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The Eli Lilly company has been marketing a new drug for those who are labeled as ADHD known as Straterra. This drug is purported to be a non-stimulant medication, however the side effects are similar. Rather than effecting the dopamine system as do the stimulants such as methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine, it works upon the norepinephrine neurotransmitter. Straterra is considereda Norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor. Norepinephrine is the brain's adrenalin. Norephinephrine is involved in the increased rate and force of the heart muscle, constriction of heart muscles, pulmonary function (Hedaya, 1999). If these functions are increased, it would be evident that Strattera could produce possible untoward effects on the cardiovascular system. It is interesting to note that in the safety information that Eli Lilly provides on its website, it refers to possible hazards to those who have heart disease or high blood pressure. Information provided by Eli Lilly accompanying prescriptions ----------------------------------------------------------------------------

REGARDING METHYLPHENIDATE (RITALIN AND CONCERTA): The rate of psychotic symptoms that first appear during stimulant treatment has recently been investigated in a 5-year retrospectives study of children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) (Cherland and Fitzpatrick,1999). Among 192 children diagnosed with ADHD at the Canadian clinic, 98 had been placed on stimulant drugs, mostly methylphenidate. Psychotic symptoms developed in more than 9% of the children treated with methylphenidate. Animals and humans cross-addict to methylphenidate, amphetamine and cocaine. These drugs affect the same three neurotransmitter systems and the same parts of the brain. It should have been no surprise when Nadine Lambert presented data at the Consensus Development Conference (attached) indicating that prescribed stimulant use in childhood predisposes the individual to cocaine abuse in young adulthood. Furthermore, their addiction and abuse potential is based on the capacity of these drugs to drastically and permanently change brain chemistry. Studies of amphetamine