Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, April 24, 1995                   TAG: 9504240041
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-1   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: SANDRA BROWN KELLY STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

DRUG TREATS ATTENTION DISORDER

Ironically, Ritalin became the drug of choice for treatment of ADD because another effective drug, Dexedrine, had a "street image," said John J. Ratey, a professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, who also is an ADD sufferer.

Ratey and Dr. Edward M. Hallowell are co-authors of "Driven to Distraction," a best-selling book on ADD. Ratey also is director of research at Medfield State Hospital and has a private practice in Cambridge, Mass. Hallowell is in private practice in adult and child psychiatry and is an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard.

They support Ritalin as an appropriate treatment - they say it works in about 80 percent of the cases - but they also stress that an accurate diagnosis based on an individual's history is crucial

And once a person is diagnosed, Ritalin alone is not sufficient to deal with the disorder, the authors stressed.

Several medications are used in treatment of ADD sufferers, and all increase the person's ability to focus better on one task, the authors note in their book. In addition to the stimulants Ritalin and Dexedrine and Cylert, antidepressants like Norpramin and anti-high-blood-pressure medication like Catapres are prescribed.

"Finding the right medication and the right dosage can take several months of trial and error," the authors note. Also, they say that ADD sufferers who take the stimulants should stop the medication every four to six months to determine if it is still necessary.

Ratey and Hallowell note, too, that ADD can be an underlying cause of substance abuse. Cocaine, for example, gives a person a "rush of unfocused energy," but makes a person with ADD "feel focused" and "clearheaded," they said in their book.