ADHD management recommendations vary by country and usually involves some combination of counseling, lifestyle changes, and medications. The British guideline only recommends medications as a first-line treatment in children who have severe symptoms and for them to be considered in those with moderate symptoms who either refuse or fail to improve with counseling. Canadian and American guidelines recommend that medications and behavioral therapy be used together as a first-line therapy, except in preschool-aged children. Stimulants The National Institute of Mental Health recommends stimulants for the treatment of ADHD, and states that, "under medical supervision, stimulant medications are considered safe". A 2007 drug class review found no evidence of any differences in efficacy or side effects in the stimulants commonly prescribed. Between 1993 and 2003 the worldwide use of medications that treat ADHD increased almost threefold. Most ADHD medications are prescribed in the United States. In the 1990s, the US accounted for 90% of global use of stimulants such as methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine. By the early 2000s, this had fallen to 80% due to increased usage in other countries. In 2003, doctors in the UK were prescribing about a 10th of the amount per capita of methylphenidate used in the US, while France and Italy accounted for approximately one twentieth of US stimulant consumption. These assertions appear to contradict the 2006 World Drug Report published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, which indicate the US constituted merely 17% of the world market for dextroamphetamine. They assert that in the early 2000s amphetamine use was "widespread in Europe." In 1999, a study constructed with 1,285 children and their parents across four U.S. communities has shown 12.5% of children that met ADHD criteria had been treated with stimulants during the previous 12 months. In May 2000, the testimony of DEA Deputy Director Terrance Woodworth has shown that the Ritalin quota increased from 1,768 kg in 1990 to 14,957 kg in 2000. In addition, IMS Health also revealed the number of Adderall prescriptions have increased from 1.3 million in 1996 to nearly 6 million in 1999. Adverse effects Some parents and professionals have raised questions about the side effects of drugs and their long-term use. Magnetic resonance imaging studies suggest that long-term treatment with amphetamine or methylphenidate decreases abnormalities in brain structure and function found in subjects with ADHD, and improves function of the right caudate nucleus. On February 9, 2006, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted to recommend a "black-box" warning describing the cardiovascular risks of stimulant drugs used to treat ADHD. Subsequently, the USFDA commissioned studies which found that, in children, young adults, and adults, there is no association between serious adverse cardiovascular events (sudden death, myocardial infarction, and stroke) and the medical use of amphetamine or other ADHD stimulants. The effects of amphetamine and methylphenidate on gene regulation are both dose- and route-dependent. Most of the research on gene regulation and addiction is based upon animal studies with intravenous amphetamine administration at very high doses. The few studies that have used equivalent (weight-adjusted) human therapeutic doses and oral administration show that these changes, if they occur, are relatively minor. The long-term effects on the developing brain and on mental health disorders in later life of chronic use of methylphenidate is unknown. Despite this, between 0.51% to 1.23% of children between the ages of 2 and 6 years take stimulants in the US. Stimulant drugs are not approved for this age group. In individuals who experience sub-normal height and weight gains during stimulant therapy, a rebound to normal levels is expected to occur if stimulant therapy is briefly interrupted. The average reduction in final adult height from continuous stimulant therapy over a 3-year period is 2 cm. Amphetamines doubles the risk of psychosis compared to methylphenidate in ADHD patients. Effectiveness Reviews of clinical stimulant research have established the safety and effectiveness of long-term amphetamine use for ADHD. An evidence review noted the findings of a randomized controlled trial of amphetamine treatment for ADHD in Swedish children following 9 months of amphetamine use. During treatment, the children experienced improvements in<unk> , disruptive behaviors, and<unk> , and an average change of +4.5 in IQ. It noted that the population in the study had a high rate of comorbid disorders associated with ADHD and suggested that other long-term amphetamine trials in people with fewer associated disorders could find greater functional improvements. A 2008 review found that the use of stimulants improved teachers' and parents' ratings of behavior; however, it did not improve academic achievement. The same review also indicates growth retardation for children consistently medicated over three years, compared to unmedicated children in the study. Intensive treatment for 14 months has no effect on long-term outcomes 8 years later. No significant differences between the various drugs in terms of efficacy or side effects have been found. Treatment non-adherence and acceptability The rates of treatment discontinuation are higher than the rates of ADHD patients that receive no treatment at all; few studies present evidence that adherence to ADHD treatment is occurring at high rates with low acceptability. A literature review on empirical studies from 1997 to 2014 revealed a lack of research on adult non-adherence, however there is a large body of research on children and adolescents who discontinue treatment. Some of the common reasons for stopping treatment includes the idea that it is not needed or does not reduce the symptoms of ADHD, as well as reported adverse drug effects like weight and appetite loss, sleeping difficulties, combined with other medically diagnosed conditions. Research has shown that adherence and acceptability improvements are possible with accessible and convenient community-based treatment options. Some schools in the United States have attempted to make it mandatory for hyperactive children to receive medication based treatment in order to attend classes, however the United States Senate passed a bill in 2005 against this practice. Potential for misuse Stimulants used to treat ADHD are classified as Schedule II controlled substances in the United States. Controversy has surrounded whether methylphenidate is as commonly abused as other stimulants with many proposing that its rate of abuse is much lower than other stimulants. However, the majority of studies assessing its abuse potential scores have determined that it has an abuse potential similar to that of cocaine and d-amphetamine. Both children with and without ADHD abuse stimulants, with ADHD individuals being at the highest risk of abusing or diverting their stimulant prescriptions. Between 16 and 29 percent of students who are prescribed stimulants report diverting their prescriptions. Between 5 and 9 percent of grade/primary and high school children and between 5 and 35 percent of college students have used nonprescribed stimulants. Most often their motivation is to concentrate, improve alertness, "get high," or to experiment. Stimulant medications may be resold by patients as recreational drugs, and methylphenidate (Ritalin) is used as a study aid by some students without ADHD. Non-medical prescription stimulant use by US students is high. A 2003 study found that non-prescription use within the last year by college students in the US was 4.1%. A 2008 meta analysis found even higher rates of non-prescribed stimulant use. It found 5% to 9% of grade school and high school children and 5% to 35% of college students used a non-prescribed stimulant in the last year. , 8% of all United States Major League Baseball players had been diagnosed with ADHD, making the disorder common among this population. The increase coincided with the League's 2006 ban on stimulants, which has raised concern that some players are mimicking or falsifying the symptoms or history of ADHD to get around the ban on the use of stimulants in sport.
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