Good and bad news about the medications that children take for attention deficit disorder, or ADHD.
Good news, new research from Duke University and the National Institutes of Health say taking Ritalin and Adderall doesn't cause genetic damage in kids, even though a past study found it changed a patient's DNA.
The bad news is that a panel of experts warned earlier this week that doctors are far too quick to prescribe antipsychotics to children.
For example, Risperdal is often prescribed to treat attention deficit disorder, but the panel said it can have substantial and even permanent side effects for kids.
And the panels concerns extended to a number of other antipsychotics.
The reviewers say these drugs may be approved in general, but not always for that child's specific condition... and these prescriptions for children and teens have increased five fold in the past fifteen years.
