Ritalin, the common drug prescribed to children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), had been linked to possibility of
Ritalin, the common drug prescribed to children suffering from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), had been linked to possibility of cancer.
Although the drug Ritalin, in the past, had been linked to the risk of cancer in animals, this is the first time any study links the drug to cancer proneness in humans.Researchers from Department of Epidemiology and Department of Preventive Medicine and Community Health, The University of Texas, in a study that’s going to be published in the journal Cancer Letters, have investigated the possibility of the health risk for the drug Ritalin. They investigated possibility of chromosomal abnormality in children who had taken the drug for over a period of three months.
In the 12 children they tested who were taking prescribed doses of Ritalin, the results show increase in chromosomal aberrations. Chromosomal aberrations are often linked with increased cancer risk.
The researchers are of the opinion that these findings need to be further investigated before use of Ritalin can be conclusively related to cancer.
However, although the situation is not drastic, but scientists need to be worried as most of the users of the drug Ritalin are children, and hence the possibility itself is quite alarming.
Link:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science?_ob=ArticleURL&_udi=B6T54-4FH0DHK-4&_user=10&_coverDate=02% 2F16%2F2005&_rdoc=1&_fmt=summary&_orig=browse&_sort=d&view= c&_acct=C000050221&_version=1&_urlVersion=0&_userid=10 &md5=1b281d9b0e8ca6a38fa29bd08f48d79e
