ADDERALL VIDEO PRESENTATION

[emitb938]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HvjXqf3Yhn8

TITLE - Adderall Addiction

[Lizzy]

I found that the video posted is misleading for people who are not familiar with biochemistry and neuroscience.

First and foremost, "dependency" and "addiction" are two totally separate conditions. An organ transplant patient is "dependent" on his medication, as is a person on blood-thinners, and many other drugs. "Addiction" is as was defined on the video, which translates into someone who craves the drug for reasons other than intended and usually not as prescribed.

Adderall and Meth, while they differ in one chemical group, that is a HUGE difference in the body. The chemical make up of the compounds are very specific with what they bind and thus the biochemical changes induced in the brain/body. There are tons of fatal disorders where a person lacks the ability to synthesize a needed molecule- or part of that molecule- and they die. It just goes to show how important and specific the molecules must be for the body to utilize them in the intended way. If the molecule isn't in the EXACT conformation, it will not bind to its target.

The molecular models that are presented is not 3D format. The chemicals drastically change the conformation of the molecule. If you were to draw a stick figure of an elephant and of a pony, you could see that they only differ in one appendage- the elephant has a trunk. But in 3d, it is very apparent that they are two different creatures. Hopefully this helps in explaining how easy it is to be mislead by molecular models.

With neurotransmitters, folks with ADHD have been shown to show deficits in brain functioning (via fMRI) and neurotransmitters. The medication helps the affected brain compensate for the deficit. People who do not believe that this is a real disorder, therefore, must not believe in any other psychiatric condition. In the past, people with bipolar disorder, depression, and other disorders were told by the ignorant folks that these disorders were "shams" and that they just needed to correct their behaviors and the underlying neurochemical deficits would magically fix itself. With the advancement of pharmaceuticas and neuroscience/fMRI studies, we now know (and have know for quite some time) that these affected people really cannot help the way their brains are. Bona fide disorders DO exist, and ADHD is one of them.

The actual disorder has serious implications: "According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, 18 percent of adolescent males began abusing drugs and alcohol in the previous 4 years. The rate for unmedicated ADHD boys was 75 percent.. The rate drops to 25 percent in medicated ADHD boys.

http://www.drugabuse.gov/NIDA_Notes/NNVol14N4/ADHD.html

80 percent of school dropouts are reported to have ADHD. Young untreated ADHD drivers have an increased risk of 300 percent of being involved in automobile accidents. They also have triple the risk for sexually transmitted diseases as their non-ADHD peers.

It is reported that almost 10% of people with ADHD have attempted suicide within the past 3 years. About 5% die from either suicide or accidental injury. The rate of suicide in the general population of the US is .01%.

Read more at http://www.healthboards.com/boards/show ... ck=kcplink" (http://www.healthboards.com/boards/show ... p?t=155805)

Granted, adderall abuse/addiction is absolutely a serious problem in the US. However, it is a bit like throwing the baby out with the bath water to say that the disorder doesn't even exist. SOME folks with bona fide ADHD disorder do go on to abuse the drug. The others, like myself, have no desire whatsoever to take more than prescribed, ever. To an addict, I can totally understand how my statement can be doubted. My father, an alcoholic, doesn't understand how in the world I could care less for a drink. The answer is that I am not an addict. Plain and simple.