Quick tip

We've talked quite a bit about Ritalin here, so I figured I'd pass this on. This seems to be a fairly commendable example of science journalism, it's a non-bylined AP report on the publication of results of a trial of methylphenidate in pre-schoolers. The anonymous reporter did a good job of getting critical perspectives on the journal reports, which they usually don't bother to do.

I have little to add right now because I have only been able to read the abstracts. (My university library doesn't have an electronic subscription to the journal.) There are actually five different articles reporting various aspects of the trial results, so it's going to take some work for me to get a firm understanding of the total picture. I did manage to glean that Ritalin stunts kids' growth and has many other side effects that aren't very nice. Based on the instruments they used to measure effectiveness, 21% of kids with serious symptoms who got speed, and 13% who got placebo, had complete remission. So you have to stunt the growth of 100 kids to get 8 of them to sit down and shut up. Even on taken at face value, that sounds like a questionable proposition. But unlike your favorite radio talk show host, I won't criticize what I haven't read. More later, I hope.