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Ritalin - The Side Effects Ritalin Facts

Ritalin and other brands of methylphenidate are mild central nervous system stimulants. With the exception of Concerta and Metadate CD, these products are also used in adults to treat narcolepsy (an uncontrollable desire to sleep).

Is it Addictive? Excessive doses of this drug over a long period of time can produce addiction. It is also possible to develop tolerance to the drug, so that larger doses are needed to produce the original effect. Because of these dangers, be sure to check with your doctor before making any change in dosage; and withdraw the drug only under your doctor's supervision.

Ritalin is classified as a Schedule II controlled Substance.
This means:
(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has a currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States or a currently accepted medical use with severe restrictions.
(C) Abuse of the drug or other substances may lead to severe psychological or physical dependence

Who should NOT take Ritalin?

1. This drug should not be prescribed for anyone experiencing anxiety, tension, and agitation, since the drug may aggravate these symptoms.
2. Anyone sensitive or allergic to this drug should not take it.
3. This medication should not be taken by anyone with the eye condition known as glaucoma, anyone who suffers from tics (repeated, involuntary twitches), or someone with a family history of Tourette's syndrome (severe and multiple tics).
4. This drug is not intended for use in children whose symptoms may be caused by stress or a psychiatric disorder.
5. This medication should not be used for the prevention or treatment of normal fatigue, nor should it be used for the treatment of severe depression
6. This drug should not be taken during treatment with drugs classified as monoamine oxidase inhibitors, such as the antidepressants Nardil and Parnate, nor for the 2 weeks following discontinuation of these drugs.

Control Board Concerns:

The United Nations International Narcotics Control Board (INCB) released its annual report reviewing trends in the global drug trade and compliance with international treaties in 1995 (United Nations, International Narcotics Control Board, Report of the International Narcotics Control Board for 1995, 1996).

Methylphenidate. The Board expressed alarm at the enormous increase in the use of methylphenidate in the United States. Methylphenidate, also known by its brand name Ritalin®, is prescribed to children and adults to treat Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD). Ritalin® is a schedule II controlled substance.

The use of methylphenidate in the United States has risen astronomically since 1989, with about 90 percent of all Ritalin® manufactured worldwide being consumed by adults and children in the United States. Between 3 and 5 percent of U.S. schoolchildren are now taking the drug, with few checks and balances for physician prescriptions and little behavioral treatment or follow-up, according to the report.

Studies Show Long Term Brain Damage May be Possible

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The stimulant Ritalin (news - web sites), a drug used to help children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, may cause long-term changes in the brain, researchers reported.

The changes look similar to those seen with other stimulants such as amphetamine and cocaine, at least in rats, the team at the University of Buffalo found. "Clinicians consider Ritalin to be short-acting,'' Joan Baizer, a professor of physiology and biophysics who led the study said in a statement.

"When the active dose has worked its way through the system, they consider it 'all gone.' Our research with gene expression in an animal model suggests that it has the potential for causing long-lasting changes in brain cell structure and function.''

But Baizer said that Ritalin, known generically as methylphenidate, probably is not addictive in the way drugs of abuse are if it is used properly.

"Children have been given Ritalin daily for many years, and it is extremely effective and beneficial, but it's not quite as simple as a short-acting drug,'' she said. ``We need to look at it more closely.''

High doses of amphetamine and cocaine have been found to switch on genes known as ``immediate early genes'' in brain cells. One of the genes, called c-fos, has been linked with addiction when it is activated in certain parts of the brain.

The researchers gave rat pups sweetened milk carrying methylphenidate in comparable doses and at similar times to what a child would get. C-fos genes were activated in their brains in a pattern similar to that seen in cocaine and amphetamine use, the researchers told a meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego.

"These data do suggest that there are effects of Ritalin on cell function that outlast the short term and we should sort that out,'' Baizer said.

She said perhaps a gene chip -- a microarray -- could be used to see just which genes are turned on and off by methylphenidate.