Ritalin

When someone is diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder, Ritalin is the medication that most doctors prescribe, as a stimulant to the central nervous system, especially to children and adults suffering from narcolepsy. Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is treated with Methylphenidate (MPH), active ingredient of Ritalin, which is also used to treat symptoms of traumatic brain injury.

Ritalin is also prescribed for chronic fatigue syndrome and other daytime drowsiness symptoms associated to narcolepsy. Methylphenidate was patented in 1954 by Ciba, the pharmaceutical company precursor of Novartis, its actual manufacturer. It is estimated that millions of Americans, both children and adults are prescribed with Ritalin each year.

However, drug injury came into play when the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) revealed a detailed report of 54 serious cardiovascular problems and 25 deaths resulting from the use of Ritalin in their different denominations or brands (Ritalina, Rilatine, Methylphenidate, Methylin, Rubifen. Focalin, Concerta and Metadate).

The risk of taking Ritalin are alarming, considering that some of the drug's side effects include loss of appetite, anemia, stomach aches, dry mouth, nausea, headaches, blurry vision, nervousness, and irritability. Other side effects of Ritalin include scalp hair loss, dizziness, drowsiness, difficulty sleeping, and motor tics or tremors.

In children, cardiovascular injuries can be accompanied by disturbing hallucinations, as it was revealed by the New Scientist Magazine on March 31, 2006. As with other harmful drugs, there are groups committed to create awareness among patients prescribed with this medicine, and encouraging them to file a class action lawsuit for damages received for the use of Ritalin.

Recent research has revealed at least 19 cases of children who experienced sudden death after the intake of drugs containing methylphenidate. Ritalin is also known for causing other less common side effects, but still risky, such as anorexia, blood pressure, palpitations and pulse changes, cardiac arrhythmia, hypersensitivity, and toxic psychosis.

Even when the Drug Safety and Risk Management Advisory Committee urged the FDA to require a serious type of health warning on the label, its advice was rejected, and Ritalin has been adding new side effect to its record, including reports of cerebral arteritis, abnormal liver function, and leukopenia death.

But not only the list of health risks is increasing each year. Also the number of victims is staggering as the sales for Methylphenidate drugs, surpassed $3 billion in the United States during 2004 alone. Lawyers advise the lawsuit on basis to Novartis' products liability law, making the pharmaceutical responsible for any damages or injuries caused by Ritalin.

Ritalin is also produced in Mexico and Argentina, in the Americas, and the United Kingdom, Germany and a few more countries in Europe, which makes the number of estimated victims much, much longer, even when the sales in all those nations are lower in volume than the United States.

In 2001, state legislatures restricted schools from recommending drugs for the treatment of emotional and behavioral children problems, as response to the companies launching marketing campaigns directly at parents about the "benefits" of Ritalin and similar drugs to control their children.