Popular ADHD Drugs Ritalin, Concerta May Change Structure Of Children’s Brains, Study

[CharlesDavenport]

Gee, a drug that changes a child's behavior has a physical impact on their brain.

MPH is usually prescribed and sold under the names Ritalin or Concerta, and while it has been shown to be effective in treating ADHD, there hasn’t been enough research performed on how it influences the development of children’s brains. More specifically, researchers from the University of Amsterdam set out to analyze MPH’s impact on children’s white matter development. White matter carries signals between different areas of the brain and is an integral part of learning and overall brain functioning.

“The results show that ADHD medications can have different effects on the development of brain structure in children versus adults,” Dr. Reneman says. “In adult men with ADHD, and both boys and adult men receiving placebo, changes in FA measures were not present, suggesting that the effects of methylphenidate on brain white matter are modulated by age.”

While the long-term implications of these findings are still unclear, researchers say the results clearly indicate that MPH influences the development of brain structure in children. Moving forward, Dr. Reneman and his team stress that giving a young child ADHD medication should not be a decision that both doctors and parents make lightly. They recommend that only children who definitively suffer from the disorder, and are significantly affected by it on a daily basis, be prescribed medication.

https://www.studyfinds.org/adhd-drugs-may-be-changing-structure-of-childrens-brains-study-finds/

Some other clips from another article -

Common ADHD Medication May Affect White Matter in Boys’ Brain

“We still need to establish the long-term implications of our findings… we are currently conducting a four-year follow-up study. As we also do not yet know whether these effects are reversible or not, and whether they are related to functional or behavioral changes over a longer period of time, our study highlights the importance for further research on this topic in children and adolescents treated with methylphenidate,” she said.

Long overdue.

Here is an incredibly stupid comment from a pediatric doctor -

Dr. Rolanda Gott is a developmental-behavioral pediatrician at the University of California Los Angeles Mattel Children’s Hospital.

She says MPH is both safe and effective, but it must be accompanied by a comprehensive intervention plan.

“Based on our long clinical data for many years there is no current knowledge that there are significant negative effects on the brain development of children with ADHD treated with methylphenidate,” Gott told Healthline.

“It is safe as long as a clinician gets a comprehensive picture from parents, school, child, evaluates for comorbidity, provides a comprehensive intervention plan, educates and follows the family for potential side effects,” she added.

- Ah, did you read the study? You can't say that it's safe, Doctor. And no, intervention plans and involvement by parents, school, or anyone make an unsafe drug safe.

Here is a related study that I had not heard of, from 2018 -

Nonprescription use of Ritalin may cause structural changes in brain, study finds

As nonprescription use of Ritalin increases among young adults, researchers at the University at Buffalo Clinical and Research Institute on Addictions warn that such use may cause irreversible structural changes in certain areas of the brain.

Panayotis (Peter) Thanos, Ph.D., senior research scientist in the Department of Pharmacology and Toxicology, Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, conducted a study using animals models to see what the effects of methylphenidate (brand name: Ritalin) might be for those without symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Many college and even high school students without ADHD will use Ritalin as a stimulant in order to feel more focused, receive a "high" or lose weight.

"We found that chronic use of this drug by those without ADHD-like symptoms resulted in neuroinflammation in regions of the brain which are related to motivated behavior," Thanos says. "One month after use was stopped, the inflammation and structural changes were still there. This could result in long-term risks for young adults, as these areas of the brain also influence addiction and the ability to respond to changes in the environment."

But it's safe to put a six year old on this **** for years. IMO we need to put a moratorium on this crap until we study long term effects, including any correlation to these kids and their rampage shootings.

 

[CharlesDavenport]

This is two days old, so you all probably heard all about it on the regular news outlets. Over 5% of American kids are on these meds and it is changing their brains, so this is front page ****.

 

[Ron Burgundy]

Mostly because the education system is dominated by Liberal women who can't figure out why boys don't act like girls so they demand that they be drugged up. Very few girls are diagnosed with ADHD.

 

[steel dino]

What a shocker!!

I still think these drugs play a huge role in these horrible shootings.

Would love to know how many of the shooters brains were altered due to taking these drugs as a young child...

White matter .....matters

 

[madinsomniac]

All drugs change body chemistry and we often rarely learn about long term problems for generations after they are released... only take meds for absolutely critical issues... They said I had ADHD as a kid... I never took any meds... I am fine... in fact much more successful than any if the kids they did drug...

 

[Supersteeler]

Of course it does. Most of us have long known that. It also mutes emotions in kids and inhibits them from learning coping strategies to difficult issues. They don't learn coping skills because they haven't dealt with anything while not having chemical assistance.

 

[ark steel]

all I know is that if it hadn't been for those drugs, i'd have probably killed one of my kids.

He went from completely uncontrollable to mostly controllable within days of starting the meds.

When he got older and decided he didn't want them, we took him off of them, even though I thought he still needed them.

 

[CharlesDavenport]

all I know is that if it hadn't been for those drugs, i'd have probably killed one of my kids.

He went from completely uncontrollable to mostly controllable within days of starting the meds.

When he got older and decided he didn't want them, we took him off of them, even though I thought he still needed them.

I understand this is a very personal issue. No offense or judgement intended.

 

[Steeler]

My son was on them until about 2 years ago. He is 11 now.
I HATED the thought of drugging him, although it did help him to sit still in 1st thru 3rd grade, it also made him an emotional train wreck. That **** made him take everything too serious, he didn't know how to take a joke and would get his feeling hurt easily.
The end of it for me was when my then 7 year old daughter came home from school and told me she saw her brother sitting in the hall outside of his 4th grade classroom crying.
His teacher (******* *******) had sent him out to calm down after he got upset over a kid making a joke.

After that incident, we told the teacher that he was going to have to deal with my kid squirming in his seat cuz the medication days were over.
We got total support from the principal and have not had a single problem since.

I understand there are some kids that are uncontrollable and need something to calm them down, but I think ADHD is WAY over diagnosed. Schools want to throw drugs at any kid that acts like a boy. It's bullshit.

 

[Supersteeler]

all I know is that if it hadn't been for those drugs, i'd have probably killed one of my kids.

He went from completely uncontrollable to mostly controllable within days of starting the meds.

When he got older and decided he didn't want them, we took him off of them, even though I thought he still needed them.

I've worked with many kids over the years that in order to function,taking those meds was a dire necessity, so I totally understand it. Some kids it's like night and day once they start taking them. They were some kids when I worked in the group home that you absolutely could not take out in public un-medicated unless you wanted them destroying stuff, tearing **** off store shelves and having to chase them through the mall. Been there, done that....on many occasions.

We used to get the call from school all the time to come and get them. We would get there and the Principal and the teacher would be red faced and sweating, chasing them around the classroom and highly pissed off. The kid would be running everywhere, cackling wildly and just laying waste to every object they could get their hands on. Usually looked like a category 5 hurricane hit the classroom. The challenge was not to laugh as I'm taking them out of the room although I did feel sympathy for the school staff, as I had to deal with the same kid 8 hours a day myself. On meds, most of them became manageable. Doctors and/or parents have wildly over prescribed them to kids that don't need it, but there are most definitely kids that need them. You were also smart to get him off of them as soon as he could function without them.

 

[Vader]

Schools want to throw drugs at any kid that acts like a boy. It's bullshit.

I understand where you are coming from because my son has ADHD. But schools don't throw anything. We are not even allowed to talk about it with parents. No one in the school can. It's illegal. So I'm not sure how it was thrown at anyone. We try to get them tested to see if they need an IEP. But teachers, administrators, nurses nor counselors are allowed to broach the medical side of it.

Many kids also use ADHD as a way to get away with doing things other kids aren't allowed to do. My son stopped taking the meds about a year ago. He doesn't need them anymore. But before when he was younger he had to have something or he couldn't learn. I'm glad he doesn't need them anymore but some kids need something so they can learn.

 

[Steeler]

I understand where you are coming from because my son has ADHD. But schools don't throw anything. We are not even allowed to talk about it with parents. No one in the school can. It's illegal. So I'm not sure how it was thrown at anyone. We try to get them tested to see if they need an IEP. But teachers, administrators, nurses nor counselors are allowed to broach the medical side of it.

Many kids also use ADHD as a way to get away with doing things other kids aren't allowed to do. My son stopped taking the meds about a year ago. He doesn't need them anymore. But before when he was younger he had to have something or he couldn't learn. I'm glad he doesn't need them anymore but some kids need something so they can learn.

Yes you are correct, I shouldn't have said schools throw the meds at kids. They do however encourage it. My son's 1st grade teacher called sand suggested I get him tested.
The testing was simply her filling out a questionnaire and taking it to his doctor.
It definitely helped him focus better in those couple of years, but with the unknown effects on a developing brain I'm just not sure it's worth the risk in some cases.

 

[Vader]

Yes you are correct, I shouldn't have said schools throw the meds at kids. They do however encourage it. My son's 1st grade teacher called sand suggested I get him tested.
The testing was simply her filling out a questionnaire and taking it to his doctor.
It definitely helped him focus better in those couple of years, but with the unknown effects on a developing brain I'm just not sure it's worth the risk in some cases.

I can't speak for all teachers. We are told to stay out of it so I do. If a parent comes to me and wants me to fill out an eval form then I'll do it. But I've never said a word to a parent about ADHD testing. I've suggested they be tested for an IEP. Which is just an individualized education program. I teach secondary education (7-12) so I'm not around 1st through 6th grade. I know my school and any school in this district doesn't discuss it with parents. They send a letter each year telling new teachers to mind their own business.

I'm glad it helped your son. It helped mine as well. He'd be a 15 year old 5th grader if not for taking his medication. He didn't take it on weekends or any time he wasn't in school. If they had a field day etc.. where they weren't going to be in class he didn't take it. It was also a mild doze (10 mg) and I never let them up it.

I will say this. Doctors are prescribing it way too much. The tests are not like blood tests. There is no DNA evidence ETC.. It's just a professional evaluation. Because most schools don't discipline anymore it has gotten out of hand. When I was in school I'm sure some of the students had ADHD. But one wack of a teacher's paddle made it go away for a long time. If I could paddle I would 0 disciplinary issues.... 0. I have few now because I run a structured class. But just one paddling would solve even the minor issues I have now.

 

[CharlesDavenport]

A second grade teacher - not even a nurse - recommended that our neighbor put their boy on ADHD meds, this was nine years ago. They did not and the kid is fine.

 

[Vader]

A second grade teacher - not even a nurse - recommended that our neighbor put their boy on ADHD meds, this was nine years ago. They did not and the kid is fine.

She isn't qualified to say that. My guess is that if the administration knew she was recommending that she would be fired. Of course some states may have different laws. But I can't imagine any state saying it's ok for teachers to recommend that.

 

[Steeltime]

Mostly because the education system is dominated by Liberal women who can't figure out why boys don't act like girls so they demand that they be drugged up. Very few girls are diagnosed with ADHD.

This is absolutely, 100% true and anybody denying that fact is simply not paying attention. When I was in grade school, my class had several boys who tested the teacher's patience, but they quieted down, or were disciplined and/or sent out of the class.

Many years later, my son - a very intelligent but active young man - was repeatedly criticized by a female teacher for being too energetic. Did we drug him? Of course not. We moved him to a school that treated him like an intelligent, active boy, and he did just fine, thank you.

What I find almost laughable is the claim of some purported "toxic masculinity." A huge percentage of boys now have one parent, a woman, and are taught in schools solely by women, and have essentially zero male influence in their lives. And hey, guess what, the boys with no male influence tend to be the ones much, much more likely to get into trouble.