Effect of long-term treatment of hyperactive children with methylphenidate.

Summary: Three groups of hyperactive children were compared by various measures of outcome 5 years after initial evaluation: 24 who were treated with methylphenidate for 3 to 5 years during the follow-up period, 22 treated with chlorpromazine for 18 months to 5 years, and 20 who had received no medication during the follow-up period. The three groups were matched with respect to age, IQ, socioeconomic class and sex. No statistically significant differences were found between the three groups on the following measures of outcome: emotional adjustment, delinquency, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Bender Gestalt visual-motor test and academic performance (as measured by number of grades failed). Initially there was a significant difference between the three groups on ratings of hyperactivity and family diagnosis. Hyperactivity scores decreased significantly over the 5 years; family diagnosis ratings changed little. Analysis of covariance for these two measures showed no difference in degree of improvement between the three groups. Our impression was that methylphenidate was helpful in making hyperactive children more manageable at home and at school, but did not significantly affect their outcome after 5 years of treatment.     

Side effects of benoxaprofen.

A study was made of adverse dermatological reactions to the non-steroidal anti-inflammatory agent benoxaprofen. Photosensitivity was seen in several patients, confined to wavelengths less than 340 nm. Other cutaneous side effects were erythema multiforme, the Stevens-Johnson syndrome, milia, and onycholysis. One case of pancytopenia and toxic epidermal necrolysis was reported. patients were not rechallenged with the drug, but these reactions appear to be true side effects of benoxaprofen.     

Side effects of chronic lithium therapy in Hong Kong Chinese: An ethnopsychiatric perspective

A biocultural study of the side effects of chronic lithium treatment among 70 Hong Kong Chinese psychiatric patients, using a self-report 33-item checklist and semi-structured interviews, revealed an imperfect correspondence between biomedically prescribed and culturally endorsed psychotropic side effects. Although polidipsia and polyuria (47%) were the biomedically most real side effects, they were not usually regarded as bothersome or translated into metaphors to express undesirable side effects.Complaints such as tiredness (38%), drowsiness (36%) and poor memory (31%) were also common but their frequency was significantly lower than that of normal control subjects. The item loss of creativity had no conceptual equivalent in Chinese and was usually misinterpreted. As no patient was aware that lithium was a metal, the side effect metallic taste was variously labelled. Contrary to Western findings, complaints of missing of highs, loss of assertiveness and fear of weight gain were rarely encountered. Active elicitation was required for indigenous complaints, with 38% of patients considering lithium to cause mild hotness. This was readily neutralized by drinking more water which had a cooling effect. Expectedly, concurrent neuroleptics and antidepressants amplified most lithium side effects.This study affirms Western data on the biomedically universalizable effects of chronic lithium treatment, but also supports the thesis that culturally constituted cognitive styles affect patients' recognition, labelling, experiencing and reporting the total drug effect. Further, it demonstrates that the lived experience and clinical negotiation of lithium associated side effects reproduce, authenticate, and at times critique, core cultural and moral premises of Western and Chinese societies.     

Predictors of success in the EMG biofeedback training of hyperactive male children

EMG biofeedback training is continuing to evolve as a promising treatment of hyperactivity. But while research on its application suggests that this technique induces significantly lower EMG levels in experimental samples as a whole, it also discloses that some children evidence but limited reductions. Most likely, this variability is introduced by differences in subject attributes. This study assessed that prospect by examining whether four common subject characteristics correlated with the extent of decrease in EMG level achieved by 59 hyperactive school-aged boys. Those variables were pretreatment EMG level, age degree of hyperactivity, and locus of control. Number of applications or training sessions was included as the fifth predictor. A multiple regression analysis determined that only locus of control was predictive of success in EMG training; however, it accounted for 72% of the variance. Implications of these findings are discussed.     

Predictors of success in the EMG biofeedback training of hyperactive male children

EMG biofeedback training is continuing to evolve as a promising treatment of hyperactivity. But while research on its application suggests that this technique induces significantly lower EMG levels in experimental samples as a whole, it also discloses that some children evidence but limited reductions. Most likely, this variability is introduced by differences in subject attributes. This study assessed that prospect by examining whether four common subject characteristics correlated with the extent of decrease in EMG level achieved by 59 hyperactive school-aged boys. Those variables were pretreatment EMG level, age degree of hyperactivity, and locus of control. Number of applications or training sessions was included as the fifth predictor. A multiple regression analysis determined that only locus of control was predictive of success in EMG training; however, it accounted for 72% of the variance Implications of these findings are discussed.