Twenty-five people died and more than 50 suffered from serious heart problems while using drugs prescribed to treat Attention Deficit Disorder between 1999 and 2003, according to a Food and Drug Administration report released earlier this month. Nineteen of those who died were children.
In a tight vote, the FDA advisory panel decided drugs like Adderall and Ritalin, which are commonly prescribed to treat ADD, should carry "black box" warnings, the strongest warning issued for medications by the administration.
According to the FDA Web site on pharmaceutical information, physicians are to prescribe drugs like Adderall with care:
"Long term affects of amphetamines in children have not been well established. The decision to prescribe amphetamines should depend on the physician's assessment of the chronicity and severity of the child's symptoms and their appropriateness of his or her age."
Dr. Janice Selekman, nursing professor, said she hopes the FDA warnings will not stop people who need the drugs from using them.
"If someone doesn't need the medication, it poses many risks," she said. "It does what any stimulant does for the body; you become manic, you don't sleep and don't eat. These aren't bad medications and I would hate to think students would be hesitant to take them if they need it."
Dr. Rita Cohen, a Newark psychologist who tests for ADD, said testing prevents the drugs from making their way to those who do not need them.
"There is a variety of things you need to look for when testing for these disorders," she said. "A lot of things have attention components. If you are sick or tired it affects your attention and the testing rules these things out. The stresses and demands are much stronger in college. To test you need a symptom rating scale, and you need to look at behavior along several different locations."
Junior Kate Pritchard, who takes Ritalin because of her ADD, said the FDA warnings do not concern her.
"It doesn't really worry me because I know I was prescribed it and I know how to take it," she said. "It's really your doctor's job to figure out exactly what you should be taking. I take Ritalin now, but I used to be on Concerta and I had to get off of it because it was giving me a high heart rate."
Junior Amanda Doroshow, who is prescribed Adderall, said she agrees with Pritchard.
Doroshow explained that she knows she is OK because her "heart isn't pounding" when she takes the medication.
"It does worry me a little bit but the fact that I'm prescribed to it makes me feel better. I trust my doctor," she said. "Although I don't really like putting a medication in my body every day, it's not because I'm scared of the medications."
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