rain on tulips

From Counselling Resource:

ADHD Patch to be Sold as Daytrana

The US Food and Drug Administration has indicated it will approve a patch for treating attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in children, provided that the manufacturers agree to certain changes in how the ADHD patch will be labelled and agree to monitor the product once it is on the market.

Following up on our earlier article on the methylphenidate transdermal system for ADHD, it looks like the FDA is now set to approve an ADHD patch from Noven Pharmaceuticals and Shire Pharmaceuticals Group, which co-developed the patch:

 In a letter to Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc., the Food and Drug Administration included proposed changes to how the patch is labeled, the Miami-based company said. The FDA also asked that the company clarify some data and conduct surveillance and study of the product once it is on the market. The patch would be sold under the name Daytrana.

 Earlier this month, and FDA panel of independent experts voted to recommend that the patch’s label encourage its use as an alternative treatment for children between the ages of 6 and 12 with ADHD, meaning doctors should prescribe it only if taking pills is too difficult for a child.

The patch, which is designed to go on a child’s hip for a period of 9 hours, releases methylphenidate, which has been shown to help children with ADHD. It is the same stimulant that is in Ritalin. The ADHD patch would be marketed under the name Daytrana.

In 2003, Noven submitted a proposal for a 12-hour ADHD patch, but the FDA rejected it and recommended a 9-hour patch instead.

Very interesting. Does away with the roller-coaster effect of many of the shorter-term ADHD meds. I wonder, though, why they are recommending it only for younger children with pill-swallowing difficulty? Seems that it might be useful for older patients as well, unless its a dosing issue more than a dosing style issue.Soon, we won’t need to take pills at all… of course, there will be some of us walking around like a sticker-book, but maybe that will be the ‘look’ by then?? 

**I post this not because I am dealing with ADD or ADHD with any of my kids (yet, crossing fingers); but all of my siblings have one or the other, to one extent or another, so I’ve been very aware of these issues for years.