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Date
13-nov-2007
Story
ADHD Drug Dangers
Author
Charles Miranda in London
Main Condition/ Disease
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity – ADD/ADHD
Source
The Daily Telegraph - 13th November 2007 - Page 13
Summary
Well here it is! Sanity at last! Let's face it. Drugs cannot cure anything. If your child has ADHD forget the bullshit propagated by drug companies. Try a natural solution like 'specific' upper cervical chiropractic care by qualified upper cervical practitioners.
DRUGS used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder have no long-term benefits and could stunt growth.
Scientists have conceded test results that led to the parental craze to dole out the drugs to their kids may have been exaggerated.
The BBC's Panorama program last night aired the results of an influential long-term monitoring program of 600 children across the US since the early 1990s.
The Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD concluded that, while drugs such as Ritalin and Concerta worked in the
short term, there was no demonstrable improvement in children's behaviour after three years of medication.
In Australia, the use of the prescription drug has been treated by some as a panacea for disruptive behaviour by their children.
The popularity of ADHD drugs has almost doubled during recent years causing concern among medical authorities.
Eight years ago, studies found one year of ADHD medication worked better than behavioural therapy.
The report's co-author, Professor William Pelham, said he now believed the findings were overstated.
"I think we exaggerated the beneficial impact of medication in the first study," Professor Pelham, from the University of Buffalo, said.
"We had thought that children medicated longer would have better outcomes. That didn't happen to be the case.
"The children had a substantial decrease in their rate of growth - they weren't growing as much as other kids both in terms of their height and in terms of their weight. And there were no beneficial effects - none.
"In the short run [medication] will help the child behave better, in the long run it won't. And that information should be made very clear to parents."
Panorama found last year ADHD drugs had cost the British Public health system more than $60 million.
The program aired disturbing footage of a 14-year-old Briton who had been on ADHD medication for a decade. His family kept a video diary of his behaviour; he recently assaulted three school teachers.
Dr Tim Kendall from the Royal College of Psychiatrists said: "Doctors are at the point where they don't know what else to offer."
Professor Pelham said he believed behavioural therapy such as concentration tests in the first instance and a Simple diet of omega-3 helped.
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