What is ADHD?

Possible side effects of methylphenidate

Methylphenidate, usually used as first-line therapy, has been used for over 50 years for the treatment of ADHD. Methylphenidate is a controlled drug. It is licensed as part of a comprehensive treatment programme for ADHD in children aged 6 years and above. Methylphenidate as the immediate release formulation is normally started at a dose of 5mg twice or three times a day at breakfast, lunchtime and late afternoon (after school). Dosage and frequency can be titrated slowly over time according to symptom response to a maximum recommended daily dose of 60mg.

With a duration of action of approximately 4 hours, some patients find the effects of the twice or thrice daily dose regimen diminish in the evening requiring an additional dose, though a balance needs to be achieved as methylphenidate can cause insomnia. This multiple dosage regimen also brings with it other difficulties such as the administration of medication during school which causes problems such as storage of a controlled drug and also stigmatises the child for having to take medication. This led to the development of sustained release preparations of methylphenidate. These medications are taken once daily resulting in an initial release of medication similar to the immediate release formulation followed by a gradual release over several hours.

The long-acting stimulants are as effective as the immediate-release formulation and also have a similar side-effect profile. The most common side-effects experienced with methylphenidate include sleeplessness, nervousness, reduced appetite, headache, abdominal pain, tachycardia, changes in blood pressure and heart rate. Rarer effects include reduced weight gain and growth reduction occurring with prolonged use. Many of these effects are transient and can also be managed by reduction in dose.

The ADDUCE project aims to investigate the long-term adverse effects of MPH on growth, neurological system, psychiatric states and cardiovascular system in children and adults.

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The fifth ADDUCE Newsletter is now available!

Here, you can read about the finalisation of the project,

the European Medicines Agency and General Assembly meetings

and the dissemination of the results!

The fourth ADDUCE Newsletter is available!

In this newsletter, you can find some information on the final recruitment status of the 2 main studies:

- the prospective open-label methylphenidate pharmacovigilance study

- the long-term cardiascular effects of methylphenidate use

Also, you can read about the future plans of the project!

More than 1500 children, adolescents and adults across all Europe already took part in our study! Thanks to them, we have already gathered lots of information so we can know a lot more about methylphenidate than ever before!