Methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine treatments of hyperactivity: Are there true nonresponders?

Josephine Elia, Breck G. Borcherding, Judith L. Rapoport, Cynthia S. Keysor

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

266 Scopus citations

Abstract

The response to stimulant drugs of 48 boys with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder was measured following dextroamphetamine, methylphenidate, and placebo in a double-blind crossover study. To distinguish lack of behavioral improvement from adverse drug effects, a day hospital setting and a wide dose range were used. Both drugs were highly and equally efficacious for the group as a whole, and frequently one drug or the other was superior for an individual child, or adverse effects occured only on one of the stimulants. Only one of the 48 boys (2%) was discharged without the recommendation for continued stimulant drug treatment. "Nonresponse" appears to be extremely rare when both stimulants and a wide range of doses are given.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)141-155
Number of pages15
JournalPsychiatry Research
Volume36
Issue number2
DOIs
StatePublished - Feb 1991
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Stimulants
  • dextroamphetamine
  • hyperactivity
  • methylphenidate

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Psychiatry and Mental health
  • Biological Psychiatry

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