randomly in a car accident. Of the group that died randomly, 10 were on a stimulant for ADHD compared to only 2 in the group that died in car accidents.
The Food and Drug Administration stated that due to the limitations of the study, children should not discontinue the use of stimulants used to treat ADHD at this time. Unfortunately so few children in the study were on stimulants that the study cannot prove a strong enough correlation to cause the FDA to warn against using these drugs.
Two more studies are currently underway,one due to be published in the fall of 2009 that looks at the connection between these stimulant drugs and stroke and death in children. The second study looks at the same connection in adults and is due to be completed in 2010.
In the meantime, parents with children who have ADHD need to find ways to help their children overcome their disability with or without the medication. There are alternatives to stimulant medication that is so popular. Total Focus is one such program that has been proven to be quite helpful in the treatment of the symptoms of ADHD.
For more info: Read more about this ADHD Stimulant study.
