Combination effect of methylphenidate and Risperidone in treatment of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is the most common psychiatric disorder in children. Due to the high prevalence of the disorder and its psychological consequences and the lack of response to treatment in 20-30% of children to Ritalin, the present study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Risperidone with Ritalin in the treatment of children with ADHD.

:In this clinical  trial study, 60 children, aged 6-12 years,   with ADHD based on  DSM-V criteria, Were randomly divided into two groups of Ritalin and placebo, Ritalin and Risperidone . The dose of Ritalin was started at 0.5 mg / kg daily and increased to a maximum of 1 mg / kg and     Risperidone dose was started at 0.25 mg daily and given up to a maximum of 1 mg daily.The severity of ADHD was assessed at baseline, 2 , 3 , 4  and 6-week after starting the drugs administration. The severity of the disorder was measured by the ADHD rating scale questionnaire. After collecting data, data were analyzed by SPSS-19 software.

Results

Analysis with repeated measure ANOVA showed no significant differences between the two protocols on the ADHD Rating Scale scores (P > 0.05). Significant improvement in ADHD symptoms was observed in both group over the 6 weeks of treatment (P< 0.05). No serious side effects were seen in this study.

Risperidone and Ritalin can be effective in treating children with ADHD and are well tolerated. Also, adding Risperidone to Ritalin can prevent side effects such as insomnia and anorexia and may require a lower dose of Ritalin to control symptoms .