Study Finds That ADHD Medications Don’t Cause Genetic Damage in Children

One of the main concerns that people raise in regard to giving medication to autistic children, and to children more generally, is that there’s a lack of information about the long-term effects of the medication on a child. According to a new study by researchers from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and Duke University Medical Center, two medications commonly prescribed for treating ADHD—methylphenidate and amphetamine—do not cause chromosomal damage in children. (My son briefly—very briefly—took Ritalin; while taking it, he became so focused that he became extremely anxious, lost his appetite and looked—this is the best word—skittish; we discontinued the medication after less than a week.)

From Science Daily:

The current study included 63 children, ranging from 6-12 years of age, who met full criteria for ADHD but who had not previously been treated with stimulant medications. Children in the study were divided into two groups and treated by a board-certified child psychiatrist with either methylphenidate (commercially available as Ritalin LA and Concerta) or with mixed amphetamine salts (Adderall and Adderall XR). Blood samples were taken before the medication was started to establish baseline values for the cytogenetic [chromosomal] measures that were analyzed in the study, and a second sample was collected after three months of continuous treatment. Forty-seven children completed the full three-month treatment schedule.

The researchers found no significant differences between the two groups of children with regard to age, gender, race, body weight, height, or ADHD subtype. The groups also showed very similar ADHD symptom levels at initial screening and children in both groups responded equally well to the medication.

The researchers looked at three standard indicators of chromosomal damage: structural chromosomal aberrations (breaks in chromosomes), micronuclei (small nuclei consisting of chromosome fragments produced by breakage or whole chromosomes lost from the main nucleus after the cell divides), and sister chromatid exchanges (exchanges of genetic material between a pair of identical chromosomes)

The study, researchers noted, is not to be taken as the final word on the long-term safety of using stimulant medications for treating ADHD in children. It is published in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (JAACAP).