New ADHD Research May Help Curb Prescription Stimulant Abuse

Posted by azdrugrehabctr on February 9, 2016 under Addiction Trends, AZ Drug Rehab News, Prescription Drugs | Comments are off for this article

Reports show that around six million people in the United States have been diagnosed with having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). The number of people diagnosed with this disorder has increased over the years, especially among children. In fact, six percent of American children have been labeled as having ADHD. However, some are surprised that there is not a more definitive test to determine if someone has the fits into that category. This means that doctors often have to rely on their own observations, input from the parents and feedback from the children.

The most common medications for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder include Adderall, Vyvanse and Ritalin. These drugs are stimulants that allow a person with disorder to concentrate and stay on task. Those who take the drug without having this behavioral problem are essentially abusing speed. In fact, Adderall is an amphetamine, which has a very high potential for abuse.

Additionally, there are very few long term studies about the effects of Adderall on the brain. In order to rectify this, Joseph Helpern of the Medical University of South Carolina has begun to use MRI’s to view the brains of people who have been diagnosed with ADHD. In addition to investigating the long term effects of Adderall, Helpern and his group of researchers want to develop a method of diagnosis that is based on medical evidence, rather than relying on the methods that are being used today.

“Currently, we know the medications work on behavior but don’t understand what it’s doing to the brain over time. Having these (study) results would raise awareness to the potential risk in taking psychostimulants without a clinical diagnosis, in seeing if they are changing the normal brain to something abnormal,” explained Vitria Adisteiyo, a contributor to the study.

The research may be paying off, as Helpern and his colleagues have discovered that patients that have been diagnosed with ADHD seem to have lower levels of iron in their brain scans. This is important because it validates what many in the medical community have suspected for years, but haven’t been able to prove. If this discovery proves that iron levels are a direct link to ADHD, researchers may be able to develop a medication that is not addictive and cannot be abused recreationally.

More non-stimulant ADHD medications could help prevent these drugs from being abused in high schools and colleges across the country.