Ritalin May Trigger Long-Term Brain Cell Changes
Kids all over the country take Ritalin to relieve symptoms of attention deficit
hyperactivity disorder. The drugs use has dramatically increased since first
appearing on the market in 1980. Now how many college students get restless and
bored when certain teachers drone on and on in their lectures. Lets face it
some people can not present the work in an interesting enough way to keep our
attention. So are we all stricken with ADD?
Doctors have always considered the drug to be short acting, meaning that once
it worked its way through the child’s system, it was gone. But according to a
study presented just last month at the annual meeting of the Society for
Neuroscience, Ritalin may trigger brain changes that remain after the child
quits taking the drug.
Researchers have long known that Ritalin acts in the brain much like cocaine
and amphetamines. However they have not thought there were any lasting affects
after the drug is out of a child or adult’s system. In the study presented by a
researcher in psychology at the University of Buffalo, they gave one group of
young rats sweetened milk containing a relatively high dose of Ritalin. The
dose and the time of day of the rats’ treatment was comparable to a child’s
dosing schedule. The other group was given plain sweetened milk. After 90
minutes, researchers analyzed the rats’ brains.
They found that certain brain cell genes called ‘immediate early genes’ were
switched on, and that action caused changes in some aspects of nerve cell
function. Amphetamines and cocaine both cause similar gene changes in areas of
the brain that control movement and motivation. They go on to say that these
findings don’t mean this drug is bad. But would you want to be giving it to any
of your children. I know I certainly wouldn’t.
The fact remains that there is no solid evidence that ADHD is a genuine
disorder or disease of any kind. There is no proof of any physical
abnormalities in the brains or bodies of the children who are routinely labeled
ADHD. This is still a controversial diagnosis with little or no scientific or
medical basis.
Nora Volkow, head of the biology and medical departments at New York’s
Brookhaven National Laboratory says that “This study is telling us something we
cannot ignore. And Ritalin’s therapeutic effects may in fact require activation
of a sequence that can produce addiction, but when properly activated can
enhance performance and can improve function in a child with ADHD.” But if they
do not know what causes this disorder then how can they properly monitor any of
this. Whether it be the disorder itself or the changes the Ritalin causes.