Cure is part of the ailment
Published 5:09 pm Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Children taking stimulants such as Ritalin to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder are several times more likely to suffer sudden, unexplained death as children who are not taking such drugs, researchers reported Monday.
Ritalin and Adderall have carried warnings since 2006 about an increased risk of sudden death in children or teens known to have serious heart abnormalities. But this study links stimulants to sudden death in otherwise healthy young people, according to the FDA.
It’s not surprising that a strong stimulant — whether cocaine or Ritalin — could contribute to the sudden death of a young person. What is shocking is that about 2.5 million children in the United States take ADHD medications such as Ritalin and Adderall (which can be prescribed for a child as young as 3). That is a lot of inattention and hyperactivity. (Is there any humane way to harness that? The children-powered wind farm?)
Prescription drugs are invaluable for those seriously afflicted with illness, but the over-prescribing of medication is another area where health care needs reform. Especially the over-prescribing of medication to children.
Despite the study, the FDA said that given the seriousness of ADHD and the rarity of sudden death — which strikes fewer than 1 in 10,000 children — the benefits of the drugs outweigh their risks. (Meanwhile, an FDA advisory panel recommended that Seroquel, Zyprexa and Geodon should be approved for use among adolescents, despite concerns that side effects of the anti-psychotic drugs may expose children to life-long health disorders.)
The fabulously rich prescription drug companies are properly demonized for their role in helping create pharmaceutical-happy Americans — traced in no small part to the FDA’s decision to let them advertise directly to “the consumer” in TV and magazine ads. Now it’s time for patients and doctors to take their lumps, too.
Yes, the new omnipresent ads for the hopeful and feminine-sounding “Lyrica” prescription drug for the treatment of fibromyalgia may make you walk right in and ask your doctor about it, as the commercial recommends. Many people do suffer from unexplainable pain. Just as millions experience clinical depression and erectile dysfunction. But the number of people taking medications for those problems far, far exceeds those who truly need them. Despite the flowery, happy ads, these drugs are not harmless. The list of possible adverse effects is book-length. The long-term effects of many are not yet known.
When “death” is a risk of a drug treatment for a non-fatal condition, when we wonder why young people think prescription drugs aren’t as dangerous as illegal ones, reform in our thinking is overdue.
