Medical revolution

Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most commonly diagnosed psychiatric disorder of children, afflicting about 35% in the U.S. It is often believed to be a physiological brain disorder with a genetic component. Children with ADHD are impulsive,overactive, inattentive, poor learners, and are frequently disruptive, aggressive and uncontrollable. ADHD is treated medically with stimulant drugs such as Ritalin, oral antihypertensives and antidepressants. While these medications can at times be effective if carefully monitored, side effects are possible, and most of these drugs should not be (though sometimes are) given to children under age six because of risk of toxicity or lack of dosage information due to inadequate testing for adverse drug reaactions in this population. Twenty percent of ADHD children do not respond to the first stimulant drug tried, or have a negative reaction to it. Clinicians using homeopathy for ADHD have reported good results, but objective evidence has been lacking. Now, a double blind, placebo-controlled study of 43 children with ADHD shows that homeopathy can be effective in treating the disorder. In a study published in the British Homeopathic Journal, Oct 1997, children afflicted with ADHD were given either a homeopathic treatment or a placebo for ten days, then parents or caregivers rated the children on the amount of ADHD behavior they displayed. Those receiving homeopathic medicines showed significantly less ADHD behavior than those given placebos. When evaluated in a follow-up interview two months after the study's end, 57% of the children showing improvement with homeopathy had continued to improve, even though they had discontinued the homeopathic medicines; twenty-four percent relapsed by the time of the follow-up; and the remaining 19% continued to experience positive results, but only while taking the homeopathic medicines. The homeopathic medicines found most helpful for ADHD were Stramonium, Cina and Hyoscyamus niger. Stramonium was specifically indicated when children had many fears, or suffered symptoms of post-traumatic stress disorder; children who were physically aggressive benefited most from Cina; and, children with manic or sexualized symptoms responded most favorably to Hyoscyamus niger. Below is an alphabetic listing of homeopathic remedies and a brief summary of how each might be applied to children with ADHD or ADHD symptomolgy.