Comparative Study of Treatments of Children with ADHD with Medication Alone Vs Medication with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy

Author(s): Zunaira Alina, Abida Niazi, Ambreen Mehmood, Hira Ijaz, Abida Hussain, Sabika Zaheer, Hamna Nasar, Hina Shahid, Faiza Sundus, Sadaf Nawaz, Rebecca Zaheer

This study is important due to the long terms negative effects of using stimulants for ADHD therapy as they manifest negative side effects. The amphetamine stimulants are neurotoxic with long-terms use and it’s imperative to use it in lower dosages while at the same time yielding the maximum affects to treat ADHD symptoms. This narrative review is conducted to explore the professional literature between 2000-2015. The trials conducted to explore the efficacy of adjunctive therapy with stimulants demonstrated various results. The supplementation of combined magnesium and vitamin B6 yielded positive results with significant improvement in ADHD, specifically in hyperactivity, aggression, and low attention span. Zinc supplementation, with 30 mg or more, with amphetamine aided in lowering the dosage of amphetamine use by at least 20% while yielding the same results compared to higher amphetamine use without zinc. Zinc+methylphenidate combination yielded positive results to lower ADHD symptoms; however the results are not conclusive due to more trials are needed in different dosages of zinc. Based on the clinical studies, dietary supplements are useful in treating ADHD symptoms. Clinical trials with zinc and magnesium+B6 have shown to yield positive results in lowering the ADHD symptoms. With current ADHD therapy, continued stimulant use leads to tolerance and increases with continued use; hence the stimulant dosage also needs to be increased to reach efficacy. Adding adjunctive dietary supplements have demonstrated that the stimulant dosages can be lowered. However, further study is needed to factor in bioavailability, efficacy of other dosages, diet, and any other factors that could hinder the function of the dietary supplements internally.