Selegiline and methylphenidate in treatment of ADHD.
A lack of perseverance, poor attention and poorly modulated behaviour are important criteria of Attention deficit hyperactive disorder. Instructions often have to be repeated, sometimes even by different family members before a child with ADHD attends and complies. The hyperkinetic child might cause less disagreement in families with high coherence. Methylphenidate is quite effective in psychopharmacological treatment of ADHD. Selegiline has a longer half-life time and seems to be as effective as Methylphenidate. Families of 15 boys (age 6 to 12 years), diagnosed with ADHD using the Mannheim;s Parents Interview and teacher;s form of the Conners Scale, who were treated with Methylphenidate, were compared with a matched group of 15 boys treated with Selegiline. Methylphenidate was administered four times/day, Selegiline was administered twice a day only. The Mann-Whitney-U-Test suggested, that there was no significant difference of improvement between Selegiline and Methylphenidate.
Niederhofer
Helmut
H
Department of Child- and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Hospital of Psychiatry, Anichstrasse 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria, helmut.niederhofer@uibk.ac.at.