TY - JOUR T1 - The effect of methylphenidate intake on brain structure in adults with ADHD in a placebo-controlled randomized trial JF - Journal of Psychiatry and Neuroscience JO - J Psychiatry Neurosci SP - 422 LP - 430 DO - 10.1503/jpn.150320 VL - 41 IS - 6 AU - Ludger Tebartz van Elst AU - Simon Maier AU - Stefan Klöppel AU - Erika Graf AU - Carola Killius AU - Marthe Rump AU - Esther Sobanski AU - Dieter Ebert AU - Mathias Berger AU - Andreas Warnke AU - Swantje Matthies AU - Evgeniy Perlov AU - Alexandra Philipsen Y1 - 2016/11/01 UR - http://jpn.ca/content/41/6/422.abstract N2 - Background: Based on animal research several authors have warned that the application of methylphenidate, the first-line drug for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), might have neurotoxic effects potentially harming the brain. We investigated whether methylphenidate application, over a 1-year period, results in cerebral volume decrease.Methods: We acquired structural MRIs in a double-blind study comparing methylphenidate to placebo. Global and regional brain volumes were analyzed at baseline, after 3 months and after 12 months using diffeomorphic anatomic registration through exponentiated lie algebra.Results: We included 131 adult patients with ADHD into the baseline sample, 98 into the 3-month sample (54 in the methylphenidate cohort and 44 in the placebo cohort) and 76 into the 1-year sample (37 in the methylphenidate cohort and 29 in the placebo cohort). Methylphenidate intake compared with placebo did not lead to any detectable cerebral volume loss; there was a trend toward bilateral cerebellar grey matter increase.Limitations: Detecting possible neurotoxic effects of methylphenidate might require a longer observation period.Conclusion: There is no evidence of grey matter volume loss after 1 year of methylphenidate treatment in adult patients with ADHD. ER -