Multimodal treatment study

Despite the overwhelming evidence for short-term effectiveness, only recently have studies begun to address long-term benefits of stimulant treatments. Prospective randomized controlled trials with durations of 12 to 24 months and doses up to 60 mg/day of MPH have been conducted to address this issue. The largest of these studies, the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)-sponsored Multimodal Treatment Study of Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (MTA Study), showed that stimulants (either by themselves or in combination with behavioral treatments) lead to stable, long-term improvements in ADHD symptoms as long as the medication is taken (MTA Cooperative Group, 1999). 

Jensen, P.S. (1999) Eact versus fancy concerning the multimodal treatment study for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Can J Psychiatry 44 975-980. 

MTA Cooperative Group (1999a) A 14-month randomized clinical trial of treatment strategies for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD. Arch Gen Psychiatry 56 1073-1086. 

MTA Cooperative Group (1999b) Moderators and mediators of treatment response for children with attention-deficit/hyperactiv-ity disorder the Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder. Arch Gen Psychiatry 56 1088-1096. 

Richters, J.E., Arnold, L.E., Jensen, P.S., Abikoff, H., Conners, C.K., Greenhill, L.L., Hechtman, L., Hinshaw, S.P., Pelham, W.E., and Swanson, J.M. (1995) NIMH collaborative multisite multimodal treatment study of children with ADHD I. Background and rationale./ Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 34 987—1000. 

Jensen, P.S. (1998) NIMH multimodal treatment study. Scientific Proceedings of the Annual Meeting American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Anaheim, CA. Washington DC American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

B., Severe, J., Wells, K.C., and Pelham, WE. (2000) Anxiety as a predictor and outcome variable in the multimodal treatment study of children with ADHD (MTA). J Abnorm Child Psychol 28 527-541. 

Box 7.6 The MTA Study (Multimodal Treatment Study of Children with ADHD)... 

Over the last several years, NIMH has funded a cohort of dedicated stimulant/ADHD advocates to conduct an expensive, nationwide, longterm study under naturalistic conditions in the community to prove the effectiveness of stimulants in treating so-called ADHD (Jensen et ah, 2001). The list of authors includes Peter Jensen, Stephen Hinshaw, James Swanson, Larry Greenhill, and even Keith Conners. It was as if the aging Stimulant Club had gone on government relief to produce the NIMH Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA), whose results continue to be published. 

Kean, B. (2004). What the multimodal treatment study really discovered about intervention for children diagnosed with ADHD Implications for early childhood. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 6, 193—200. 

MTA Cooperative Group. (2004). National Institute of Mental Health Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD follow-up Changes in effectiveness and growth after the end of treatment. Pediatrics 113, 762-769. 

The influential Multimodal Treatment Study of ADHD (MTA study) demonstrated... 

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