ADHD in Children
Visual Abstract
A randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial of modafinil in children and adolescents with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
Modafinil for ADHD in Children
Manijeh Kahbazi , Aboulfazl Ghoreishi, Fatemeh Rahiminejad, Mohammad-Reza Mohammadi, Abbas Kamalipour, Shahin Akhondzadeh
Summarized by:
May 10, 2023
study source
Psychiatry Res
Aug 2009
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What they studied
This study wanted to see if modafinil, a medication approved for narcolepsy, could potentially treat ADHD symptoms in children.
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What they found
Children assigned to take modafinil experienced significantly greater reductions in their ADHD symptoms.
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What this means
Modafinil may be a safe and effective treatment for ADHD in children.
A randomized, double-blind and placebo-controlled trial of modafinil in children and adolescents with attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder
Objectives
ADHD is one of the most common psychiatric disorders among children. It’s typically treated with medication. Some of the most commonly prescribed medications are stimulants such as Adderall and Ritalin.
While these are generally safe and effective, they aren’t a cure and carry significant side effects.
Therefore, there is a need for treatment alternatives.
Modafinil is a medication approved to help keep people awake for those with narcolepsy or shift-work disorder. There is some evidence that it may also help reduce ADHD symptoms.
This study ran a randomized controlled trial in children to examine the safety and effectiveness of modafinil as an ADHD treatment.
Study Quote
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common behavioral disorder in childhood, with an estimated prevalence worldwide of 7%-17% among school-aged children. Modafinil is a centrally acting agent that is structurally and pharmacologically different from stimulants suc...
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Methods
The study assigned 46 children to receive either modafinil or a placebo control over six weeks.
The trial was randomized and double-blinded, the gold standard of clinical trials.
Study Quote
Patients were 46 outpatients, children (35 boys and 11 girls) between the ages of 6 and 15 who clearly met the DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria for ADHD. All study subjects were randomly assigned to receive treatment with modafinil in a film-coated tablet, 200-300 mg/day, depending on weig...
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Results
The results showed that children who were randomly selected to receive modafinil experienced significantly more improvement in their ADHD symptoms.
A small study found evidence that children given Modafenil showed significant improvement in their ADHD symptoms
The reduction was statistically significant and appeared to increase over time.
The main side effect noted by the authors was decreased appetite, which appeared more frequently in the treatment group:
Study Quote
At 6 weeks, modafinil produced a significantly better outcome on the Parent and Teacher Rating Scale scores than placebo. Decreased appetite was observed more often in the modafinil group.
Conclusions
Based on the study's results, the author concluded that modafinil may be a safe and effective treatment option for children with ADHD. This is consistent with other studies that have shown evidence of modafinil's effectiveness:
It's important to note that modafinil is not a treatment currently approved for ADHD. Larger studies and more data will be needed before approval. There are other treatment options available for ADHD that have stronger evidence and approval specific to ADHD, including Adderall, Ritalin, and Strattera.
Study Quote
The results of this study indicate that modafinil significantly improved symptoms of ADHD, was well tolerated, and may open a new window in the treatment of children with ADHD.