October 18, 2012
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 dimesylate. Ohio 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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