Childhood chemotherapy and later drug abuse and growth curve: a follow-up study of 30 adolescents.

The authors studies the correlation of methylphenidate medication in childhood with later drug abuse and growth in height. Thirty adolescents with histories of minimal brain dysfunction who had been treated for at least six months with chemotherapy were compared with 30 adolescents who had not been so treated. The findings do not indicate that methylphenidate prescribed in childhood contributed to later drug abuse or seriously interfered with growth in height.