Study: ADHD Medicine Can Reduce Risk Of Falling In The Elderly

As people get older, they are more likely to suffer age-related deterioration in balance and gait. This often leads to elderly people losing balance and falling, which is the leading cause of hip fractures and other injury-related visits to emergency rooms. A recent study from Ben Gurion University in Israel has shown that balance control can be improved using known ADHD medicine.

According to a study published in The Journals of Gerontology, the BGU researchers found that a single dose of methylphenidate (MPH) improves walking by reducing the number of step errors and the step error rate in both single and dual tasks.

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“Our results add to a growing body of evidence showing that MPH may have a role as a therapeutic option for improving gait and reducing fall risk in older adults,” said Itshak Melzer of BGU’s Schwartz Movement Analysis and Rehabilitation Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences. “This is especially true in real-life situations, where the requirement to walk commonly occurs under more complicated, ‘dual task’ circumstances with cognitive attention focused elsewhere (e.g., watching traffic, talking) and not on performing a specific motor task.”

Better concentration equals better balance

The study participants were 30 healthy older adults who were at least 70 years-old and had the ability to walk 70 feet (20 meters) without personal assistance or an assistive device.  The participants were given a single dose (10 mg) of MPH and were assessed under four task conditions of single and combined motor and cognitive tasks.

“The enhanced attention that comes about as a result of MPH may lead to improved balance control during walking, especially in dual task conditions,” Meltzer explains. “Our findings that MPH improves gait can be explained not just by its effect of attentional improvements, but also by indications that it has a direct influence on areas of the brain that deal with motor and balance control.”

Other BGU researchers involved in the study include Yaakov Bachner,  M.A Program in Gerontology, Department of Public Health; Tal Guy, Schwartz Movement Analysis and Rehabilitation Laboratory, Department of Physical Therapy, Faculty of Health Sciences; and Zamir Shorer, Pediatric Neurology Unit, Soroka University Medical Center and BGU’s Faculty of Health Sciences.

Photo: Senior Lady Holding Hands With Young Caretaker by Bigstock