title: Cytogenetic effects in children treated with methylphenidate.
abstract: In recent years there has been a surge in methylphenidate (Ritalin) use for treatment of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children. However, there is a paucity of information on whether this drug poses any potential health risks, such as mutagenicity or carcinogenicity, for humans. To address this issue, we investigated whether this central nervous system stimulant produces cytogenetic abnormalities in pediatric patients at therapeutic levels. In a population composed of twelve children treated with therapeutic doses of methylphenidate, we analyzed three cytogenetic endpoints in peripheral blood lymphocytes obtained before and three months after initiation of treatment with this drug. In all participants, treatment induced a significant 3, 4.3 and 2.4-fold increase in chromosome aberrations, sister chromatid exchanges and micronuclei frequencies, respectively (P=0.000 in all cases). These findings warrant further investigations of the possible health effects of methylphenidate in humans, especially in view of the well-documented relationship between elevated frequencies of chromosome aberrations and increased cancer risk.
authors.affiliation: Department of Epidemiology, Box 189, The University of Texas M.D. Anderson Cancer Center, Houston, TX 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Randa A
authors.initials: RA
authors.lastname: El-Zein
authors.forename: Sherif Z
authors.initials: SZ
authors.lastname: Abdel-Rahman
authors.forename: Matthew J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Hay
authors.forename: Mirtha S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Lopez
authors.forename: Melissa L
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Bondy
authors.forename: Debra L
authors.initials: DL
authors.lastname: Morris
authors.forename: Marvin S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Legator
mesh_terms: D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000188:drug therapy; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D002869:Chromosome Aberrations / Q000139:chemically induced*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008214:Lymphocytes / Q000187:drug effects; D008297:Male; D008774:Methylphenidate / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000627:therapeutic use; D048629:Micronuclei, Chromosome-Defective / Q000139:chemically induced; D009152:Mutagenicity Tests; D012854:Sister Chromatid Exchange
chemical_list: D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D008774:Methylphenidate