COLUMBUS, Ohio – Researchers at The Ohio State University
Wexner Medical Center’s Nisonger Center
are enrolling adolescents ages 13 to 17 as part of a national, multi-center comparison
of two of the most popular stimulant medications for the treatment of attention
deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).
The eight-week
clinical trial, sponsored by Shire Development LLC based in Wayne, Pa., will
randomize more than 450 total participants at 65 sites to one of three options:
placebo or the ADHD drugs methylphenidate
or lisdexamfetamine dimesylateOhio State
expects to enroll 10 participants, said Dr. L. Eugene Arnold, a
child psychiatrist at Ohio State’s Nisonger
Center who is leading the
study here.
“This is a
controlled, double-blind, head-to-head comparison of the effects of these two
different classes of long-acting stimulant preparations on the core symptoms of
ADHD,” says Arnold.
“Stimulant drugs have long been the first choice for medication of ADHD.”
ADHD is a neurodevelopmental
disorder characterized by developmentally inappropriate degrees of
inattentiveness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Although ADHD is the most
common psychiatric/behavioral disorder of childhood and has been extensively
studied in young children, it occurs in all age groups.
About 8
percent of all children ages 4-17 have been diagnosed with the disorder in the United States
as of 2003, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. An
estimated 13 million men, women and children in the United States fit the diagnosis for
ADHD or one of its subcategories.
For
additional information about the study, contact clinical research coordinator
Kristina Zottola at 614-688-3375 or Kristina.Zottola@osumc.edu.
The Nisonger
Center, a University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities at
Ohio State, was founded in 1966 to provide assistance to people with
disabilities, their families, service providers and organizations by promoting
inclusion of people with disabilities in education, health, employment and
community settings.
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Contact: Eileen Scahill, Wexner Medical
Center Public Affairs and
Media Relations, 614-293-3737, or Eileen.Scahill@osumc.edu
