http://www.nbc10.com/health/13717028/detail.html

Daily Dose: Ritalin Study, Fertility Procedure

POSTED: 5:08 pm EDT July 19, 2007

Ritalin is one of the most prescribed drugs for children in the United
States, NBC 10 reported.

It's used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder or ADHD, but a
new study found it could be causing long-term changes in children's
developing brains.

It's believed up to 18 percent of American children take Ritalin.

Studying rats, scientists found Ritalin made changes in the brain's centers
used for higher executive thinking, decision-making memory and learning, but
they said it's too early to say if the changes are good or bad. It may be
Ritalin helps reset the ADHD brain.

What they do know is if your child does not have ADHD, Ritalin is harmful,
NBC 10 reported.

Researchers Find Rare Fertility Procedure Being Used More Than Needed

Fertility centers are performing a rare procedure more often that may come
at an increased cost to patients with no guarantee of success.

The intracytoplasmic sperm injection, or ICSI, procedure is used when men
have defective sperm. It involves injecting the sperm directly into the egg.

Researchers find the number of couples undergoing this procedure went up
more than 40 percent between 1995 and 2004 even though the number of men
reporting this problem stayed the same.

Researchers said this indicates the procedure is being used on couples who
may not need it and could benefit from traditional methods that don't have
the added cost and risks.