Latest Methylphenidate Stories

By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Correspondent WASHINGTON (Reuters) - "Magic mushrooms," used by Native Americans and hippies to alter consciousness, appear to have similar mystical effects on many people, U.S. researchers reported on Tuesday. More than 60 percent of volunteers given capsules of psilocybin derived from mushrooms said they had a "full mystical experience." "Many of the volunteers in our study reported, in one way or another, a direct, personal experience of the...

NEW YORK - People who took an illegal drug made from mushrooms reported profound mystical experiences that led to behavior changes lasting for weeks "” all part of an experiment that recalls the psychedelic '60s.Many of the 36 volunteers rated their reaction to a single dose of the drug, called psilocybin, as one of the most meaningful or spiritually significant experiences of their lives. Some compared it to the birth of a child or the death of a parent.Such comments "just seemed...

OTTAWA -- Canada's health ministry on Friday warned people with high blood pressure, heart disease and a number of other medical ailments not to take drugs used to manage Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).Health Canada said that in rare cases, people with these conditions who took the drugs could suffer "rare heart-related side effects." In a statement, it warned people not to give up the drugs before consulting their doctor.Millions take the drugs to treat attention...

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. health regulators on Thursday approved the first skin patch to treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, saying it would help parents give the drug to children who have trouble taking pills. The Daytrana patch, made by Britain's Shire Pharmaceuticals Group Plc and Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc., will deliver via the skin a generic version of one of the most popular ADHD treatments -- Swiss drug maker Novartis AG's Ritalin. The...

By Toni ClarkeBOSTON -- Cephalon Inc.'s experimental drug to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder may have fallen victim more to the timing of its audition than the quality of its performance, some experts say.Last week, a panel of advisers to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration voted 12 to 1 against approving the drug, Sparlon, amid concern it might cause a potentially fatal skin allergy called Stevens Johnson Syndrome.In a 950-person trial, one patient developed a blistering...

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - A once-daily, controlled-release formulation of Ritalin, also known by its generic name methylphenidate, to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be less likely to lead to abuse than the traditional immediate-release methylphenidate.Dr. Thomas J. Spencer from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School in Boston and colleagues compared the abuse potential of immediate-release and controlled-release methylphenidate in 12 healthy...

By Lisa Richwine GAITHERSBURG, Maryland (Reuters) - U.S. advisers on Wednesday called for new information about psychiatric and heart risks on the labels of attention deficit drugs but stopped short of recommending the strongest possible warning, saying they did not want to frighten patients or parents from effective treatment. The panel of pediatric experts reviewed reports of heart problems and psychotic behavior such as hallucinations in children who took the medicines, which...

By Lisa RichwineGAITHERSBURG, Maryland -- U.S. advisers on Wednesday called for new information about psychiatric and heart risks on the labels of attention deficit drugs but stopped short of recommending the strongest possible warning, saying they did not want to frighten patients or parents from effective treatment.The panel of pediatric experts reviewed reports of heart problems and psychotic behavior such as hallucinations in children who took the medicines, which include Novartis AG's...

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers questioned Cephalon Inc.'s bid to market its Sparlon drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, documents made public on Wednesday showed, sending company shares down as much as 9.5 percent. The staff reports were released ahead of an FDA advisory panel meeting on Thursday to discuss the new use of the drug, which is already sold as Provigil to treat sleep disorders. In October 2005,...

By Susan Heavey WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Some U.S. Food and Drug Administration staff reviewers questioned Cephalon Inc.'s bid to market its Sparlon drug for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, documents made public on Wednesday showed, sending company shares down as much as 9.5 percent. The staff reports were released ahead of an FDA advisory panel meeting on Thursday to discuss the new use of the drug, which is already sold as Provigil to treat sleep disorders. In October 2005,...