Pharmacotherapy of adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder: review of evidence-based practices and future directions.
BACKGROUND
Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder in children and adolescents with well-known clinical consequences and functional outcomes that affect individuals throughout their lifespan. The diagnosis of adult ADHD is often a clinical diagnosis made on the basis of behavioral symptoms that begin early in life, and persist over time across different settings.


OBJECTIVE
Although pharmacotherapy is a first-line treatment option for ADHD across all age groups, there is a relative paucity of well-designed and well-controlled studies evaluating the treatment outcomes in adult ADHD. In this review, evidence-based pharmacotherapy of adult ADHD and directions of future research are critically examined.


METHODS
A literature search from 1980 to 2007, restricting papers to English, using PUBMED and PsychInfo was performed. Studies were examined based on empirically derived criteria.


RESULTS
The reviewed body of evidence strongly supports the use of pharmacotherapy as a first-line therapeutic option for the treatment of adults with ADHD.
Tcheremissine
Oleg V
OV
Behavioral Health Center-Carolinas Medical Center, Department of Psychiatry, 501 Billingsley Road, Charlotte, NC 28211, USA. oleg.tcheremissine@carolinas.org
Salazar
J Octavio
JO
D000328:Adult; D000367:Age Factors; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology; D002491:Central Nervous System Agents / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D019317:Evidence-Based Medicine; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic
D002491:Central Nervous System Agents