Novel drug treatment for Inattentive Attention Deficit Disorder (Inattentive ADD)

For treatment of Inattentive Attention Deficit Disorder, (Inattentive ADD), the gold standard of treatment is stimulant medicine. Some people with Inattentive ADD, however, prefer to not take stimulant medicine because they may develop increased anxiety or have problems with depression when treated with stimulants and for those individuals Guanfacine is another treatment to pontentially alleviate inattentive symptoms.

Guanfacine is an Alpha2 receptor treatmentthat has been prescribed, in addition to the stimulant ,drugs to treat Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Inattentive ADD. Tenex (Guanfacine) is a blood pressure treatment that was coincidentally found to help individuals with ADHD and with Inattentive ADD. Tenex can be sedating and doctors have also used this treatment to help with the insomnia and sleep difficulties experienced by some people with the symptoms of ADHD and Inattentive ADD. Though Guanfacine is used to improve high blood pressure, the vast majority of people with ADD Inattentive and ADHD who are treated with this treatment do not develop a low blood pressure.

The scientific basis of these medicines is brand new but some scientist now understand that it is thought to be the alpha2 receptor medicines, and not the stimulants, that better diminish the signs of inattention seen in people with Inattentive ADD. Research scientist think that while the stimulants work to lessen inattention, they do not begin to really address the causative problems at the Pre-frontal Cortex that are at the heart of the problems experienced in Inattentive ADD.

Guanfacine works on the Pre-frontal Cortex (PFC), the part of the brain that handles attention, impulsive behavior, hyperactivity, and working memory and by influencing the work of the alpha2 receptors in the PFC part of the brain, makes better the symptoms such as poor working memory, inattention and the other commonly experienced symptoms of ADD Inattentive and ADHD.

Alpha-2A adrenergic receptors also improve brain communications. These receptors are stimulated by Guanfacine and improve the connectivity of PFC networks and, in turn, improve working memory and reduce distractability.

Unlike the stimulants, Guanfacine provides these benefits to the PFC even in the event of stress. Stress has been shown to sometimes disconnect the PFC networks which can make the symptoms of Inattentive ADD more apparent. Guanfacine is now made in a 12 hour acting form that can be taken once a day. Who knows? Guanfacine may turn out to be the future standard of treatment for the signs of Inattentive ADD. Only time will tell.