Mixed amphetamine salts extended release improves information processing in adults...( Toronto Canada Mixed amphetamine salt...),Health

"ADHD affects cognitive functioning how people process information and can interfere with the efficiency of completing tasks primarily due to the deficits in attention and executive functions," said investigator Gary Kay, Ph.D., president of the Washington Neuropsychological Institute. "Our analyses demonstrate that mixed amphetamine salts help people with ADHD to respond to a number of demanding cognitive tasks with more speed and accuracy."

In this study, participants started taking mixed amphetamine salts extended release or placebo for three weeks and were then switched to the other treatment while being evaluated by the same battery of tests. In a study of 14, participants who took MAS XR performed significantly better than those taking placebo on four variables, demonstrating improvements in divided attention, visuospatial working memory, visual scanning and tracking, and mental flexibility.

Assessment of cognitive functioning was conducted with the computer-administered CogScreen Aeromedical Edition test, a test battery originally developed under contract to the Federal Aviation Administration for evaluating pilots. This validated test battery assesses visual and auditory attention and includes measures of working memory, information processing speed, mental flexibility, and divided attention. CogScreen is used by airlines as a predictor of flight performance and by biomedical researchers investigating the beneficial or adverse effects of medications on neurocognitive functioning.

"One unexpected finding was that patients who received mixed amphetamine salts extended release in the first treatment period an
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Contact: Priya Namjoshi
212-601-8337
Porter Novelli
24-May-2006