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Found in the age this morning :
Anti-hyperactive stimulants found to cut drug abuse risk
January 7 2003
By Ruth Pollard
Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorders who take stimulant drugs do not have an increased risk of abusing other drugs later in life, researchers have found.
Instead, the study from the Massachusetts General Hospital found medication for children with ADHD resulted in an almost two-fold reduction in the risk of future substance abuse.
"The present results indicate that clinicians probably need not fear that the stimulant treatment of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder is predisposing those children to later drug use, dependence or abuse," the report in the January issue of Pediatrics said.
It also found cocaine and the stimulants used for ADHD possessed "distinctly different" properties, with stimulants entering and leaving the brain faster than cocaine.
Parents, young people and health professionals should be reassured by the study, said Paul Hutchins, head of child development at Sydney's Westmead Children's Hospital and chair of stimulants sub-committee at NSW Health.
"If there is any increased risk of substance-use disorder in children who have ADHD . . . it is limited to the group that have conduct disorder as well," Dr Hutchins said.
Conduct disorder relates to a sustained history of anti-social behaviours such as theft, truancy and, in some cases, arson.
He pointed to a gap between society's view of ADHD and the "misplaced" concerns around stimulant medication, and what he termed the reality that medication, when properly prescribed, was an appropriate treatment for the disorder.
"We need to focus our attention on children with learning difficulties, on the need for more family support . . . These are the areas in which we are falling down," Dr Hutchins said.
The researchers examined six long-term studies comparing just over 1000 medicated and unmedicated people over four years. They found a significant overall reduction in the risk of later substance abuse among those on stimulant treatment. Four of the six studies showed "striking protective effects of stimulant medications".
The Age
Now that is interesting, I don't know if I could agree with that research or not. Some of my own research may be slightly conflicting
