Previous Story New Patch for ADD About one third of the people with Attention Deficit Disorder do not respond to their current treatment including the commonly prescribed drug, Ritalin. So doctors are testing another drug in hopes it will fill the void. Patients with ADD have difficulty focusing and concentrating on various tasks and Ritalin works well only for about half of ADD patients. So now doctors are testing Buspirone. Currently prescribed for anxiety but it is showing great promise for  people with ADD and nothing to help them. The simple task of reading or just holding a pencil used to be next to impossible for 8-year-old Mark Kazmierski  to accomplish. Mark Kazmierski - "Before I held the pencil wrong, now I can do it better now." Mark has Attention Deficit Disorder. His grades dropped and there were behavior problems at home. And even playing his favorite sport, hockey, was a challenge. Now, Mark is one of more than 800 ADD patients around the country taking part in a study for a new treatment for the disorder using the drug Buspirone. (bus-peh-rone). Currently taken orally to treat anxiety, doctors are now testing the medication in the form of a patch to treat ADD. Dr. - "Most medications taken by mouth first go to liver, Buspirone. goes directly to brain." Mark has been in the year and a half long Buspirone. study for about three months and feels more focused already. Mark - "I play hockey, I listen better, I even hear better now." Mark's Dad - "His grades are up, Mark is doing well." If approved, doctors do not expect Buspirone. to replace Ritalin, just add to the available treatments for ADD and the many patients, like Mark, without anything to help. Home | Upcoming Stories | Previous Stories |Survey | About Healthy Living | E-Mail