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Is Lexapro Effective for Treating ADHD?

ByPrimary Researcher

Executive Summary

  • One of the common off-label prescriptions for antidepressants is ADHD.
  • We evaluate the evidence for the effectiveness of antidepressants for ADHD or Lexapro ADHD.

Introduction

Ever since antidepressants were first introduced, they began expanding in their off-label applications. A major off-label prescription has become for treating ADHD. This article investigates whether antidepressants like the antidepressant Lexapro are effective for ADHD as the medical establishment has claimed.

Studies into Lexapro for ADHD

This is the result of a study published at Pubmed at the NIH that states Lexapro is effective. Escitalopram is the drug sold under the brand name of Lexapro.

There are some caveats to this finding of reduced attentional performance with SSRI use. First, escitalopram reduced performance in the digit span, which measures the basic ability to pay attention for a few seconds, but it did not reduce performance on the more multifactorial coding task. The effect size of this reduction in the overall group was in the small–medium range, although it was higher (medium to medium-large) in the two significant genotype-defined subgroups. It is unclear whether this reduction represents a clinically relevant impairment or a subclinical change.

However, observe the declared conflicts of interest in this study.

This study was supported by NIMH grants R01 MH070547, R01 MH072947, and K23 MH074012. Additionally, Forest Laboratories provided medication and placebo for this study.

Statement of Interest: Dr Lenze has received research funding from Forest Laboratories, Johnson & Johnson, Lundbeck and Roche, as well as research support in the form of medication from Pfizer and BMS. He has been a consultant for Fox Learning Systems. Dr Butters has been a consultant for Fox Learning Systems. She has also provided neuropsychological assessment services for clinical trials conducted by Medtronic. Dr Pollock discloses that within the past 3 years he served one time as a consultant for Wyeth (October 2008) and had been a member of the advisory board of Lundbeck Canada (final meeting, May 2009) as well as a faculty member of the Lundbeck International Neuroscience Foundation (final meeting, April 2010).

Antidepressants Like the Antidepressant Lexapro are Prescribed for ADHD

According to WebMD, antidepressants like the antidepressant Lexapro tend to be prescribed when amphetamines like Ritalin or Adderall are found to be ineffective. This is explained in the following quotation.

A lot of adults with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder) take stimulant drugs to manage their symptoms. But if you don’t get better with those medicines, or you don’t like how they make you feel, your doctor may suggest you try an antidepressant.

Sometimes the MDs prescribe antidepressants for ADHD because the patient has a variety of symptoms. There is also an overlap between ADHD and depression. Both are marked by problems in concentration and overall attention spans. Some adults with ADHD also have depression and anxiety. Antidepressant drugs might be an option if that’s your situation since they can treat these conditions as well as ADHD.

When it comes to improving your concentration or attention span, antidepressants usually don’t work as well as stimulants and other drugs made specifically to treat ADHD.

While part of this statement is correct — the part about having antidepressants for ADHD not working as well as stimulants to treat this condition — the problematic part of this statement is that studies have not even found a relationship between these neurotransmitters and depression. WebMD leaves out this information — because pharmaceutical companies fund WebMD to keep saying this to readers long after this hypothesis has been proven to be false. GoodRx addresses this same topic in the following quotation.

Both ADHD and depression are linked to low levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine in the brain, which is involved in pleasure, concentration, motivation, and movement. Many of the medications used to treat depression and ADHD aim to increase dopamine levels.