Comparative Pharmacology
Head-to-head clinical analysis: ADDERALL 30 versus METHYLIN ER.
Peer-Reviewed Evidence
Head-to-head clinical analysis: ADDERALL 30 versus METHYLIN ER.
ADDERALL 30 vs METHYLIN ER
Comparing the clinical profiles, pharmacokinetic behaviors, and safety indices of these two therapeutic agents.
Adderall contains mixed amphetamine salts that increase synaptic levels of dopamine and norepinephrine by inhibiting their reuptake and promoting release from presynaptic terminals.
Methylphenidate is a central nervous system stimulant that blocks the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine into presynaptic neurons, increasing their availability in the synaptic cleft.
Initial: 5 mg orally once or twice daily; increase by 5 mg increments weekly; usual maintenance: 20-30 mg daily in divided doses; maximum: 40 mg/day
20-60 mg orally once daily in the morning
None Documented
None Documented
Terminal elimination half-life: d-amphetamine 10-13 hours, l-amphetamine 13-15 hours; in adults (children: 6-8 hours). The longer half-life allows for once-daily dosing.
Mean 3-6 hours in adults; longer in children (4-8 hours). Clinical context: steady-state reached within 2 days; dosing every 8-12 hours.
Approximately 30-40% of a dose is excreted unchanged in urine; the remainder is metabolized primarily by oxidative deamination and aromatic hydroxylation. Biliary/fecal elimination accounts for less than 5%.
Renal (90% as metabolites, <1% unchanged). Biliary/fecal: <2%.
Category C
Category C
CNS Stimulant
CNS Stimulant