Trigeminal Nerve Stimulation May Be Effective for Children With ADHD

Trigeminal nerve stimulation (TNS) may be as effective in treating symptoms of attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children as nonstimulant medications, according to a study in theJournal of the American Academy of Child& Adolescent Psychiatry. During treatment with TNS, a small stimulator powered by a 9-volt battery delivers a low current to patients through adhesive patches on their foreheads while they sleep. The current stimulates parts of the brain that are involved in concentration and impulse control.James J. McGough, M.D., of the Semal Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA, and colleagues compared active treatment with TNS to sham (fake) treatment in 56 children aged 8 to 12 years. The sham devices were identical in appearance to real ones but did not deliver active treatment. The children received 8 hours of active of sham TNS every night for four weeks.The researchers used the ADHD Rating Scale (ADHD-RS) and the Clinical Global Impression-Improvement Scale (CGI-I), two common assessments for symptoms of ADHD, to track the children ’s response to their assigned devices. They also measured activity in the children’s brains with electroencephalography (EEG) before the study began and at study’s end.Children in both groups showed improvement during the first week. Improvement leveled off in the sham treatment group after that, but continued in the active TNS group through the fourth week, a...
Source: Psychiatr News - Category: Psychiatry Tags: ADHD attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder James McGough Trigeminal nerve stimulation Source Type: research