ADDRESSING ADULT ADHD
If you had Attention-Deficit-Disorder or Attention Deficit-Hyperactvity-Disorder as a child, there's a good chance you may still suffer its effects. Now see a treatment that works for the adult population.
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Susan Paris works in a school, but her own schooling brings back painful memories.
Susan Paris
Had ADHD
"I mostly remember it in junior high, having a lot of "D's" on my report card.
Noone knew she had ADHD.
Susan Paris
"I was on a cloud all by myself and didn't really seem to be tuned into what the rest of the group was doing."
As an adult, she still struggles.
Susan Paris
"It takes me longer to do things than other people, and so I end up taking work home with me."
Psychiatrist Richard Weisler says it's an increasingly common story because many doctors were never taught to look for ADHD in adults.
Richard Weisler, M.D. Psychiatrist
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Chapel Hill, NC
"The good news now is that we have treatments available to help people, that can really change their lives in a very positive way."
Doctor Weisler led a study in which adults with ADHD were treated with an extended-release amphetamine. Patients showed an average 44 percent decrease in symptoms.
Richard Weisler, M.D.
"Patients really saw an improvement in their ability to accomplish more, both at home and at work, feeling better about themselves, being more in control, less agitated."
For Susan, it was the diagnoses that really healed the pain of shame.
Susan Paris
"So, there's a happier ending to this story than I imagined years ago."
As many as 70 percent of children diagnosed with ADD or ADHD may still experience symptoms as adults.
BACKGROUND: ADHD is a neurological brain disorder that causes inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. From 50 percent to 70 percent of children diagnosed with ADHD may still experience symptoms as adults, especially if, as children, the disorder went untreated. Nearly 8 million adults suffer from the disorder. In a University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill study of extended-release mixed amphetamine salts in adults with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder, researchers studied more than 240 adults who had a history of ADHD before age 7 and were not properly diagnosed until adulthood. Participants received daily doses of 20 milligrams, 40 milligrams or 60 milligrams of medication for four weeks. In a test, the patients experienced a decrease in symptoms by 40, 41 and 44 percent, respectively. Patients expressed an improvement in their ability to accomplish more, both at home and at work and said they felt better about themselves because they were more in control of their life and less agitated.
NOT JUST A CHILDHOOD PROBLEM: Richard Weisler, M.D., an associate professor of psychiatry at UNC-CH and lead investigator of the study, says the real story is that doctors, who once thought ADHD and ADD didn't occur in adults, are now recognizing the fact that many adults who suffered with the disorders as children now suffer as adults. In adults, ADHD includes inattention and impulsivity, which can have "especially serious implications for adults such as job loss, marriage and relationship problems, drug and alcohol abuse, and can even endanger day-to-day activities such as driving a car," Dr. Weisler warns. He says the good news is that there's a new class of drugs, like the one in this most recent UNC-CH study, that are showing efficacy in treating the disorders, giving doctors options for long-term treatment of adult patients that they didn't have before. Since ADHD may be inherited, screening in parents and relatives of a child that presents ADHD symptoms is important. Parents with untreated ADHD may have more difficulty remembering to administer medication, or in assisting their children with homework, so treatment of the parent and the child may be helpful to the family.
POSITIVE EFFECTS: The side effects associated with the mixed-amphetamine salt tested in this study were minor and occurred early in the trial. The majority of side effects were mild and included dry mouth, loss of appetite, insomnia, and headache. There were no signs of increased blood pressure, and many of the side effects diminished in intensity after the first week of the study. Over the course of the study, patients showed no evidence of drug tolerance. Patients who received placebo in the double-blind trial showed the largest improvement, followed by those who received medication after taking a break from the medication given during the short-term trial.
Crystal Hinson-Miller
Director of Public Relations
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
(919) 966-9115
Copyright © 2003 Ivanhoe Broadcast News, Inc.
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