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CNN Live Today

'Daily Dose'

Aired October 21, 2003 - 11:36   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get our health news in now. The FDA may soon approve another medication for treating adults with attention deficit disorder. Our "Daily Dose" of health news now, medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the story behind the new interest in treating adults.
We usually think about this in children.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And there was sort of this thought years ago if a child has ADD or ADHD, they'll grow out of it. But in fact, many children don't grow out of it. One drug company told us that if you look at all the prescriptions for drugs, 30 percent of them are for adults. Now there's one drug out there that's FDA approved for adults. It's called Stratera (ph), and there's another drug that is expected to be on the market at the beginning of the next year. It's called Aderal XR (ph), and some people are already taking that. Some adults are already taking Aderal (ph). This is a slightly different form of it. And it will also have actual FDA approval, or could have FDA approval, specifically for adults.

Now, with adults, there's a little bit of a controversy here. One psychiatrist told me, I hope the people who just have modern life don't end up taking these drugs. In modern life, we all -- I don't have to explain what that is. But if you look on the Web site, it will say things, do you have trouble paying attention in meetings? Do you get impatient standing in line? Everyone has that. So there is some concern that people will just show up at their internist office, and say, hey doctor, I'm having trouble paying attention when my wife is talking, and I don't like standing in line.

HEMMER: Have they made a pill for that yet?

COHEN: Apparently, they have sort of.

(LAUGHTER)

COHEN: So there is some concern in that way.

HEMMER: Wives across America giving husbands, you need to take this pill before I talk to you. But on a serious note, what about the side effects?

COHEN: Right, there are some side effects to these drugs, it's important to remember. Stratera has side effects such as nausea and decreased appetite. And in fact, the other one has some similar ones. This is for Aderal, decreased appetite, stomach ache, difficulty falling asleep, irritability. So there can be not always, but there can be serious side effects, so people will want to keep that in mind.

HEMMER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks for letting us know about that. Appreciate that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired October 21, 2003 - 11:36   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: Let's get our health news in now. The FDA may soon approve another medication for treating adults with attention deficit disorder. Our "Daily Dose" of health news now, medical correspondent Elizabeth Cohen has the story behind the new interest in treating adults.
We usually think about this in children.

ELIZABETH COHEN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Absolutely. And there was sort of this thought years ago if a child has ADD or ADHD, they'll grow out of it. But in fact, many children don't grow out of it. One drug company told us that if you look at all the prescriptions for drugs, 30 percent of them are for adults. Now there's one drug out there that's FDA approved for adults. It's called Stratera (ph), and there's another drug that is expected to be on the market at the beginning of the next year. It's called Aderal XR (ph), and some people are already taking that. Some adults are already taking Aderal (ph). This is a slightly different form of it. And it will also have actual FDA approval, or could have FDA approval, specifically for adults.

Now, with adults, there's a little bit of a controversy here. One psychiatrist told me, I hope the people who just have modern life don't end up taking these drugs. In modern life, we all -- I don't have to explain what that is. But if you look on the Web site, it will say things, do you have trouble paying attention in meetings? Do you get impatient standing in line? Everyone has that. So there is some concern that people will just show up at their internist office, and say, hey doctor, I'm having trouble paying attention when my wife is talking, and I don't like standing in line.

HEMMER: Have they made a pill for that yet?

COHEN: Apparently, they have sort of.

(LAUGHTER)

COHEN: So there is some concern in that way.

HEMMER: Wives across America giving husbands, you need to take this pill before I talk to you. But on a serious note, what about the side effects?

COHEN: Right, there are some side effects to these drugs, it's important to remember. Stratera has side effects such as nausea and decreased appetite. And in fact, the other one has some similar ones. This is for Aderal, decreased appetite, stomach ache, difficulty falling asleep, irritability. So there can be not always, but there can be serious side effects, so people will want to keep that in mind.

HEMMER: Elizabeth Cohen, thanks for letting us know about that. Appreciate that.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com