Pharmacological treatment of adolescents with affective disorders and attention deficit disorder

There is an increasing recognition that adolescents manifest affective and attention deficit disorders and that these disorders can be reliably diagnosed in this age group. The paucity of information regarding the pharmacotherapy of these disorders permits the drawing of only limited conclusions. For adolescent affective disorders, until more information becomes available, the use of proven pharmacologic approaches for adults with similar disorders seems sensible. For ADD, although limited, the available information suggests that adolescents may respond to the same pharmacologic approaches used for prepubertal patients: namely, stimulants and possibly antidepressants and clonidine. For adolescents, longer acting drugs may be preferable to achieve sustained effects and clinical stability, and to facilitate compliance.