ADHD drug caution issued
TORONTO — Health Canada is revising its prescribing and patient information for all ADHD drugs in Canada to add the "potential for psychiatric adverse events."
These have included rare events of agitation and hallucinations in children, spokesman Paul Duchesne said Thursday from Ottawa.
ADHD, or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, is a neurobiological disorder marked by poor attention, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Left untreated, children with the condition may have behaviour problems and trouble learning in school.
Up to five per cent of Canadian kids are believed to have ADHD. Last year, more than two million prescriptions for the drugs were written in Canada.
Government officials are conducting an ongoing review of ADHD drugs and are discussing updated labelling with manufacturers, which should be completed by December, Duchesne said.
"Canadians taking ADHD medication should consult with their doctor if they have any questions or concerns," he said, noting that patients should never stop taking ADHD medication without consulting with their doctor.
Canadian adverse drug reaction reports from 2000 to 2005 list about two dozen cases of mood, personality and psychological reports among ADHD drug users, but there is no way of knowing whether the drugs caused the problems. There were three suicides.
Dr. Umesh Jain, a child psychiatrist who is head of the Canadian ADHD Resource Alliance, said Thursday that Health Canada is right in its message that doctors should "be cautious, be prudent" — but he doesn’t think the advice is anything new.
A properly diagnosed patient on ADHD drugs, taking the correct dosage, would not have a problem with agitation and hallucinations, he said.
"Because what’s happening is you’re taking the patient to a normalization state with the medications. When medications are diverted and abused, they are potentially at risk for developing hallucinations, delusional beliefs, etc."
The new ADHD medications are long-acting, once-a-day preparations and have "low diversion potential," said Jain, who works at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health and Toronto Hospital for Sick Children.
"If you were somebody who was going to use an excess amount, well beyond that of the range of the ADHD profile, yeah, they can potentially cause those problems."
He said Health Canada is trying to be cautious in alerting the population about all potential risks — "partly I think because the medications are being so widely used."
Jain said the Health Canada statement will likely cause some patients to be worried.
"We have to find ways of calming our patients down and say ‘Look, these aren’t going to cause you hallucinations and delusions in the doses that we prescribe to you,’ " he said.
It’s the second revision to the patient information on ADHD drugs this year. In May there was a warning that identified heart-related risks associated with ADHD drugs.
At the time, Health Canada advised Canadians not to use Strattera, Dexedrine, Ritalin, Ritalin SR, Concerta, Attenade, Biphentin and Adderall XR if they have moderate to severe high blood pressure, heart disease or abnormalities, hardened arteries or an overactive thyroid gland.
1 comment:
Charles I voted for the Liberal Party [ time for a change ], are they going to be able to do all with the Item's mentioned in the attached below newspaper article ??
What do your readers think ?
Checklist of promises is on the fridge
Max Wolfe
I have a good friend who has a simple but harsh rule of thumb about political parties at election time. He says if they are in vote 'em out and if they are out, vote 'em in. He argues that after four or so years most parties have pretty well run their course. They are beginning to tire and are happier sitting back enjoying the trappings of power. He recognizes that often it takes two terms either for the government to do anything or for the public to realize they want them out; but he sticks with his rule and he has a point.
There's a corollary that says an electorate that does not give the electoral system an enema on a regular basis has no one to blame but itself for unimaginative incompetence in the second or (God forbid) third terms of a party's reign. My friend must have had New Brunswick in mind or maybe the federal Liberals for much of Canada's history.
Well, we have had our enema, albeit tentatively and now we are facing the Shawn of a New Political Day. He is entitled to our good wishes and to good luck. But even at this early day he and his party have to guard against vainglory and arrogance. One of the most persistent myths of politics is that elections are won by the dazzling brilliance of the winner's personality or the compelling attractiveness of the winning party's programme. The truth is more prosaic.
Elections are won because the electorate gives the boot to the losers. "Get da bums outta here" is usually the chorus of electoral change.
True, the winning programme is part of the mix and also true it becomes an albatross around the winners' necks. It is the consolation prize given to the losers that they can use to beat the government about the head. It is also the measure by which we can all gauge performance . A new government would like nothing better than that we forgot all about its election promises the day after the election. Let's have a look. Many of the promises are simple and inexpensive and there is no reason for the government not delivering:
We are promised that the fisheries are to be separated from agriculture and aquaculture, an administrative shift of debatable merit that should be reasonably straightforward and comparatively inexpensive.
Holding regular meetings with the province's first nations. Another one that won't cost a penny and that has the potential for a lot of good.
Significantly increase the number of hours of physical education in New Brunswick schools. This has to be rolled in with a parcel of other initiatives that will create lifestyle changes and improve wellness for all New Brunswickers. Remember the 60-year-old Swede of Participaction days who was fitter than the average 30-year-old Canadian? Now he is fitter than the average 13-year-old Canadian.
Take action against tobacco companies to recover health care costs related to tobacco consumption. This is becoming the law suit "du jour" these days. Governments across the continent are suing tobacco companies and meeting with some success. Given how much of our budget goes to health care any government that doesn't go after big tobacco is not doing its job.
The package of health care promises such as implementing a new diabetes assistance programme, an addictions strategy, a chronic care strategy for AIDS and arthritis and improved access to methadone treatment, if they ever see the light of day, are the stuff of good government. We have to keep the pressure on government till they produce their programmes and strategies.
But in a way these are all small ticket items both politically and financially. No one can have the slightest doubt that Saint Johners will keep the feet of government to the fire until they set in motion a harbour clean-up. In fact the red tide that swept Saint John this election could easily become a blue one next time around if government doesn't perform on this one.
As for the LNG issue in Charlotte County, if government does not act immediately to intervene in the American regulatory procedures in connection with proposed LNG terminals across Passamaquoddy Bay in Maine, Graham will need an armed bodyguard before he pokes his nose in Charlotte County again. Government knows what they have to do; they have been told often enough. And they made a promise.
Twin Highway 1 from Saint John to the border. There are people in this area who will kill for that one.
$2,000 grants for students is a start.
Make New Brunswick a leader in energy conservation and generation. We have something of a checkered history on this . I'd put it in the pigeon hole of hope rather than of expectation.
Make job creation a priority. I'm not sure how government can do this in a free enterprise capitalist economy but ....hey, go for it.
Take some real action against poverty. I wouldn't hold my breath on this. We have been promising it in Canada for decades and doing nothing
That's pretty well what Shawn and the Liberals said they were going to do. If they don't, we know what to do. Sauce for Lord is sauce for Graham. I'm putting a list on my fridge door to see how much follow through there is.
"Keeping the essence" of the promise isn't going to be enough .
Max Wolfe lives in St. Ansdrews and has written on politics and international affairs over a number of years. His column appears on Saturday.
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