Probing Into Whether Strattera A Novel Treatment For Child And Adult ADHD

Considering the safety and side effects of Strattera which is a composition that involves Atomoxetine, it is considered to be the most effective and safest treatment for children as well as adults for ADHD. 

It is found to be well-tolerated medication alternative to treat the stimulants for ADHD. There are lots of clinical trials conducted till date that prove its effectiveness in the short term as well as in the long term use. 

Side effects: the point of bother

While considering the side effects the most common ones that are noticed include:

• Headache
• Abdominal pain
• Nausea
• Vomiting
• Decreased appetite
• Weight loss
• Irritability
• Insomnia and 
• Even sedation. 

However, when the side effects in adults are concerned it is seen that Strattera may cause problems in several other aspects such as:

• Urinary retention
• Erectile dysfunction
• Dysmenorrhea and 
• Decreased libido.

However, there are a few less common yet significant side effects of Strattera that have been reported,. These include elevated liver enzymes and motor tics. 

The trials conducted

There has been a trail conducted for 18 weeks on 148 patients on double blind, randomized, placebo with ADHD as well as a comorbid tic disorder in patients aging between 7 to 17 years. In this research the tics were measured with the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale. It was found that the Atomoxetine did not aggravate tics and there was a significant trend for improvement noticed among the tics as compared with the placebo group.

There are several study reports that indicated introduction of mania and allergic reaction with urticarial and angioneurotic edema.

According to a study that reviewed cardiovascular measurements indicated that:

• There is a mean change in the heart rate and blood pressure. However, it did not indicate any changes in the QTc interval. 
• It also showed that such effect on the blood pressure and heart rate experienced during Atomoxetine treatment was resolved with the discontinuation of the medication.
• It was also seen that due to this here has been an augmented rate of urinary retention in the adult trials and there was a hesitation experienced when it is compared with the placebo group.

It was therefore deduced by the researchers that the complaints of hesitation or urinary retention can have a direct relation to the use of Atomoxetine.

More serious side effects

When you consider the more recent studies, it has revealed some more serious side effects. 

• It was found that there have been two specific reports of liver enzymes being elevated in the patients that are taking atomoxetine and this situation normalized once the patient discontinued taking Atomoxetine
• On the other hand, it was found that in some cases the condition of higher liver enzymes and jaundice recurred only when this medication was resumed. 

When you consider the current recommendation of the medication it is aimed at monitoring fatigue, right upper quadrant tenderness, jaundice, dark urine, and any other unexplained flu-like symptoms. 

However, these recent reports seem to be more controversial. It says that the intake of this medication raises the risk of suicidal attempts which is also in accordance to the black box warning by the FDA. The comments used in this black box warning include:

• Strattera or Atomoxetine increased the risk of ideation of committing suicide in short term studies in the effects of children or adolescents suffering with ADHD. 
• It also said that anyone considering using Strattera in a child or adolescent essentially should balance the risk of using it with the clinical need. 

More importantly, the warning includes that those patients who have just started the therapy particularly should be monitored more closely for such suicidal risks including suicidal thinking and behavior along with clinical worsening of the symptoms and unusual changes in behavior.

Therefore, all families using this medication on children as well as the care givers for the adults should maintain a close observation of the patient and at the same time maintain a constant communication with the prescriber.

There is an independent review of reports available that suggests that these trials summarized the following data:

• There is a chance of 0.37% children receiving Atomoxetine developing a suicidal ideation and 
• 0.00074% of children are reported to have the feeling of harming themselves.

These figures no matter how less it may appear to you are statistically more significant especially when these are compared to the 0% incidence of suicidal attempts and ideation in the patients who received a placebo. 

Prevalence of suicidal ideation

Considering the reports of suicidal ideation or behavior, the range of age of the children was between 7 and 12 years. There is however, very limited information regarding the reasons of such prevalence of suicidal ideation in the children as well as in the general population suffering from ADHD. It is due to the lack of accurate analysis of the actual risk that is associated with use of this particular medication.

• However, there was a recommendation made for the FDA to conduct additional surveys and tests so that it is far easier to create a review data on this particular issue. 
• In addition to that the importance of a comprehensive treatment plan was also recommended in combination with the medication management.

This was in the wake of the concerns regarding the suicidal ideation among children that raised an interesting and an important issue regarding the analysis, classification, and understanding of the behavior of the children with regards to the pharmacodynamics of Atomoxetine.

Wrapping it up

Therefore, whether you buy the medication from your local store or any other online store such as RXShopMD.com, the safety and effectiveness of the medication largely depends on how you use it, the dosage that you take along with the time interval between two doses.

Ideally, it is proved that Atomoxetine is classified as a non-stimulant medication for ADHD and its potential side effects of neurophysiological response is however similar to those observed in any other traditional stimulant medications. 

In summary, it can be said that Atomoxetine have the characteristics of both stimulant medications as well as an antidepressant that may have the risk of suicidal ideation, agitation and behavior. However, further research regarding this is clearly needed.