New Ritalin Allows Lower Dose

--A new formulation of the drug Ritalin can be used at about half the dosage of the current formulation, according to a Pennsylvania researcher.

The new form of the drug is the chemical mirror image - a "right-handed" drug - to the current drug in use, which is "left-handed," reported University of Pennsylvania researchers at the American Chemical Society meeting.

Dr. Jeffrey Winkler and colleagues have developed the form of methylphenidate (Ritalin) from the original form of the drug. The biologically active right-hand form of methylphenidate allows for half the dose and much reduced side effects compared with the formulation that is currently on the market, Winkler told Reuters Health.

As many as 1.5 million youngsters in the U.S. are prescribed Ritalin to treat attention deficit/ hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

The University of Pennsylvania team is in the process of testing the new form of methylphenidate as a treatment for cocaine addiction. The chemical appears to block cocaine uptake in the brain without blocking the uptake of the neurotransmitter dopamine.

Source: Thorax 1999;54:190-191, 196-201, 202-206.