By Greg Arnold, DC, CSCS, June 27, 2006, abstracted from Treatment of ADHD with French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol” printed online in European Child and Adolescent Psychiatry
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), characterized by impulsiveness, hyperactivity and inattention, was first described as a condition in 1845 and is now estimated to affect 3-5% (2 million) of American children. ADHD symptoms emerge over the course of many months, and it may take a year or more for all the symptoms to appear.1
Due to a study finding long-term treatment of both medication and behavioral treatment to be superior to behavioral management alone,2 prescription medications continue to be an integral part of treatment for ADHD, with children as young as three being put on medication.1 Due to the side effects of these medications, which include decreased appetite, insomnia, increased anxiety, irritability, mild stomach aches and headaches,1 more natural alternatives are constantly being sought.
Now a new study3 may have found a natural alternative treatment for ADHD in the form of Pycnogenol.
A bark extract from French Maritime Pine,
4 Pycnogenol has been found to exhibit a number of health-promoting properties, including
helping decrease inflammation,
5 a major contributor to almost all our chronic diseases.
6
Building on a preliminary pilot study7 which found that one mg per kg of bodyweight per day of Pycnogenol helps with ADHD symptoms, researchers administered the same amount of Pycnogenol to sixty-one children for four weeks in a randomized double–blind study. The children were examined at the start of the trial, one month after treatment began and one month after the end of treatment period. Four different questionnaires were used: the Child Attention Problems (CAP) teacher rating scale,8 the Conner’s Teacher Rating Scale (CTRS),9 the Conner’s Parent Rating Scale (CPRS)10 and a modified Wechsler Intelligence Scale for children.11
They found that one month of Pycnogenol® caused “a significant reduction of hyperactivity, improves attention and visual–motoric coordination and concentration of children with ADHD” while no positive effects were found in the placebo group. What’s more, relapses of symptoms were noted one month after termination of Pycnogenol® administration.
For the researchers, “Our results point to an option to use Pycnogenol as a natural supplement to relieve ADHD symptoms of children.”
Reference:
1 “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder” posted on the NIH Website www.nimh.nih.gov/publicat/adhd.cfm
2 The MTA Cooperative Group. A 14-month randomized clinical trial of treatment strategies for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Archives of General Psychiatry, 1999;56:1073-1086
3 Trebaticka J. Treatment of ADHD with French maritime pine bark extract, Pycnogenol((R)). Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 2006 May 13; [Epub ahead of print]
4 Rohdewald P. A review of the French maritime pine bark extract (Pycnogenol®), a herbal medication with a diverse pharmacology, International Journal of Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics 40 (2002), pp. 158–168
5 Hosseini S, Pishnamazi S, Sadrzadeh SM, Farid F, Farid R, Watson RR: Pycnogenol((R)) in the Management of Asthma. J Med Food 2001, 4:201-209
6 H.Y. Chung, H.J. Kim, K.W. Kim, J.S. Choi and B.P. Yu, Molecular inflammation hypothesis of aging based on the anti-aging mechanism of calorie restriction, Microscopy Research and Technique 59 (2002) (4), pp. 264–272
7 Trebaticka J. (2004) Treatment success of ADHD by Pycnogenol®. In: Hoikkala A, Soidinsal O, Wähälä K (eds) XXII International Conference on Polyphenols “Polyphenols communications 2004” Helsinki, Finland, 25–28 August 2004. Jyväskyla, Gummerus Printing, pp 179–180, ISBN 952-10-1977-8
8 Dulcan MK, Popper CW (1991) Concise guide to child and adolescent psychiatry. American Psychiatric Press, Washington
9 Conners CK, Sitarenios G, Oarker JDA, Epstein JN (1998) The revised Conners’ Parent Rating Scale (CPRS-R): factor structure, reliability, and Criterion Validity. J Abnorm Child Psychol 26:257–268
10 Paclt I, Florian J (1998) Dotazník pro rodièe (CPQ-Conners instrukce). In: Paclt I, Florian J Psychofarmakoterapie dìtského a dorostového vìku. Praha, Grada Publishing, pp 296–303
11 Kubièka L, Bursik R, Jirásek J (1973) PDW – Prague child Wechsler. Psychodiagnostic and didactic tests, Bratislava
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