Is there potential for the treatment of children with ADHD beyond psychostimulants?

Excerpt

The past decades have seen a tremendous rise in the use of methylphenidate in children and adolescents. While the overall prevalence of psychotropic drug use in children and adolescents in the Netherlands doubled between 1995 and 2001, that of methylphenidate alone almost rose sixfold in those years [1]. Between 2001 and 2006, a further large increase was observed in the prescription rates of methylphenidate, not only in children and adolescents but also in adults [2]. While rates of methylphenidate use are still clearly highest amongst boys aged 6–11 years, the most rapid increase in prevalence rate of methylphenidate use has actually been seen in girls. Between 1996 and 2006 this has risen more than 11.5-fold in girls, according to a pharmacoepidemiological study conducted in the North of the Netherlands [3]. To put this into perspective: the latter study pointed out that the use of methylphenidate in girls in 2006 was almost double that of boys back in 1996. …