Emerging drugs for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

doi:10.1080/14728214.2020.1820481

Paper

Emerging drugs for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Published Sep 17, 2020 · M. Pozzi, Silvana Bertella, Erika Gatti

Expert Opinion on Emerging Drugs

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26

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1

Influential Citations

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Abstract

ABSTRACT Introduction Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting up to 5.3% of children and 2.5% of adults depending on the country considered. Current pharmacological treatments for ADHD are based on stimulant or non-stimulant medications, targeting dopaminergic and noradrenergic systems in the frontal cortex and dopaminergic system in the basal ganglia. These drugs are effective and safe for the majority of patients, whereas about 20% of treated patients do not tolerate current therapies or experience insufficient efficacy. The adequate treatment of ADHD is necessary to allow a proper social placement and prevent the acquisition of additional, more severe, comorbidities. Areas covered We conducted a review of the scientific literature and of unpublished/ongoing clinical trials to summarize the advances made in the last 10 years (2010–2020) for the pharmacological treatment of ADHD. We found many pharmacological mechanisms beyond dopaminergic and noradrenergic ones have been investigated in patients. Expert opinion Some emerging drugs for ADHD may be promising as add-on treatment especially in children, amantadine to enhance cognitive functions and tipepidine for hyperactivity/impulsivity. Stand-alone emerging treatments for ADHD include viloxazine and dasotraline, which will soon have more clinical data available to support market access requests.

Literature Review

Study Snapshot

Emerging drugs like amantadine and tipepidine show promise as add-on treatments for ADHD, while viloxazine and dasotraline show promise as stand-alone treatments.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

Paper

Emerging drugs for the treatment of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

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