Conditions: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
Allocation: NON_RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 23
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The main purpose of the study is to help to understand the effect on children and adolescents who are stable on treatment with atomoxetine or osmotic-release oral system (OROS) methylphenidate for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) of not taking the medication for a maximum of 6 days over a 28-day study treatment period.

Detailed description:
The present study is designed to assess the effect of missed doses of daily medication (off-days). On the off-days the patient will take a placebo (sugar pill). Over the 4 weeks of the actual study there will be 6 random off-days of study medicine and neither the caregiver, patient nor study doctor will know which days are the missing days.

To cover all aspects of the patients' lives and notably their school time, aside from investigator's assessments, evaluations will also be performed on a daily basis by those involved in their day-to-day life: parents, teachers (on school days) and the patients themselves, using an electronic diary.

Arms:
arm 1: Participants received 25-80 milligrams (mg) of atomoxetine orally, once daily during the run-in period for up to 7 days. The run-in period was followed by the 4-week on/off period in which participants received 25-80 mg of atomoxetine orally, once daily for 4 weeks, except for the off-days, where participants received 1 or 2 oral once daily placebo doses per week, with 6 nonconsecutive, double-blinded placebo doses in total over the 4-week on/off period. The on/off period was followed by a run-out period in which participants received 25-80 mg of atomoxetine orally, once daily for 1-5 days. arm 2: Participants received 18-54 mg of osmotic-release oral system (OROS) methylphenidate orally, once daily during the run-in period for up to 7 days. The run-in period was followed by the 4-week on/off period in which participants received 18-54 mg of OROS methylphenidate orally, once daily for 4 weeks, except for the off-days, where participants received 1 or 2 oral once daily placebo doses per week, with 6 nonconsecutive, double-blinded placebo doses in total over the 4-week on/off period. The on/off period was followed by a run-out period in which participants received 18-54 mg of OROS methylphenidate orally, once daily for 1-5 days.

Interventions: intervention 1: Atomoxetine intervention 2: Osmotic-release oral system methylphenidate intervention 3: Placebo
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: 25-80 milligrams (mg) administered orally, once daily. intervention 2: 18-54 mg administered orally, once daily. intervention 3: Administered orally, once daily for random nonconsecutive 6 days during 4-week treatment period.

Protocol document: