ADHD Center for Success

I am always thankful when clients, friend and colleagues send articles, studies and resources pertaining to ADHD. Thank you Susanna for sending this news article.

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Here’s a new and interesting news article that speaks to the value of behavioral therapy and/or the ADHD coaching which I provide.

“Not-So-Quick Fix: ADHD Behavioral Therapy May Be More Effective Than Drugs in Long Run”

Cognitive and behavioral therapies that help young people reduce impulsivity and cultivate good study habits are costlier and take longer to administer, but may be more efficacious over time.

READ FULL ARTICLE

It has long been known that psychostimulant drugs have the paradoxical effect of reducing hyperactivity. [Psychostimulant drugs include methylphenidate - known by the trade names Ritalin, Concerta, and Methylin - and methamphetamine]. Since the mid-1950s, millions of children and adults have been prescribed stimulant medications to control attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). But for more than seven decades, since the first experiment that gave an amphetamine drug to children diagnosed with behavioral problems, scientists have not known how stimulants work to control hyperactivity.

Now, a researcher at SUNY Downstate Medical Center, working with colleagues in Mexico, has identified the probable mechanism by which certain stimulants accomplish this paradoxical reduction of motor activity. David Erlij, MD, PhD, professor of physiology and pharmacology at SUNY Downstate, and fellow researchers have identified a network of nerve terminals where stimulation of dopamine D4 receptors depresses motor activity. “This network is localized deep in the brain, in the basal ganglia and the thalamus,” says Dr. Erlij, “and its responses explain the reduction in motor activity caused by psychostimulants.”

READ FULL ARTICLE 

Source: Medical News Today

I’ll admit that I’m following my recommendation these days regarding the importance of exercise for ADHD. Exercise can be a brisk walk, swimming, bicycling or for me it has been regular swing and zydeco couple dancing. For me it’s time to get back into the gym for some strength building exercise and a return to yoga for flexibility and stamina.

You’ve probably also heard me promote Dr. John Ratey’s book, Spark: The Revolutionary New Science of Exercise and the Brain. SPARK is the first book to explore comprehensively the connection between exercise and the brain. It will change forever the way you think about your morning run.

Today I came across this incredible article/video posting that announces a new study that obliterates our current recommendations about how much exercise is good for you. You’ll want to view this video that advocates at least 15min of exercise per day. READ or VIEW  – ‘New Study’

Who doesn’t have 15 minutes for exercise?  See you on the dance floor or at the gym…

~CoachRudy

The use of drugs for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) was not associated with an increased risk of serious cardiovascular events like heart attack and stroke in young and middle-age adults, researchers found.

In fact, the rate of heart attack, sudden cardiac death or stroke was significantly lower in current users of the drugs compared with nonusers, according to Laurel Habel of Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Oakland and colleagues.

But that finding, reported online in the Journal of the American Medical Association, was likely the

result of a healthy-user bias stemming from an overrepresentation of white, college-educated individuals among current users, the authors noted.

Read this story: ADHD Drugs and Adult Hearts

HOT OFF THE PRESS…

After nearly 10 months, the nationwide shortage of ADHD drugs has taken a toll on people’s lives across the nation. The shortage has effected school performance, work performance, relationships and more. 

The issue drew renewed attention Thursday, when the White House issued an interim rule that requires drugmakers that are the only producers of certain critical medications to report to the Food and Drug Administration all manufacturing interruptions that could disrupt supplies.

READ FULL STORY

Four gene variants, all members of the glutamate receptor gene family, appear to be involved in vital brain signaling pathways in a sub-set of children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), researchers from the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia reported in the journal Nature Genetics. The authors add that their findings could help create drugs that target those pathways, offering potential therapies for ADHD patients with those specific gene variants. There are an estimated half-a-million American children with ADHD and these gene variants.

Study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., said:

“At least 10 percent of the ADHD patients in our sample have these particular genetic variants. The genes involved affect neurotransmitter systems in the brain that have been implicated in ADHD, and we now have a genetic explanation for this link that applies to a subset of children with the disorder.”

** READ FULL ARTICLE **

More info re ADHD medication shortages.

I just received an email from ADDiva Linda Roggli. I cannot verify the following information but Linda is a trusted Coaching colleague. I’ve listed her note without editing…

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If you’ve been watching the news or if you’ve visited your local pharmacy lately you’re probably aware of the current nationwide prescription drug shortage.

In The News – Raleigh, N.C. — Although President Barack Obama ordered federal officials Monday to help reduce shortages of critical drugs as much as possible, pharmacists are still advising patients to plan ahead on filling prescriptions.

The executive order calls for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to speed up its safety reviews and push drug companies to better communicate on supplies.

Hospitals and pharmacies nationwide said supplies of more than 200 drugs to treat everything from attention-deficit disorder to cancer and to protect patients during surgery are limited.

“The level of shortage is the worst in history right now,” READ MORE

More on…“Current Drug Shortages”

Locate available med’s -I received the following resource for a pharmacy locator phone number that goes to Shire Customer Service and is supposed to be able to help individuals find a pharmacy that has your ADHD medication on hand.

Source: RealAge.com

Okay, so you have a little trouble concentrating. So what, right?

Not so fast. The truth is, ADHD can have some pretty significant impacts on quality of life if it’s left untreated. Here are just a few facts that demonstrate how important it is to identify, understand, and treat or manage ADHD symptoms.

Adults with ADHD are more likely to:

• Be dismissed from employment
• Have interpersonal difficulties with coworkers and managers
• Experience relationship difficulties and breakups
• Struggle with substance abuse if they’re not treating their condition

If you recognize ADHD symptoms in yourself, don’t ignore them. Speak to a healthcare professional who is well versed in diagnosing and treating ADHD.

Read More…

As I have written in previous blog posts, ADHD can produce varying degrees of challenges to many domains of our lives. In some cases these challenges can lead to severe impairment.  Our ADHD related challenges can range from significant disorganization, procrastination, poor focus and attention, easily distracted, difficulty completing tasks, restlessness, troubled relationships, poor parenting, problem finances, poor self esteem and more.

In a recent study, Dr. Russell Barkley estimates that more than 5 percent of adults have ADHD, but only 10 percent of those adults have received a formal diagnosis. These statistics are similar to a previous study I’ve quoted which reports that of the estimated 5% adult ADHD population, 85% of these ADHD adults are unrecognized, undiagnosed and untreated. These are astonishing statistics.

Worse yet, for those adults who do pursue a diagnosis of adult ADHD, the road can bumpy, potentially hazardous and lead to misdiagnosis. The following article, “Speed Bumps on the Way to an ADHD Diagnosis”, was posted in the NY Times on May 13, 2011 and tells of the difficulties faced by several adults when seeking an accurate diagnosis for ADHD. The article also offers several helpful suggestions for the savvy health consumer who is seeking a proper diagnosis of ADHD.

While the article makes no mention of ADHD Coaching, I find the article to be accurate and informative. I hope you too will find it of value.

~ CoachRudy

**Read More…

NY Times article: “Speed Bumps on the Way to an ADHD Diagnosis”