ADHD Medication

Teens with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or conduct disorder are at increased risk of starting to smoke or drink, a new study suggests. The more symptoms of these disorders they have, the greater their risk.

Young adults who do not attend college are more likely than their peers who are enrolled in school to abuse prescription painkillers, according to new research.

Almost one-fifth of college students say they abuse prescription stimulants, a new survey finds. The most commonly abused stimulants are medications used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, such as Ritalin, Adderall and Vyvanse.

A new study finds children are 30 percent more likely to take drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder during the school year than in the summer.

Studies used to approve drugs to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) did not address long-term safety, according to new research.

The manufacturer of the attention deficit hyperactivity disorder drug Vyvanse has agreed to study the drug in preschool children, at the request of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Miami University is using an innovative approach to preventing prescription drug abuse among its students. Before prescribing medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), the university student counseling service requires students to participate in a workshop about time management, and another session about taking medication safely.

Only 41 percent of college students say misusing prescription stimulants for academic purposes should be considered cheating, according to a survey at an unnamed Ivy League institution.

Young adults who occasionally use stimulants including cocaine, amphetamines or prescription drugs such as Adderall show brain changes on scans, according to researchers at the University of California, San Diego.

The number of young adults in the U.S. taking medications for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) nearly doubled from 2008 to 2012, according to Express Scripts, the nation’s largest prescription drug manager, The New York Times reports.

“Study drugs” such as Vyvanse and Adderall are gaining popularity among Florida college students, even though area colleges have a zero-tolerance policy against students using medicines not prescribed for them.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, February 14- Thursday, February 20, 2014.

The dramatic rise in the diagnosis of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder coincided with a two-decade campaign by drug companies, aimed at doctors, educators and parents, to promote pills to treat the disorder, according to The New York Times.

A new government report finds about 6 percent of U.S. teens say they use a psychiatric medicine as drug therapy, similar to the rate 10 years ago.

The number of Major League Baseball players authorized to use drugs to treat attention deficit disorder is increasing, the Los Angeles Times reports.

A new study finds Ritalin can successfully treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in people with substance dependence. People with both conditions often do not respond well to ADHD medication, according to MedicalXpress.

With his new documentary, “Out of Reach,” filmmaker Cyrus Stowe, a senior at a Dallas high school, set out to uncover the growing problem of friends sharing and abusing prescription medications in his hometown.

The number of prescriptions for psychotropic drugs written for very young children appears to have leveled off, according to a new study. These drugs are prescribed to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, mood disorders, anxiety and other mental health conditions.

A quick Internet search of “pills to boost your brain power” will return thousands of hits. For high school and college students, the pressure to perform academically makes the idea of a pill that can help with attention or studying even more attractive, says one researcher.

The attorneys general of Florida, Kentucky and Maine have asked the Los Angeles clothing store Kitson to stop selling T-shirts featuring the prescription drugs Vicodin, Xanax and Adderall.

Emergency rooms reported a 300 percent jump in visits related to stimulant abuse among young adults from 2005 to 2011. According to The New York Times, 23,000 people ages 18 to 34 visited the ER in 2011 after taking drugs such as Adderall or Ritalin.

Students taking attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder medication don’t perform better in school than their peers who do not use the drugs, a new study concludes.

A single dose of Ritalin may help improve brain function in people addicted to cocaine, according to a small study published in JAMA Psychiatry.

A new survey of young people ages 10 to 18 finds 35 percent think prescription stimulant abuse is a big problem with their peers, and 15 percent said they had used stimulants at some point. One-tenth of kids said they had diverted medications in some way.