Inpharma 1572 - 27 Jan 2007

Low-dose atomoxetine effectiveADHD maintenance therapy

Low-dose atomoxetine may be effective asmaintenance therapy for children and adolescents withattention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), reportUS-based researchers.

Their study involved 229 patients aged 6–16 yearswho had shown a response to acute atomoxetinetherapy; the patients were randomised to continuemaintenance therapy with atomoxetine at their finalacute dose (n = 116; mean dose 1.43 mg/kg/day) or tofollow a low-dose regimen in which they receivedatomoxetine 0.5 mg/kg/day, for up to 8 months.*

At study end, there was no significant difference inrelapse rates between the two groups. The mean changein the ADHD Rating Scale total score from the start ofmaintenance therapy to the end of the study was alsonot significantly different between the two groups.However, heart rate was higher among patients whocontinued atomoxetine therapy at the higher dose, andweight gain and reports of affective lability were higheramong patients in the low-dose group.* This study was supported by Eli Lilly and Company.

Newcorn JH, et al. Low-dose atomoxetine for maintenance treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics Electronic Pages [serial online] 118:e1701-e1706, No. 6, Dec 2006 801060825

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Inpharma 27 Jan 2007 No. 15721173-8324/10/1572-0001/$14.95 Adis © 2010 Springer International Publishing AG. All rights reserved