1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-9-63 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-9-8-12 Attention Deficit Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Response Prediction to Methylphenidate in ADHD http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 08 1995 01 06 2016 9 8 63 64 Copyright: © 1995 The Author(s) 1995 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Prediction of clinical response to methylphenidate in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder

The pattern of individual responses to methylphenidate (10 mg) and factors that predict drug response in 46 children, 6-13 years old, with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Rudolf Magnus Institute for Neurosciences, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands.

 Methylphenidate Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Anxiety

The pattern of individual responses to methylphenidate (10 mg) and factors that predict drug response in 46 children, 6-13 years old, with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were examined at the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and the Rudolf Magnus Institute for Neurosciences, University of Utrecht, The Netherlands. Methylphenidate (MPH) normalized school behavior in one half the subjects, and behavior at home in one third. Behavior both at school and at home was normalized in 17%. Prediction of response to MPH was only successful when stringent, ie cross-situational, response definitions were used. Predictors were a high IQ, much inattentiveness, young age, low severity of disorder, and low rates of anxiety. Positive behavioral changes, measured by the Abbreviated Conners Rating Scales, after a single dose of MPH were predictive of cross-situational improvement after 4 weeks of MPH treatment. [1]

COMMENT. The clinical judgment of severity of ADHD and improvement observed after a single dose of methylphenidate are useful predictors of a beneficial long-term response.

The importance of a multimodal treatment approach to ADHD is emphasized by The National Institute of Mental Health’s recently initiated 5-year, multisite study. Questions to be answered include the influence of comorbid conditions, gender, family history, home environment, age, nutritional status; and effects of various treatments (stimulants, behavior therapy, parent training, school-based intervention) on different functions (cognitive, academic, behavioral), for how long (short versus long term), to what extent, and why? [2]

 Buitelaar JK Van der Gaag RJ Swaab-Barneveld H Kuiper M Prediction of clinical response to methylphenidate in children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1995 Aug 34 8 1025 1032 10.1097/00004583-199508000-00012 7665441 Richters JE Arnold LE Jensen PS Abikoff H Conners CK Greenhill LL NIMH collaborative multisite multimodal treatment study of children with ADHD: I. Background and rationale J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 1995 Aug 34 8 987 1000 10.1097/00004583-199508000-00008 7665456