Fenfluramine and methylphenidate in children with mental retardation and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: laboratory effects.
Fenfluramine and methylphenidate both lift attention and lower hyperactivity in kids who have intellectual disability plus ADHD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers gave two drugs to children with both intellectual disability and ADHD.
Each child tried fenfluramine, methylphenidate, and a placebo in random order.
The team watched attention and behavior in a lab setting after each pill.
What they found
Both drugs beat placebo.
Kids paid better attention and acted calmer after fenfluramine or methylphenidate.
No drug worked for every child, but the group average moved in a good direction.
How this fits with other research
Hansen et al. (1989) saw zero benefit when they gave fenfluramine to autistic kids.
The studies seem to clash, but the kids had different main diagnoses.
Fenfluramine may help attention in ID-plus-ADHD while doing little for core autism traits.
Bart et al. (2010) later showed methylphenidate also boosts motor skills in children with ADHD and coordination disorder.
Together the papers say the same drug can fix different problems in different kids.
Why it matters
If you serve children with both ID and ADHD, these drugs are options.
Start with behavioral plans, then track small changes if meds are added.
Re-run your attention or hyperactivity probes after any dose change.
The data give you a benchmark to judge if the child in front of you beats the odds.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Graph the child’s on-task minutes before and after any med change to see if the pill helps your behavior plan.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Twenty-eight children took part in a double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study of fenfluramine and methylphenidate. Fenfluramine dosage was gradually increased to a standardized dose of 1.5 mg/kg per day, whereas methylphenidate was given in doses of 0.4 mg/kg per day. The children were assessed on laboratory tests of selective and sustained attention, visual matching, and color matching, during which seat activity was monitored automatically. Results showed fenfluramine to be superior to placebo on the memory task, whereas methylphenidate reduced commission errors on a continuous performance test. Methylphenidate caused shorter response times, and fenfluramine caused increases, on two of the tests. Examiner behavior ratings indicated significant improvements with both drugs on the domains of attention, activity level, and mood. These findings, together with those from a companion clinical study, suggest that the drugs may have contrasting mechanisms of action, but both appear to have useful clinical effects in these children.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 1993 · doi:10.1007/BF01046052