(from wikipedia)
Ritalin wikipedia
children with special needs
Reported methylphenidate abuse side effects include psychosis (abnormal thinking or hallucinations), difficulty sleeping, mood swings, mood changes, stomach aches, diarrhea, headaches, increased sex drive, lack of hunger (leading to weight loss) and dry mouth.[18]
* Less common side effects include palpitations, high blood pressure and pulse changes.[citation needed]
[edit] Known or suspected risks to health
Researchers have also looked into the role of methylphenidate in affecting stature, with some studies finding slight decreases in height acceleration.[19] Other studies indicate height may normalize by adolescence.[20][21] In a 2005 study, only “minimal effects on growth in height and weight were observed” after 2 years of treatment. “No clinically significant effects on vital signs or laboratory test parameters were observed.”[22]
A 2003 study tested the effects of d-methylphenidate (Focalin), l-methylphenidate, and d, l-methylphenidate (Ritalin) on mice to search for any carcinogenic effects. The researchers found that all three compounds were non-genotoxic and non-clastogenic; d-MPH, d, l-MPH, and l-MPH did not cause mutations or chromosomal aberrations. They concluded that none of the compounds present a carcinogenic risk to humans.[23]
In February 2005, a team of researchers from The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center led by R.A. El-Zein announced that a study of 12 children indicated that methylphenidate may be carcinogenic. In the study, 12 children were given standard therapeutic doses of methylphenidate. At the conclusion of the 3-month study, all 12 children displayed significant treatment-induced chromosomal aberrations. The researchers indicated that their study was relatively small and their results needed to be reproduced in a bigger population for a definitive conclusion about the genotoxicity of methylphenidate to be drawn.[24]
In response to the El-Zein study published in 2005, a team of six scientists from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and the Department of Toxicology, University of Würzburg, Würzburg, Germany began a more in-depth study. They sought to respond to the challenge noted above to attempt to replicate the results of El-Zein et al. in a larger study. Their paper was completed in 2006 and published in 2007 in Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP), the peer-reviewed journal of the United States’ National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. This study used a larger cohort and a longer period of follow-up and included a small group of long-term users, but otherwise used what researchers believed to be an identical methodology to that used by El-Zein et al. (They note that El-Zein et al. published a short study report and did not publish detailed descriptions of methodology.) After follow-ups at six months, the researchers found no evidence that methylphenidate might cause cancer, stating “the concern regarding a potential increase in the risk of developing cancer later in life after long-term MPH treatment is not supported”.[25]
The effects of long-term methylphenidate treatment on the developing brains of children with ADHD is the subject of study and debate.[26][27] Although the safety profile of short-term methylphenidate therapy in clinical trials has been well established, repeated use of psychostimulants such as methylphenidate is less clear.
In the United States, methylphenidate is classified as a Schedule II controlled substance, the designation used for substances that have a recognized medical value but present a high likelihood for abuse because of their addictive potential. Internationally, methylphenidate is a Schedule II drug under the Convention on Psychotropic Substances.[28] Methylphenidate has been used illegally by students for whom the drug has not been prescribed, to assist with coursework and examinations.[29] The use of ADHD medication in children under the age of 6 has not been studied. Severe hallucinations may occur. ADHD symptoms include hyperactivity and difficulty holding still and following directions; these are also characteristics of a typical child under the age of 6. For this reason it may be more difficult to diagnose young children, and caution should be used with this age group.[30]
On March 22, 2006 the FDA Pediatric Advisory Committee decided that medications using methylphenidate ingredients do not need black box warnings about their risks, noting that “for normal children, these drugs do not appear to pose an obvious cardiovascular risk.”[31] Previously, 19 possible cases had been reported of Cardiac arrest linked to children taking methylphenidate[32] and the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee to the FDA recommend a “black-box” warning in 2006 for stimulant drugs used to treat attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder.[33]