Health Minister Robert F. Kennedy Junior is a prescription stimulant, such as Adair, which is used primarily to treat attention hyperactivity disorder.
He said: “We have harmed this entire generation.” last year During podcast, in reference to the number of children taking psychiatry. “We have poisoned them.”
In February, “Make America healthy again “Committee”Led by Mr. Kennedy, announced plans to assess the “threat” posed by drugs such as the described steroids.
But are they a threat? And if so, for whom?
Like many medications, medical stimulants have possible side effects, and there are people who misuse them. However, these drugs are also considered some of the most effective and Study well Dr. Jeffrey e said. New Corn, Director of Hyperactive Disorder, Attention and Learning Disorders at the Faculty of Medicine at ICAN University in Mount Sinai in New York, The treatments provided by psychiatry provided by psychiatry and learning disorders at the Faculty of Medicine at ICAN in Mount Sinai, New York.
Here are some answers to the common questions and concerns about steroids.
What are the medical stimulants?
The described steroids are medications that help change the way the brain works by increasing communication between neurons.
It is divided into two categories: Methael Veneidat (such as Ritalin, Focalin, Concerta) and amphetamines (such as Vyvanse and Addingall).
Medicines are often prescribed to treat hyperactivity disorder and attention lack, but they are also used in conditions such as NarcolePsy or artery eating disorder. Sometimes it is also used outside the label, for treatment -resistant depression, or Catatonia, which is a syndrome that can cause the patient to move in unusual ways, become unpopular or stop talking.
Medicines act by amplifying the activity of neurotransmitters dopamine and nortrinaline in the neurons of the brain. Dopamine He plays a role in creating a desire for something and motivated to get it, while without light it can increase vigilance and make the focus easier.
Dr. Anthony Lostine, head of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Cooper University, which is taken from Camden, New Jersey, said that they suffer from a deficit in each of these chemicals, so when they use steroids, they mainly help “even outside them.”
For some users, the effects are deep. Dr. Rosan said: “It is like glasses for poor vision.”
Do you always use steroids to treat ADHD?
no.
Not everyone who has been diagnosed with hyperactivity and attention lack takes steroids. There are also non -stimulating medications, such as stratra (atoms). Some people do not need any medicine at all.
Other interventions, such as behavioral therapy, parental training, school support, and lifestyle changes to regulate sleep and exercise, are important – regardless of whether someone needs a drug or not.
How many people do they take?
Use of described steroids He was high Since 2012, in particular Between adultsAnd he has It increased sharply In recent years among women as well as patients between the ages of 20 and 39.
In 2023, an estimated 6 percent of adults had a current diagnosis of hyperactivity disorder, lack of attention, and about a third of these patients who were reported to take prescription stimulant medications, according to analysis One of the centers of control and prevention of diseases.
In children and adolescents, the number of stimulant recipes was More stable In recent decades.
In general, this is estimated 5 percent of children In the United States, the drug is determined in ADHD (not 15 percent, the number Reminded by Mr. Kennedy During the assertion session in January.)
study Posted in February I found that medical prescriptions are actually Decrease After the epidemic began.
How many times is medical stimulants to use?
Government drug use polls show this In 2022Among the 12 -year -old or older people, 1.5 percent of the abuse of medical stimulants last year – while taking medications without a doctor telling them to do so, or not in the way he was prescribed. Sometimes people aspire to be more productive or to stay awake, but medications are also used in entertainment, and can be produced high by swallowing, smoking, snoring of the drug – or pumping it into the bloodstream.
Adults between the ages of 18 and 25 have the highest rates of misuse: 3.7 per cent.
Among teenagers 12 to 17, the percentage of misuse was much smaller: 0.9 percent.
This number can differ depending on the place where they live: in some American schools, like many 1 of every 4 high school students Reporting the misuse of medical stimulants, and their desire to perform better in school often motivates them. Some schools do not indicate any problem with the misuse of the activator.
What are the possible side effects?
Taking steroids can cause high blood pressure, heart rate, decreased appetite, difficulty sleeping, anxiety or incitement.
Other common side effects include headaches, an increase in body temperature and abdominal pain.
Often, it is known that steroids temporarily slow down the child growthThis reason, this reason should monitor their length and weight by a medical provider while taking medications.
There is also a Simple risk in developing psychosis It may be linked to the dose. And when The steroids are misusedIt can be addiction.
Patients and their doctors must weigh the benefits of taking doping against these risks. Hyper movement disorder and attention lack, especially when leaving it without treatment, are associated with reckless behaviors such as reckless driving, unsafe sex, and abuse of materials and aggression. A A recent study It showed that people with diagnosis, on average, die early in their peers – about seven years ago for men, and about nine women.
How long is steroids to use?
It depends.
Studies have shown ADHD symptoms It can change over timeAnd improvement and then exacerbate again, or vice versa. “This is not fixed,” said Dr. Rosen. “They are wax and they have many people.”
As a result, he added that people may end up using hyperactivity disorder medications and a lack of attention.
Some people take these drugs in the long run.
“This is what is said, it is always appropriate when someone is stable for psychological organizations to try to reduce the dose.”
He said that if one of the patient continues to achieve a good performance, this deserves to explore whether the drug is still necessary.
Is there still a lack of medicine?
Yes.
Doping of stimulants It started in 2022 Continues. According to the Food and Drug Administration, as of March Tablets and splatterBesides Other types to Amphetamine The tablets are either available or in a deficiency in the width.
Dr. Rosan said that the availability of specific drugs and structures could vary according to the region.
He added: “It leads to a lot of uncertainty, inability to predict and a lot of anxiety on the part of patients.”
