Europe regulators not yet on board with adult ADHD due to concerns regarding diagnosis methods

There is a very interesting article in yesterday’s Financial Times that points out that despite scientific evidence that ADHD symptoms persist into adulthood and despite evidence that there is a high burden of cost associated with under treatment of ADHD, some European regions  are still cautious  about approving medications that treat ADHD symptoms. A spokesperson from the UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) explained that they recognise adult ADHD as a condition, but the spokesperson also said that the reason “no product has so far been approved for adult ADHD is because  submitted data were insufficient to establish a positive risk-benefit balance,  not because of a lack of recognition of the indication.” The full article is available from the Financial Times here.

Given that our own Guidelines here in the UK were published 5 years ago (actually to be precise 4 years and 8 months ago), I feel that it is shameful that we are not further along than this!