September is National Suicide Prevention Month, and the timing is helpful. Mental health, and especially suicide risk, have skyrocketed as a concern...Especially vulnerable are those on the front lines (e.g., health care and other essential workers), young people, those who have lost loved ones, and those with pre-existing mental health vulnerabilities, including individuals with ADHD...when depression, ADHD, and substance use are combined in young people, suicide risk can be increased by as much as 10-fold.

Recent studies constitute a clarion call for clinicians to routinely screen adolescents with ADHD for nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI) and its risk factors, Judit Balazs, MD, PhD, said at the virtual congress of the European College of Neuropsychopharmacology. She was lead author of one of these studies, which drew a remarkable and disturbing conclusion: "We found — and it's a very alarming result — that more than 70% of those people who had ADHD and [nonsuicidal self-injury] were girls. The girls with ADHD seem to be a high-risk population," observed Dr. Balazs.

A novel amphetamine sulfate improved symptoms in adults with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to a phase III study. In the randomized, double-blind study, adults given 20 mg of the investigational AR19 saw a significant improvement in total score on the Adult ADHD Investigator Symptom Rating Scale (AISRS) compared with placebo after 5 weeks...reported Ann Childress, MD, of the Center for Psychiatry and Behavioral Medicine in Las Vegas, and colleagues.

In hospitalized children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), predictors of comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) included male sex, adolescent age, White race, and longer hospital stay, according to study results presented at Psych Congress 2020 Virtual Experience, held online from September 11 to 13, 2020.

Research findings from Aarhus University and the Central Denmark Region's Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Centre show that quality of life is poorer for preschool children with ADHD compared to children from the control population. But the children's quality of life can be significantly improved using treatment without medication.

In this video, Psych Congress 2020 presenter Timothy Wilens, MD, discusses the ways in which early treatment can improve outcomes in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Dr. Wilens is Chief, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Co-Director, Center for Addiction Medicine, at Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts.

Non-stimulant medications approved by the FDA for ADHD are Atomoxetine, Clonidine, and Guanfacine. Non-stimulant medications are used if someone does not respond to stimulant medication, has a history of drug abuse, or experiences severe side effects from stimulants. Other medications, like antiviral drugs and antidepressants, also do not have any stimulant effects and may be used to treat ADHD.

UC Berkeley psychologist Stephen Hinshaw has won the National Academy of Medicine’s 2020 Rhoda and Bernard Sarnat International Prize in Mental Health for his contributions to the understanding and treatment of mental health conditions in childhood and adolescence and for his efforts to reduce the stigma of mental illness. The prize, which comes with a medal and $20,000, will be awarded at the academy’s virtual annual meeting on Oct. 19. Hinshaw is the only scientist to win the Sarnat mental health award this year.