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INDIANAPOLIS, May 23, 2007 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Data from a recent clinical study showed Strattera(R) (atomoxetine HCl) improved symptoms of Attention- Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) in patients with comorbid alcohol abuse disorder, suggesting ADHD can be treated safely and effectively with Strattera in patients with both disorders. Results from the 12-week study were presented today at a major medical meeting of psychiatrists.
The study was designed to test the hypothesis that Strattera is superior to placebo in the treatment of ADHD symptoms and prevention of relapse of alcohol abuse in adult patients with both ADHD and comorbid alcohol abuse disorder who were recently abstinent.
"ADHD is present in at least one-quarter of adults with alcohol abuse or dependence. Treating ADHD in adults with co-occurring alcohol abuse can be challenging, and up until now, no data have been available to help us know how to treat these patients. Often the first course of action is to treat the alcohol problem first, then later the ADHD," said study author Timothy E. Wilens, M.D., director of substance abuse services in the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Clinics at Massachusetts General Hospital and associate professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School in Boston. "While additional studies are needed, this study is encouraging because it is the first to show that ADHD can be treated safely and effectively with Strattera in patients with ADHD and very recent alcohol abuse."
Results of the study of 147 adults who met full DSM-IV-TR
(Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders) criteria
for ADHD and comorbid alcohol abuse, showed that Strattera was
superior to placebo in the reduction of ADHD symptoms as measured
by the ADHD Investigator Symptom Rating Scale
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