Ritalin news stories on Newser

For My Hyper 7-Year-Old: Coffee

Matt Cantor — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 15:29:05 CDT

What do you do when your kid can’t sit still—but you’re concerned about the side effects of Ritalin? One mom offers an unusual remedy that goes against standard medical advice: Give the youngster coffee, she writes at the Stir blog at Cafe Mom . Christie Haskell didn’t want her hyperactive...

Sorry Kids, Adderall Only Makes You Think You're Smarter

Kevin Spak — Sun, 26 Dec 2010 08:15:05 CST

Bad news, overachievers: taking so-called “smart pills” like Adderall and Ritalin to improve your mental performance probably doesn’t actually work. It’s a trend that’s been sweeping through colleges, and even the ranks of adult professionals, but scientists are having trouble finding brain-boosting effects of the drug in studies, the Daily...

Teen ADHD Drug Abusers Suffer Serious Side Effects

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 09:30:13 CDT

Calls to poison control centers about teens abusing attention-deficit drugs soared 76% over eight years, a new study shows, highlighting the dangerous consequences of prescription abuse. The calls were from worried parents, emergency room doctors, and others seeking advice on how to deal with side-effects of ADHD drugs, which can...

ADHD Drugs Linked to Teen Sudden Death

Rob Quinn — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 01:22:26 CDT

A new study suggests that taking ADHD drugs like Ritalin puts young people at a higher risk of sudden cardiac death, WebMd reports. Children in the study who died suddenly and inexplicably were six to seven times likelier to have been taking ADHD medication containing stimulants.

Drug Trials a Lot Like Reality TV

Kevin Spak — Thu, 14 May 2009 12:51:02 CDT

Only one couple from The Bachelor has actually gotten married. No Apprentice winner has become fabulously wealthy. American Idol produced Taylor Hicks. Reality shows don’t always make good on their real-world promises, and in that way, they’re a lot like clinical drug trials, writes pediatrician Darshak Sanghavi in Slate. A...

More Students Get Fix From Study Drugs

Matt Cantor — Sat, 07 Feb 2009 02:20:03 CST

Attention-deficit disorder drugs such as Adderall and Ritalin are gaining popularity on college campuses as an easy way for students to knuckle down, NPR reports. The drugs offer a “perfect kind of transition into a study mentality,” says one student, and can make work more pleasurable. But they’re “serious drugs...

Legal or Not, Bottled Smarts Are Here to Stay

Ambreen Ali — Wed, 07 Jan 2009 06:52:00 CST

The case is stacking up in favor of "smart pills," memory- and alertness-boosting prescription drugs already used by fighter pilots, corporate execs, and students for a cognitive edge, writes Maia Szalavitz in Time . Proponents say legalization debates are moot at this point—"the genie is already out of the bottle,...

Legalize Ritalin-Like Drugs as Brain Boosters: Experts

Victoria Floethe — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 21:27:37 CST

Attention-disorder drugs such as Ritalin and Adderall are becoming so commonly used for the off-label purpose of gaining a mental edge that they should be legalized for such use, says a team of neuroscientists and ethicists. They make their case in Nature , arguing that laws "should be adjusted to avoid...

Forget Sugar; That Dye Can't Be Good for You

Jess Kilby — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 06:43:23 CDT

The FDA is weighing a ban on a handful of artificial food dyes in the face of mounting evidence that some of the chemical compounds trigger hyperactivity in children, reports the Los Angeles Times . "The safety testing on these [dyes] was done 30 to 50 years ago," says one activist....