Psychopharmacologic treatment of acquired attention disorders in children with brain injury

This investigation examined the efficacy of psychostimulant therapy in alle viating neurobehavioral dysfunction attendant to pediatric brain injury. Th e most commonly reported neurobehavioral sequelae associated with head inju ry in the pediatric population involve deficits along the attentional matri x. This is also the most common objectively documented neurobehavioral find ing among children as well as adults. There are several investigations in t he adult literature which have employed the use of psychostimulants in trea ting both psychiatric and neuropsychological residua associated with head i njury. Overall, the results of these studies are equivocal, but suggest a b eneficial impact on general functioning. The present prospective investigat ion utilized a double-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over experimental de sign to examine the efficacy of methylphenidate in treating children with a cquired attentional disorders secondary to brain injury. A cohort of 14 chi ldren with varying degrees of head injury were recruited for participation. As expected, differences between drug and placebo conditions uniformly ach ieved statistical significance, Additionally, there were no differences in performance between baseline and placebo conditions on neurobehavioral task s of attention and concentration. Current findings suggest that methylpheni date (and probably other psychostimulants such as Cylert, Adderal, Wellbutr in and dextroamphetamine sulfate) is an extremely effective agent in treati ng attentional disorders secondary to brain injury in children.