Phil,

My son has ADHD, with OCD and anxiety problems. He has been on several meds,
some work for a while, then we try another. He just tried Zoloft, and did
not help. We will try Paxil  starting on  Monday. I have read so much about
the side effects. I am worried. Has your daughter had many negative
reactions? How old is she? My son is 10.
-----Original Message-----
From: Phil E.Gesotti <[log in to unmask]>
To: [log in to unmask] <[log in to unmask]>
Date: Friday, December 17, 1999 5:05 PM
Subject: Re: ADD symptoms like PD?


>This is a tempting leap to make in associating the two. My daughter was
>also diagnosed as ADHD. However, I'm concerned that ADD and ADHD are
>being over diagnosed as a convenient explanation for other things that
>may be going on with our children. She was later diagnosed with an
>anxiety disorder and put on Paxil which has had more of a positive
>effect than any of the ADD drugs.
>
>I visited with a PD researcher at the University of Virginia on
>Wednesday and posed this same question regarding the association of PD
>and ADD. His response was that the ADD link with dopamine deficiency is
>a very weak assumption and should not be taken too seriously.
>
>I was then over at NIH this morning talking to molecular biology
>researchers about how dopamine is used by the neurons. I was surprised
>when I heard that dopamine acts as an inhibitor at the corpus striatum
>level, but the mechanics of how this works at the neuron level are not
>well understood. When my mouth sort of dropped, he coincidentally
>volunteered that amphetamines stimulate the release of dopamine and
>amphetamines have been proven effective for relief of ADD symptoms. Thus
>the conclusion that ADD may be caused by a dopamine deficiency. His
>point was that both amphetamines and levadopa have both been used to
>alleviate symptoms of the associated disorders, but that the pure
>science that backs up how all this works is not really there.
>
>Amphetamines could be affecting the release of other neurotransmitters
>as well or counterbalancing the overabundance of another
>neurotransmitter.
>
>He did emphasize that although we don't know how all this works today
>that our knowledge in this area is growing almost exponentially. What
>used to be years between discoveries is becoming months.
>
>So, in summary, I'm not too concerned about my daughter. Today we are
>just jumping to conclusions. In 10 years we will have adequate knowledge
>to make a reasonable assessment. In 35 years when my daughter is
>approaching my age of diagnosis, I'm sure the cure will have been well
>proven.
>
>My philosophy of life is based on the movie "Butch Cassidy and the
>Sundance Kid". As they stood poised to jump off a cliff into a river
>hundreds of feet blow, Butch confessed that he couldn't swim. Sundance
>replied "Swim? Hell Butch, the fall will probably kill you." We can't
>worry about ten years from now. We hope for the best, plan for the
>worst, and live life to it's fullest everyday. We never know when that
>fall through life is going to kill us.
>
>Go Airborne!
>
>Phil Gesotti 50/46+