ADHD in Teens, Drug Use and Strattera
Thursday, November 13th, 2008
It’s a well-established fact in the medical community that treating ADD/ADHD in teens is more difficult when they’re also being treated for substance abuse.
That’s why the results of a recent study are encouraging. It shows that the prescription drug, Strattera®, is particularly effective in helping those teens who not only have ADD/ADHD but who are also being treated for some type of drug problem.
About 40 percent of the teenagers who are being treated for drug abuse also have some degree of ADD/ADHD, according to Dr. Christian Thurstone, of the Denver Health and Hospital Authority, University of Colorado.
Strattera® is most effective, in fact when it’s used in combination with cognitive behavior therapy, he says. These findings were recently presented to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) 55th annual meeting held Tuesday, Nov. 4, 2008 in Chicago.
Clinicians, however, seem reluctant to actually provide these individuals with integrated treatment, Dr. Thurstone continued. While not actually sure why, he suggests that the lack of research in this area may be one reason for this. In fact, only one drug trial involving teens with ADD/ADHD and substance abuse has shown a positive response. That particular study revealed that the use of Cylert® for adolescents with both of these problems appeared to help.
The trial took 70 teens, aged 13 through 19, who not only were diagnosed with ADD/ADHD, but had at least one non-tobacco substance use disorder as well. These adolescents were divided into two groups, one receive Strattera®, the other receiving a placebo. All of the participants received cognitive behavior therapy.
Results revealed that the ADD/ADHD symptoms decreased significantly for those who were administered the Strattera®. But the real surprise came when the group receiving the placebo as well as the cognitive behavioral therapy showed improvement similar to findings from several other trials studying adults with ADD/ADHD and substance abuse.
Dr. Thurstone said that a more extensive study may be needed to detail the difference between the results received from Strattera and those of the placebo.
To view the entire article, you can click here.
Dr. Kenny
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