STUDY: RITALIN, TEEN DRUG USE NOT LINKED

CHICAGO -- Hyperactive boys who were treated with stimulants such as
Ritalin were one-third, as likely to abuse alcohol and other drugs as
teenagers than similar boys who had not been treated.

Authors of a study involving 212 boys - including 75 with
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD - said the findings
should help allay concerns that giving children potentially addictive
drugs such as Ritalin may promote harmful habits later.

An estimated 3 million schoolage children have ADHD. Up to half may be
taking Ritalin or other stimulants, researchers say.

"There has been a mythology that the use of these medications could
'prime' children to become addicts in the future or could develop 'a
culture of drug taking,' " said Joseph Biederman of Massachusetts
General Hospital, lead author of the study.

"We believe that children with ADHD who are medically treated will
have fewer problems resulting from their disorder and more successful
lives," Biederman said.

The study has been published on the Internet extension of the journal
published by the American Academy of Pediatrics.

Ritalin acts on dopamine, a brain chemical that helps regulate
thinking. Ritalin is believed to calm hyperactivity by helping
children's brains disregard distracting stimuli, such as classroom
noise, so they can focus on learning.

The authors studied 56 ADHD patients on medication, 19 ADHD patients
not on medication and 137 patients without the disorder.

At the study's end, 75 percent of the nonmedicated ADHD subjects had
substance abuse disorders, compared with 25 percent of the medicated
subjects. Abused substances included alcohol, marijuana, hallucinogens
and cocaine. Eighteen percent of the non- ADHD subjects were substance
abusers.

Psychologist Nadine Lambert of the University of California at
Berkeley said the study was too small to show significant differences
in rates of drug abuse. Her own research involving more than 200 ADHD
subjects tracked for more than 20 years shows that those who took
stimulant medication were more likely to be cocaine and tobacco
abusers as adults, she said.