Clinicians who treat five and six-year-old children with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), now have new information regarding treatment.
In an eight-week, double-blind clinical trial, atomoxetine was found to be well tolerated and effective at reducing the core symptoms of ADHD.
The study was led by researchers at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, in collaboration with researchers at Duke University Medical Center, in Durham, N.C., and Columbia University in New York. The results, which were published in the April issue of the journal Pediatrics, were based on findings involving the 101 children participating in the study.
“The children treated with atomoxetine demonstrated significant improvement,” said Christopher Kratochvil, M.D., professor in the UNMC Department of Psychiatry and assistant vice chancellor for clinical research for UNMC.
Even though the drug was generally useful in diminishing symptoms, Dr. Kratochvil said many of the children still experienced problems due to ADHD.
This is the first randomized controlled trial of this medication in children as young as five, he said. The results will be useful in helping health professionals better educate parents about atomoxetine as a potential treatment choice.
Dr. Kratochvil said that the study was prompted by the fact that although ADHD often initially presents at a young age, and young children with ADHD are often treated with pharmacotherapy, data supporting the use of medication to treat the disorder in young children is limited.
There are more than a dozen stimulant medications approved for the treatment of ADHD in children age six and older, he said, as well as two non-stimulant medications.
“The variety of medications is useful, because it allows a clinician to select a treatment based on the best fit for a patient, and then if one medicine doesn’t work other options are available,” he said.
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