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Dr. Kim Mulvihill reporting An F-D-A advisory panel voted last week to add black box warnings to medications used to treat attention deficit disorder.
Drugs used by millions of children and adults.
Utah is not the Ritalin capital. Overall, we are using less drugs to treat ADHD than the rest of the country.
Four million people, mostly children, are taking drugs to treat Attention Deficit Disorder. The drugs may be more dangerous than previously thought.
New data from the F-D-A suggests a link between drugs like Ritalin, Adderal and Concerta, and an increased risk of cardiovascular problems or death.
To put the news in perspective, I spoke with Doctor Richard Ferre, a psychiatrist at Primary Children's Medical Center. He says the drugs are safe.
Dr. Richard Ferre, Psychiatrist, Primary Children's Medical Ctr.: "These medications are remarkably safe, probably the safest medications you will put your child on. But the child is carefully evaluated and the risks are carefully monitored, that they follow with their physician to be sure that there are no evidences that there are problems. Then we see very good results for majority of children."
Doctor Ferre also says it is important to note the data so far is not conclusive, that these drugs are responsible for adverse events, and deaths noted by the advisory panel.
