Part 3: UK: Killing Patients with Ritalin

Daniel Fletcher, an 11 years old boy, was first diagnosed with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) at the age of two, and just three years later the little boy was prescribed the amphetamine-like drug Ritalin from Novartis. The effect, says his mother Hayley, was a loss of appetite but no difference in his behaviour. "So the doctor kept upping the doses until he was on six times the normal dose, yet he was still hyperactive."
At the age of 14 he was put on Risperdal, an antipsychotic drug usually given to schizophrenics. "It was as if my son had been replaced by a doped-up zombie,' said his mother, "I could hardly wake him in the morning. It was as if all his personality was disappearing, like a patient in a mental institution."

Hundreds of thousands of others in th UK are still being prescribed Ritalin, an amphetamine-like stimulant which has the same effect as "speed" and cocaine, and which, according to new evidence from the U.S., doesn't even work in the long-term. Ritalin is a methylphenidate which acts in a similar way to cocaine by stimulating the central nervous system, which, paradoxically, can have a calming and focusing effect. Scientists are unclear why it works in this way.

Recent findings suggest that Ritalin can stunt growth as well as causing heart problems, insomnia and weight problems. In the U.S., there have been 51 deaths among children and adults taking Ritalin since 1999. According to the Medicines and Healthcare Products Regulatory Agency, 11 British children on Ritalin have died.

Experts fear that inappropriate drugs are not only being used to control children's behaviour, but are being massively over-prescribed to some children who are simply naughty.

Novartis, which makes Ritalin, says: "Ritalin has a long record as a safe and effective medication.“

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/news/news.html?in_article_id=494862&in_page_id=1770