Long-Term Ritalin Use May Change
Brain
The December 2003
issue of Biological Psychiatry reports on three
animal studies that show long-term use of Ritalin
may cause negative changes in brain response and
behavior.
Ritalin is the drug of choice for the treatment of
the dubious condition known as attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
The first of the three studies found that low doses
of Ritalin in rats caused changes in brain cells
that made them more sensitive to the effects of
cocaine (Ritalin and cocaine are similar in
structure and action). The second study found that
pre-adolescent rats given Ritalin increased
behaviors that could indicate depression once they
reached adulthood.
The final study found that adult rats given Ritalin
as pre-adolescents were more sensitive to stressful
situations and less responsive to natural rewards,
such as those derived from sugar and sex. They also
showed increased anxiety behaviors and elevated
blood levels of stress hormones.
Dr. Daniel L. Coury of Columbus Children's Hospital
in Columbus, Ohio
says that children
with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
have a higher risk for serious injury. The
researchers reviewed 8 years of injury data on more
than 61,000 children ages 3 to 17 and found that
those with ADHD were nearly 80% more likely to be
involved in a serious accident resulting in
hospitalization for trauma.
While the debate
over the disorder`s epidemic status rages, some
long-term data on whether the drugs are actually
helping ADHD children, however, have begun to
trickle in. A study by William Fankenberger and
Christine Cannon at the Human Development Center at
the University of Wisconsin in Eau Claire published
in 1999 found that 13 ADHD children on medication
performed progressively worse over 4 years on
standardized tests when compared with a group of 13
normal children with similar IQs and other
characteristics.
EVERYONE HAS ADD
Getting your body to function at its maximum
potential, is the best way to express your true
health and function.
Children
with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
have a higher
risk for serious injury. The researchers reviewed
8 years of injury data on
more than 61,000 children ages 3 to 17 and found that
those with ADHD
were nearly 80% more likely to be involved in a serious
accident resulting in hospitalization for trauma.
While
the debate over the disorder's epidemic status rages,
some long-term
data on whether the drugs are actually helping ADHD
children, however, have begun to trickle in. A study
by William Fankenberger and Christine Cannon at
the Human Development Center at the University of
Wisconsin in Eau Claire published in 1999 found that
13 ADHD children on medication performed progressively
worse over 4 years on standardized tests when compared
with
a group of 13 normal children with similar IQs and
other characteristics.
Source:
Dr. Daniel L. Coury of Columbus Children's Hospital
in Columbus, Ohio.
EVERYONE
HAS ADD
Getting your body to function at its maximum potential,
is the best way to
express your true health and function.
Children
with ADHD and coordination problems were more than
twice as likely
to have a mother who smoked during gestation, compared
with children who
did not have ADHD. Many subjects with ADHD also experienced
language
problems (65% compared to 16% of children without
the disorder). The study evaluated 113 6-year olds,
including 62 who had been diagnosed with ADHD
plus deficits in motor control and perception.
Source: Landgren M, Kjellman B, Gillberg C. Attention
deficit disorder with developmental coordination disorders.
Arch Dis Child 1998; 79(3):207-12
/ Medline ID: 99092173
The
Journal of Manipulative and Physiological and Therapeutics
1989; 12:353-363. In a study done by J. Martin Giesen
PHD., David B
Center, PHD., and Robert A. Leach, DC., it was stated
that,"…the
majority of the children in this study did, in fact,
improve under specific chiropractic care. The results…
suggest that chiropractic manipulation
has the potential to become an important non-drug
intervention for
children with hyperactivity.
What
Is Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)?
ADHD
is a disorder characterized by three behaviors:
-
HYPERACTIVITY
-
DISTRACTIBILITY
-
IMPULSIVITY
You
may see one or more of these behaviors. It is not
necessary to have
all three to have ADHD: e.g., one does not have to
be hyperactive. http://www.kidsource.com/LDA/adhd.html
RITALIN RESEARCH
Did
you know that if Thomas Edison were alive today he would
have most
likely been labeled as having ADD? At age eleven he
was taken out of school because his teachers considered
him difficult and he "could not be taught."
If that did happen today in our "treat the symptom"
world, doctors would
have prescribed Ritalin for him. Ritalin is a drug used
to treat Attention
Deficit Disorder. Doctors prescribe it to adults and
children alike. Studies
find that Ritalin causes a high in the brain similar
to cocaine. Under the
Federal Controlled Substance Act, Ritalin is listed
as a "Schedule II "
controlled substance along with cocaine, methadone,
opium, morphine
and amphetamines.
Ritalin
has many side effects including: stunting of growth,
depression,
insomnia, nervousness, skin rash, anorexia, nausea,
dizziness, headaches, abdominal pain, blood pressure
and pulse changes and Tourette's Syndrome
(a permanent irreversible condition characterized by
body tics, spasms,
screaming, saying Obscenities and barking sounds). If
Thomas Edison were
treated with Ritalin, do you think he would have been
able to invent anything?
Source:
Today's Chiropractic, March/April 1997, by Eric H.
Plasker, D.C.
Researchers Locate Key Area of the Brain Impacted
by ADHD; Use
New MRI Technique to Measure Ritalin's Effect
The
McLean study involved six healthy boys with no history
of ADHD or
psychiatric disorders, and 11 boys diagnosed with
ADHD according to the
standard DSM-IV criteria. All 17 boys also were given
a computer test that
uses an infrared motion analysis system to objectively
measure activity,
movement and attention. Six of the 11 boys…were also
confirmed to be hyperactive by the objective computer
test.
Martin
Teicher, MD, PhD. said, "It (this study) also
shows that Ritalin may
not be effective for all children diagnosed with ADHD
using only DSM-IV
criteria."
According
to Peter R. Breggin, M.D., director of the international
Center
for the Study of Psychiatry and Psychology and associate
faculty at The
Johns Hopkins University Department of Counseling,
"Ritalin does not correct biochemical imbalances
- it causes them."
Source: The Chiropractic Journal - February 2000
Controversy
surrounds the medical treatment, indeed the very
existence, of Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), and
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).
Psychiatrist
Peter Breggin wrote, "Hyperactivity is the most
frequent
justification for drugging children. The difficult-to-control
male child is
certainly not a new phenomenon, but attempts to give
him a medical diagnosis
are the product of modern psychology and psychiatry.
At first psychiatrists
called hyperactivity a brain disease. When no brain
disease could be found,
they changed it to 'minimal brain disease' (MBD). When
no minimal brain
disease could be found the profession transformed the
concept into 'minimal
brain dysfunction.' When no minimal brain dysfunction
could be demonstrated,
the label became attention deficit disorder. Now it's
just assumed to be a real disease, regardless of the
failure to prove it so. Biochemical imbalance is the
code word, but there's no more evidence for that than
there is for actual brain disease." [1]
The
use of psychotropic drugs in children has exploded in
recent years [2].
The number of prescriptions written for methylphenidate
(Ritalin) has
increased by a factor of five since 1991. The production
of Adderall and
Dexedrine, also used to treat ADHD, has risen 2,000%
in nine years. The
increased use of these drugs in the U.S. is at variance
with the rest of
the world. According to the U.N., the U.S. produces
and consumes 85%
of the world's production of methylphenidate. [3]
The
use of Class II controlled substances to alter the behavior
of children is disconcerting to many parents and chiropractors,
as is the issue of whether ADD/ADHD can be properly
considered a disease.
While
chiropractors do not "treat" ADD/ADHD, the
effects of chiropractic care
on children diagnosed with learning disorders and hyperactivity
have been described in a growing body of scholarly publications.
A
study published in 1975, compared chiropractic care
with drug treatment
in children with learning and behavioral impairments
due to neurological
dysfunction. It was reported that chiropractic care
"was more effective
for the wide range of symptoms common in the neurological
dysfunction
syndrome in which thirteen symptom or problem areas
were considered."
The author also reported that chiropractic care was
24% more effective
than commonly used medications. [4]
Giesen
at al conducted a study involving seven subjects. All
subjects were
of school age and had clinical findings evidencing vertebral
subluxation
complex. Following chiropractic care, 57% showed an
improvement in
chiropractic radiographic findings; 71.4% showed a reduction
in overt
behavior activity; 57% showed improvement in level of
autonomic
activity, and 57% showed improvement in parental ratings
of hyperactivity. [5]
In
addition to these small studies, case reports have been
published
which describe improvement of objective and subjective
findings in
children with ADD/ADHD and related disorders. [6-14]
More
research exploring the relationship of subluxation correction
to brain
function is needed. Yet, the dramatic changes that have
been reported in
children medically diagnosed with ADD/ADHD following
chiropractic care
must not be ignored.
Every
child with a vertebral subluxation needs chiropractic
care, regardless
of whether or not symptoms are present. By correcting
nerve interference,
function is improved, with greater expression of human
potential. Many
report terminating drug therapy, and seeing the personality,
will, and soul
of the child unfolding.
As
Maria Montessori wrote, "It is easy to substitute
our will for that of the
child by means of suggestion or coercion; but when we
have done this we
have robbed him of his greatest right, the right to
construct his own
personality." [1]
REFERENCES
1.
Breggin PR: "Toxic Psychiatry." St. Martin's
Press. New York. 1991.
Chapters 12 and 13.
2.
Zito JM, Safer DJ, dosReis S, et al: "Trends in
the prescribing of
psychotropic medications to preschoolers." JAMA
2000;283:1025.
3.
Statistics confirm rise in childhood ADHD and medication
use. http://www.education-world.com
4.
Walton EV: "The effects of chiropractic treatment
on students with
learning and behavioral impairments due to neurological
dysfunction."
International Review of Chiropractic 1975;29:4-5:24-26.
5.
Giesen JM, Center DB, Leach RA: "An evaluation
of chiropractic
manipulation as a treatment for hyperactivity in children."
JMPT 1989;
12:353-363.
6.
Arme J: "Effects of biomechanical insult correction
on attention deficit
disorder." Journal of Chiropractic Case Reports,
1993:1(1).
7.
Hospers LA: "EEG and CEEG studies before and after
upper cervical or
SOT category 2 adjustment in children after head trauma,
in epilepsy, and in 'hyperactivity.'" Proceedings
of the National Conference on Chiropractic and Pediatrics
(ICA) 1992;84-139.
8.
Barnes TA: "A multifaceted approach to attention
deficit hyperactivity
disorder: a case report." International Review
of Chiropractic Jan/Feb
1995; pp. 41-43.
9.
Phillips CJ: "Case study: the effect of utilizing
spinal manipulation and craniosacral therapy as the
treatment approach for attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder." Proceedings of the National
Conference on
Chiropractic and Pediatrics (ICA), 1991:57-74.
10.
Langley C: "Epileptic seizures, Nocturnal enuresis,
ADD." Chiropractic
Pediatrics April 1995, Vol. 1, No. 1.
11.
Thomas MD, Wood J: "Upper cervical adjustments
may improve mental function." J Man Med 1992;6:215.
12.
Araghi HG: "Oral apraxia: a case study in chiropractic
in chiropractic management." Proceedings of the
National Conference on Chiropractic and Pediatrics (ICA),
1994, beginning p. 34.
13.
Manuelle JD, Fysch PA: "Acquired verbal aphasia
in a seven-year-old
female: case report." J Clin Chiropr Ped 1996;1:89-.
14.
Peet JB: "Adjusting the hyperactive/ADD pediatric
patient." Chiro Pediatr 1997;2(4):12
|