ADHD Medications by Victor B. Stolberg

Author:Victor B. Stolberg
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: ABC-CLIO
Published: 2017-03-15T04:00:00+00:00

Duration of Action

The duration of action refers to the amount of time that a particular drug persists with a measurable therapeutic effect. The duration of action of many stimulant drugs, depending on the specific drug and its formulation, as well as sometimes on the route of administration employed, can be quite variable. For instance, the duration of action of both amphetamine (Dyanavel XR) and dextroamphetamine (Dexedrine) is between 3 hours and 7 hours with immediate release oral formulations and 12 hours with extended release oral formulations, while the duration of action of lisdextroamphetamine (Vyvanse) is 12 hours and that of methamphetamine hydrochloride (Desoxyn) is between 10 hours and 20 hours. Similarly, methylphenidate (Ritalin), another stimulant medicine commonly prescribed for treating ADHD, has a duration of action between 3 hours and 6 hours with an immediate release formulation, 5 hours to 8 hours with an extended release formulation, and 12 hours with a long acting formulation. The duration of action of a combination stimulant formulation like Adderall is 8 hours to 12 hours. The duration of action is of particular importance for treating those individuals with ADHD so that they can perform without the resurfacing of ADHD symptoms if the medicine successfully treats them while at a therapeutic dosage level. Unfortunately, if a child or adolescent is in school and took their ADHD stimulant medicine before arriving at school, and they are on a medication that only has, for example, a 3 hour duration of action, then unless they are administered another dose, the symptoms are likely to emerge while they are still in school. This is a major reason that extended release formulations were developed for these pharmaceutical products. The duration of action is usually not as much of a problem for those taking the nonstimulant ADHD medications.

There is somewhat less variation with respect to the duration of action for respective nonstimulant ADHD medications. In fact, the duration of action for many of the nonstimulant ADHD medications is sufficiently long to permit once a day dosing. For example, the duration of action of the antihypertensive alpha 2 agonist guanfacine hydrochloride (Intuniv, Tenex) is 24 hours for administration of a single dose, while that of clonidine hydrochloride (Catapres, Kapvay) is from 6 hours to 24 hours. Similarly, the duration of action for the beta blocker ADHD medicine atenolol (Tenorim) is at least 24 hours following single dose oral administration and about 12 hours following intravenous administration. The duration of action of the eugeroic modafinil (Provigil) is from 5 hours to 15 hours following oral administration, with an average duration of 12 hours, while the average duration of action for armodafinil (Nuvigil) is 15 hours. Similarly, the average duration of action of the MAOI moclobemide (Amira) is 16 hours. The relatively long duration of action for most of the nonstimulant ADHD medications makes this less of an issue than it typically is for the stimulant ADHD medications.

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