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Ten Percent Of Teens Use Study Drugs Yet Most Parents Aren't Aware

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Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: Pediatrics / Children's Health; ADHD
Article Date: 22 May 2013 - 0:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Ten Percent Of Teens Use Study Drugs Yet Most Parents Aren't Aware
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Many teens across the country are using "study drugs" to give them an academic advantage and help them achieve better results in school.

The University of Michigan Mitt Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health, which was carried out by researchers at the University of Michigan, found that only one percent of parents of teens between the age of 13 to 17 believe their children are using prescription stimulants or amphetamines.

However, national data from Monitoring the Future revealed that an overwhelming 10% of high school sophomores and 12% of high school seniors take these attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs without a prescription from their doctor.

It is important that children who are mentally healthy avoid taking attention-boosting drugs. The American Academy of Neurology (AAN) announced in a public statement that it is wrong for doctors to prescribe ADHD drugs for mentally healthy kids who misuse them as a means of achieving better grades at school.

A study carried out by SAMHSA (Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration) reported that the number of emergency department visits involving ADHD medications increased from 13,379 in 2005 to 31,244 in 2010 (a rise of more than 100%).

Study drugs include all medications that are prescribed to treat ADHD, such as Adderall, Ritalin, Concerta, and Vyvanse.

?? Students take ADHD medications without a prescription (either by taking someone else's medication or buying it illegally) to improve cognitive performance and achieve better results in their exams.

?? Matthew M. Davis, M.D., M.A.P.P., director of the C.S. Mott Children's Hospital National Poll on Children's Health said that it is imperative that people understand that study drugs have not been proven to improve students' grades and can be very dangerous to their health if abused.

??Davis said: "Taking these medications when they are not prescribed for you can lead to acute exhaustion, abnormal heart rhythms and even confusion and psychosis if the teens get addicted and go into withdrawal."

He added:

"What we found in this poll is a clear mismatch between what parents believe and what their kids are reporting. But even though parents may not be recognizing these behaviors in their own kids, this poll also showed that one-half of the parents say they are very concerned about this abuse in their communities."

The most concerned parents were white (54% were "very concerned") followed by black and Hispanic parents.

Although many parents expressed concern, only 27% of them had talked to their children about improper using prescription drugs such as Adderall.

??Davis added: "If we are going to make a dent in this problem, and truly reduce the abuse of these drugs, we need parents, educators, health care professionals and all who interact with teens to be more proactive about discussing the issue." ?

One third of parents supported school policies that focused on stopping the abuse of study drugs in school. 76% of parents said that schools should educate children about the dangers associated with abusing study drugs.

79% said they would support a policy that made students with a prescription for ADHD medications keep their medicines somewhere secure where other students can't have access to them.

One in ten teens using "study drugs," but parents aren't paying attention

?Davis concluded: "We know teens may be sharing drugs or spreading the word that these medications can give their grades a boost. But the bottom line is that these prescription medications are drugs, and teens who use them without a prescription are taking a serious risk with their health."

The long term health effects of taking ADHD drugs could result in health risks that aren't yet fully understood. A study published in the American Journal of Psychiatry (June 2009 issue) revealed that stimulant drugs for ADHD treatment may increase the risk of sudden death in healthy children.

Written by Joseph Nordqvist

Copyright: Medical News Today
Not to be reproduced without permission of Medical News Today Visit our psychology / psychiatry section for the latest news on this subject. "The University of Michigan Mitt Children’s Hospital National Poll on Children’s Health"
Matthew M. Davis, MD, MAPP, Sarah J. Clark, MPH, Dianne C. Singer, MPH, Gebremariam, MS, Regina Royan, MPH, Anna Daly Kauffman, BA
University of Michigan Please use one of the following formats to cite this article in your essay, paper or report:

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Nordqvist, Joseph. "Ten Percent Of Teens Use Study Drugs Yet Most Parents Aren't Aware." Medical News Today. MediLexicon, Intl., 22 May. 2013. Web.
3 Jun. 2013. APA

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posted by immediate care justice il on 22 May 2013 at 1:59 pm

It seems like there is always something new to worry about. While many parents talk to their kids about known party drugs, study drug usage is not well known or discussed. Michael Jackson's death created a lot of awareness about prescription drug abuse. Increased concentration isn't something that gets most parents worried enough to suspect something. It will take serious problems and media attention to raise awareness and get parents to start talking to their kids about this.

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'Ten Percent Of Teens Use Study Drugs Yet Most Parents Aren't Aware'

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Substance Abuse Rates Higher In Teenagers With ADHD: Large Study

Main Category: Alcohol / Addiction / Illegal Drugs
Also Included In: ADHD; Pediatrics / Children's Health
Article Date: 13 Feb 2013 - 1:00 PST Current ratings for:
Substance Abuse Rates Higher In Teenagers With ADHD: Large Study
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A new study published online in the Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry revealed a significantly higher prevalence of substance abuse and cigarette use by adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) histories than in those without ADHD. Researchers from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic of UPMC as well as six other health centers across the United States also found that, contrary to previous findings, current medications for ADHD do not counter the risk for substance abuse and substance use disorder (SUD) among teenagers.

This study is the first to examine teenage substance abuse and treatment for ADHD in a large multi-site sample. It also is the first to recognize that increased use of cigarettes in teenagers with ADHD histories commonly occurs with use of other substances such as alcohol and marijuana.

"This study underscores the significance of the substance abuse risk for both boys and girls with childhood ADHD," said Brooke Molina, Ph.D., professor of psychiatry and psychology at the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine and lead author of the report. "These findings also are the strongest test to date of the association between medication for ADHD and teenage substance abuse."

Researchers studied nearly 600 children over an eight-year period from childhood through adolescence to test the hypothesis that children with ADHD have increased risk of substance use and abuse or dependence in adolescence. Molina and colleagues also examined substance abuse patterns, the effects of ADHD medications over time, and the relationship between medication and substance use.

The findings showed: When the adolescents were an average of 15 years old, 35 percent of those with ADHD histories reported using one or more substances, as compared to only 20 percent of teens without ADHD histories. Ten percent of the ADHD group met criteria for a substance abuse or dependence disorder, which means they experienced significant problems from their substance use, as compared to only 3 percent of the non-ADHD group. When the adolescents were an average of 17 years old, marijuana was particularly problematic with 13 percent versus 7 percent of the ADHD and non-ADHD groups, respectively, having marijuana abuse or dependence. Daily cigarette smoking was very high at 17 percent of the ADHD group, a significantly higher rate than national estimates for this age. The smoking rate of non-ADHD teens was only 8 percent. Alcohol use was high in both groups, highlighting its common occurrence for teenagers in general. Substance abuse rates were not different for children who were still being treated with ADHD medication compared to children who were not. The authors noted the important finding that substance abuse rates were the same in teenagers still taking medication and in those no longer on medication, even after considering multiple factors that might cause teenage medication use. They noted that these results suggest a need to identify alternative approaches to substance abuse prevention and treatment for boys and girls with ADHD.

"We are working hard to understand the reasons why children with ADHD have increased risk of drug abuse. Our hypotheses, partly supported by our research and that of others, is that impulsive decision making, poor school performance, and difficulty making healthy friendships all contribute," added Molina.

"Some of this is biologically driven because we know that ADHD runs in families. However, similar to managing high blood pressure or obesity, there are non-medical things we can do to decrease the risk of a bad outcome. As researchers and practitioners, we need to do a better job of helping parents and schools address these risk factors that are so common for children with ADHD."

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our alcohol / addiction / illegal drugs section for the latest news on this subject. Collaborators on this study include Stephen P. Hinshaw, Ph.D., of the University of California, Berkeley; Eugene Arnold, M.D., of Ohio State University; James M. Swanson, Ph.D., of the University of California, Irvine; William E. Pelham, Ph.D., Florida International University; Lily Hechtman, M.D., of McGill University; and others.
This research was supported by cooperative agreement grants and contracts from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
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Study Shows How We Refocus To Track Down A Person, Animal Or Thing

Main Category: Psychology / Psychiatry
Also Included In: ADHD
Article Date: 23 Apr 2013 - 1:00 PDT Current ratings for:
Study Shows How We Refocus To Track Down A Person, Animal Or Thing
3 stars

A contact lens on the bathroom floor, an escaped hamster in the backyard, a car key in a bed of gravel: How are we able to focus so sharply to find that proverbial needle in a haystack? Scientists at the University of California, Berkeley, have discovered that when we embark on a targeted search, various visual and non-visual regions of the brain mobilize to track down a person, animal or thing.

That means that if we're looking for a youngster lost in a crowd, the brain areas usually dedicated to recognizing other objects, or even the areas attuned to abstract thought, shift their focus and join the search party. Thus, the brain rapidly switches into a highly focused child-finder, and redirects resources it uses for other mental tasks.

"Our results show that our brains are much more dynamic than previously thought, rapidly reallocating resources based on behavioral demands, and optimizing our performance by increasing the precision with which we can perform relevant tasks," said Tolga Cukur, a postdoctoral researcher in neuroscience at UC Berkeley and lead author of the study published in the journal Nature Neuroscience.

"As you plan your day at work, for example, more of the brain is devoted to processing time, tasks, goals and rewards, and as you search for your cat, more of the brain becomes involved in recognition of animals," he added.

The findings help explain why we find it difficult to concentrate on more than one task at a time. The results also shed light on how people are able to shift their attention to challenging tasks, and may provide greater insight into neurobehavioral and attention deficit disorders such as ADHD.

These results were obtained in studies that used functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to record the brain activity of study participants as they searched for people or vehicles in movie clips. In one experiment, participants held down a button whenever a person appeared in the movie. In another, they did the same with vehicles.

The brain scans simultaneously measured neural activity via blood flow in thousands of locations across the brain. Researchers used regularized linear regression analysis, which finds correlations in data, to build models showing how each of the roughly 50,000 locations near the cortex responded to each of the 935 categories of objects and actions seen in the movie clips. Next, they compared how much of the cortex was devoted to detecting humans or vehicles depending on whether or not each of those categories was the search target.

They found that when participants searched for humans, relatively more of the cortex was devoted to humans, and when they searched for vehicles, more of the cortex was devoted to vehicles. For example, areas that were normally involved in recognizing specific visual categories such as plants or buildings switched to become tuned to humans or vehicles, vastly expanding the area of the brain engaged in the search.

"These changes occur across many brain regions, not only those devoted to vision. In fact, the largest changes are seen in the prefrontal cortex, which is usually thought to be involved in abstract thought, long-term planning and other complex mental tasks," Cukur said.

The findings build on an earlier UC Berkeley brain imaging study that showed how the brain organizes thousands of animate and inanimate objects into what researchers call a "continuous semantic space." Those findings challenged previous assumptions that every visual category is represented in a separate region of visual cortex. Instead, researchers found that categories are actually represented in highly organized, continuous maps.

The latest study goes further to show how the brain's semantic space is warped during visual search, depending on the search target.

Article adapted by Medical News Today from original press release. Click 'references' tab above for source.
Visit our psychology / psychiatry section for the latest news on this subject. Researchers have posted their results in an interactive, online brain viewer. Other co-authors of the study are UC Berkeley neuroscientists Jack Gallant, Alexander Huth and Shinji Nishimoto.
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Most Breast Tumors Have Unique Genetic 'Fingerprint,' Study Finds

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Helps explain why it's difficult to predict outcomes, find new treatments, researchers say SATURDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- Researchers who sequenced the entire genomes of tumors from 50 breast cancer patients identified more than 1,700 mutations, most of which were unique to individual patients.

The findings help explain why it's difficult to predict breast cancer patient outcomes and to find new treatments, said the researchers at Washington University in St. Louis and the Siteman Cancer Center.

After sequencing the tumor genomes, the researchers compared the sequences to the matched DNA of the same patients' healthy cells, which allowed them to find the mutations. They also sequenced the 10 trillion chemical bases of DNA more than 30 times to ensure the data was accurate.

All the patients in the study had estrogen-receptor-positive breast cancer, in which cancer cells have receptors that bind to estrogen and help the tumors grow. The study will be presented Saturday at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) annual meeting in Orlando, Fla.

Some genetic mutations that are rare in breast cancer are common in other cancers and there may be drugs available to treat them, lead investigator Dr. Matthew Ellis, a professor of medicine at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, said in an AACR news release.

However, treatment is only possible when the cancer's genetics are known beforehand. The ideal goal is to be able to design treatments by sequencing the tumor genome when a patient's cancer is first diagnosed, Ellis said.

He and the other researchers found two common mutations previously found in breast cancer patients, as well as three new ones that occured in an average of one in 10 women. However, "to get through this experiment and find only three additional gene mutations at the 10 percent recurrence level was a bit of a shock," he said.

In addition, the researchers found 21 other mutations that appeared at much lower rates in several patients. Even though these mutations were relatively rare, Ellis emphasized the finding's value. "Breast cancer is so common that mutations that recur at a 5 percent frequency level still involve many thousands of women," he said.

"We get good therapeutic ideas from the genomic information," he added. "The near term goal is to use information on whole genome sequencing to guide a personalized approach to the patient's treatment."

Because the study is being presented at a medical meeting, the findings should be considered preliminary until published in a peer-reviewed journal.

More information

The U.S. National Cancer Institute has more about breast cancer.

SOURCE: American Association of Cancer Research, news release, April 2, 2011

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Study Hints at Link Between Antidepressants and Heart Trouble

But the finding is preliminary and doesn't prove a relationship, experts note

By Steven Reinberg
HealthDay Reporter

SATURDAY, April 2 (HealthDay News) -- Men taking antidepressants may be at risk for atherosclerosis, which can increase the risk of a heart attack or stroke, a small, preliminary study suggests.

Antidepressants were associated with about a 5 percent increase in the thickness of the large artery in the neck called the carotid artery, which carries blood to the brain, the researchers from Emory University found.

Yet experts not involved with the study noted that it did not prove a cause-and-effect relationship between antidepressant use and heart trouble, and added that depression itself can increase the risk of cardiovascular problems.

"Antidepressant medications may decrease cardiovascular risk by treating depression," said Dr. Gregg C. Fonarow, a professor of cardiology at the University of California, Los Angeles.

Since the new findings are very preliminary, Fonarow said, "Patients should not be concerned or stop taking antidepressant medications on the basis of this study."

Results of the research were scheduled to be presented Saturday at the American College of Cardiology's annual scientific session, in New Orleans. Experts note that studies presented at medical conferences do not undergo the same vetting as research published in peer-reviewed journals. The study was funded by the U.S. National Institutes of Health.

For the study, a team led by Dr. Amit Shah, a cardiology fellow at Emory, collected data on 513 middle-aged male twins who were part of the Vietnam Era Twin Registry. Sixteen percent of the men were taking antidepressants, and of these, 60 percent were taking selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), such as Prozac, Lexapro and Zoloft. The others were taking older antidepressants.

To try to isolate the effect of antidepressants on blood vessels, the researchers measured the thickness of the carotid artery -- called carotid intima-media thickness. The study authors found that a twin taking an antidepressant had a greater intima-media thickness than a brother not taking the drugs.

SOURCES: Gregg C. Fonarow, M.D., professor, cardiology, University of California, Los Angeles; Dominique L. Musselman, M.D., associate professor of clinical psychiatry, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine; April 2, 2011, presentation, American College of Cardiology annual scientific session, New Orleans

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Moms With Tough Childhoods More Likely to Have Smaller Babies: Study

THURSDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Women who suffered abuse in childhood are at increased risk of having low birth weight babies, a new study indicates.

It also found that poverty during childhood and substance use during adolescence and pregnancy boosts the chances of having low birth weight babies, who are at increased risk for death before their first birthday and chronic health problems.

About 8 percent of babies born in the United States each year have a low birth weight -- less than 5 pounds, 8 ounces (2,500 grams).

Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle examined data from 136 mothers who had been part of a study since childhood. They found that women who suffered emotional, physical or sexual abuse or poverty in childhood were more likely to smoke, drink or use drugs during pregnancy, which increases the risk of having a low birth weight baby.

"Our findings suggest that a mother's economic position in childhood and her experience of maltreatment during childhood have implications for her children born years later," study author Amelia Gavin, an assistant professor in the School of Social Work, said in a university news release.

"What is important about this study is that it was the mother's experience of poverty and maltreatment in childhood, not her poverty or depression or obesity in adulthood, that contributed to her infant's low birth weight," she added.

Doctors should ask prospective mothers about any childhood maltreatment and offer help to those at risk for substance abuse during pregnancy, Gavin suggested.

The study was published online recently in the Journal of Adolescent Health.

More information

The March of Dimes has more about low birth weight.

-- Robert Preidt

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For Young Kids With Pneumonia, Timing of Antibiotic Critical: Study

THURSDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- Correct and rapid antibiotic treatment is crucial for critically ill young children with bacterial pneumonia, says a new study.

Even a few hours' delay can lead to a longer hospital stay, said Dr. Jennifer A. Muszynski of Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.

She and her colleagues looked at 45 infants and children, median age 17 months, who had severe bacterial pneumonia and required mechanical ventilation. Children with viral pneumonia or hospital-acquired pneumonia were not included in the study.

The study appears in the April issue of the Pediatric Infectious Disease Journal.

Doctors treating children with bacterial pneumonia have to decide quickly about antibiotic treatment and base their selection of an antibiotic on the likely cause of infection. In the meantime, tests are performed to determine if the chosen antibiotic will be effective. If it is not, the doctor should switch to another antibiotic as soon as possible, the researchers explained in a journal news release.

Of the 45 patients in this study, 71 percent were initially treated with the correct antibiotic. When these patients and patients whose initial antibiotic was changed after testing were looked at as a group, the median time to treatment with the correct antibiotic was about 10 hours, with a range of two to 38 hours.

Overall, children who received the correct antibiotic sooner spent fewer days in the hospital. For children with pneumonia as their only medical problem, waiting longer for correct antibiotic treatment was associated not only with a longer hospital stay, but with more time in the intensive care unit and on a mechanical ventilator.

More information

The American Lung Association has more about pneumonia.

-- Robert Preidt

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Prostate Cancer Screening Doesn't Cut Death Rates: Study

And researchers add that widescale testing is linked to overdiagnosis, overtreatment

By Amanda Gardner
HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, March 31 (HealthDay News) -- A 20-year study from Sweden suggests that screening for prostate cancer does not substantially reduce the risk of death from the disease.

On the other hand, a good many men might receive false-positive results and overtreatment, adding an element of risk to widescale screening, the researchers report in the March 31 online issue of the BMJ.

"In the light of our findings, I would say that the benefit from screening is not sufficient to support mass screening," said study author Dr. Gabriel Sandblom, an associate professor at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm.

"However," added Sandblom, "the study was initiated more than 20 years ago, when PSA [prostate specific antigen testing] was not available and the treatment of localized prostate cancer was not as effective as it is today. I would thus not categorically advise against PSA testing based on an individual decision from a man who feels concern about prostate cancer."

This advice is not out of line with recently updated guidelines on prostate cancer screening from the U.S. government. The recommendations, issued in 2008, take a dim view of prostate cancer screenings at any age for healthy men and flatly recommend against them entirely for men over 75.

The American Cancer Society has also recently revisited the issue of prostate cancer screening.

"A little over a year ago, the American Cancer Society revised its guidelines, which reinforced the message that men need to be informed that there are known benefits, but also limits, to PSA screenings," said Dr. Durado Brooks, director of prostate and colon cancer at the American Cancer Society. "The American Cancer Society does not encourage nor discourage prostate cancer screenings."

This new study does carry with it several significant weaknesses, Brooks added. In particular, because of the timing and design of the study, most men really only received one and, at most, two PSA tests.

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