Modafinil Safe and Effective for Hyperactivity

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Modafinil, which is sold under the trade names Provigil and Modavigil, improves symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents, and is well tolerated, according to a report in the Journal of Clinical Psychiatry.

Modafinil is usually used to treat narcolepsy, a sleep disorder. It differs from other drugs used to treat ADHD in that it doesn’t stimulate the entire brain, only certain areas, the authors explain.

Dr. James M. Swanson from the University of California at Irvine and colleagues assessed the effects of modafinil in 190 patients with ADHD who were randomly selected to receive the drug or inactive "placebo" for 7 weeks. The assigned treatment was then stopped and the subjects were followed for an additional 2 weeks.

Modafinil provided significantly greater improvements in ADHD symptoms than did placebo, the report indicates.

"These findings suggest consistent therapeutic effects of modafinil at school and home during weekdays, evenings, and weekends as evaluated by clinicians, teachers, and parents," the investigators write.

After abrupt discontinuation of modafinil, there were no physical or emotional side effects, the researchers note, and there were no symptoms of withdrawal or rebound of ADHD symptoms.

Patients tolerated modafinil well, the report indicates, but insomnia and decreased appetite were reported significantly more often with modafinil than with placebo.

"Treatment of children with ADHD with modafinil was effective across the full spectrum of symptoms of ADHD, including inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity," Swanson and colleagues report. "These findings suggest that modafinil may provide a novel therapeutic option for the management of ADHD in pediatric and adolescent patients."

SOURCE: Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, January 2006.