Am J Psychiatry 1986; 143:359-362
Copyright © 1986 by American Psychiatric Association
Pemoline and urinary excretion of catecholamines and indoleamines in children with attention deficit disorder
AJ Zametkin, M Linnoila, F Karoum and R Sallee
To test the hypothesis that any change in urinary noradrenergic excretion
accompanies drug-induced improvement in attention deficit disorder with
hyperactivity, the authors gave pemoline (mean dose, 2.9 mg/kg of body
weight) to 11 boys with this disorder in a 4-week open trial. Pemoline
administration improved behavior but did not significantly change urinary
catecholamine excretion. Serotonin excretion was unchanged, but
phenylethylamine (PEA) and 5- hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5-HIAA) were
significantly decreased. Clinical responders and nonresponders did not
differ with respect to baseline urinary monoamine excretion or change in
PEA and 5-HIAA excretion.
