[Drug therapy of hyperkinetic diseases in adults]

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often diagnosed in children. Some major studies proved that symptoms can persist until the patients are grown up and that the prevalence of adult ADHD is underestimated. The classification systems ICD-10 and DSM-IV allow a diagnosis for adults, they differ, however, from childhood regarding symptoms. The diagnostic procedure requires extensive exploration and information from parents and school. Diagnostic interview procedures and questionnaires for self and expert rating are available to date only for English speaking countries. Apart from counselling and psychotherapeutic intervention pharmacotherapy is a third option. Especially stimulants proved to be an efficient treatment. Alternatively tricyclic antidepressants can be considered, other agents play only a minor role. Clinical trials trying to evaluate the efficacy of different pharmacotherapeutic agents are lacking.