Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2010 Aug;20(4):283-9.
doi: 10.1089/cap.2010.0032.

Testing tic suppression: comparing the effects of dexmethylphenidate to no medication in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Tourette's disorder

Gholson J Lyon  1 , Stephanie M Samar, Christine Conelea, Marcel R Trujillo, Christina M Lipinski, Christopher C Bauer, Bryan C Brandt, Joshua J Kemp, Zoe E Lawrence, Jonathan Howard, F Xavier Castellanos, Douglas Woods, Barbara J Coffey
Affiliations
Randomized Controlled Trial

Testing tic suppression: comparing the effects of dexmethylphenidate to no medication in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and Tourette's disorder

Gholson J Lyon et al. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2010 Aug.

Abstract

Objective: The aim of this study was to conduct a pilot study testing whether single-dose, immediate-release dexmethylphenidate (dMPH) can facilitate tic suppression in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and Tourette's disorder (TD) or chronic tic disorders. The primary hypothesis is that dMPH will improve behaviorally reinforced tic suppression in a standard tic suppression paradigm (TSP).

Methods: Ten children with ADHD and TD were given dMPH on one visit and no medication on another, using a random crossover design. On both days, following a baseline period, subjects were reinforced for suppressing tics using a standard TSP.

Results: Thirteen subjects were enrolled; 10 subjects (mean age 12.7 +/- 2.6; 90% male) completed all study procedures. Relative to the no-medication condition, tics were reduced when children were given a single dose of dMPH. Behavioral reinforcement of tic suppression resulted in lower rates of tics compared to baseline, but dMPH did not enhance this suppression.

Conclusion: Preliminary results indicate replication of prior studies of behavioral tic suppression in youths with TD and without ADHD. In addition, our findings indicate tic reduction (and not tic exacerbation) with acute dMPH challenge in children and adolescents with ADHD and TD.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

FIG. 1.
FIG. 1.
Mean number of tics per minute under the nonmedication and one-time dose of dexmethylphenidate (dMPH) conditions during the TSP.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Achenbach TM. Manual for the Child Behavior Checklist/4-18 and 1991 Profile. Burlington: University of Vermont Press; 2001.
    1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR) Washington (DC): American Psychiatric Association; 2000.
    1. Azrin NH. Peterson AL. Treatment of Tourette syndrome by habit reversal: A wait-list control group comparison. Behav Ther. 1990;21:305–318.
    1. Coffey B. Biederman J. Spencer T. Geller D. Faraone S. Bellordre C. Informativeness of structured diagnostic interviews in the identification of Tourette's Disorder in referred youth. J Nerv Ment Dis. 2000;188:583–588. - PubMed
    1. Conners CK. Conners' Rating Scales–Revised. North Tonowanda (New York): Multi-Health Systems; 1997.

Publication types

MeSH terms

Substances