[All you need to know about methylphenidate (and dared not ask)]

Methylphenidate (MPH) remains the only accessible psychostimulant used in France in the attention and behavior disturbances of attention deficit disorder with or without hyperactivity (ADHD). Its prescription has been extended during the past decade to other neurodevelopmental disorders in children and adolescents, also associated with a deficit of attentional resources or, more broadly, fragility of executive functions. Despite its efficiency, validated by more than 400 randomized controlled and double-blind studies, and the good tolerance of MPH in these indications, this treatment remains limited in France because of many fears and other prejudices on the part of medical practitioners and/or families. This article, resulting from the complementary viewpoints of a psychiatrist and a neuropharmacologist, is not intended to advocate MPH but to present, in a concise and nuanced manner, the approved scientific data justifying and framing this prescription.