Methylphenidate

Methylphenidate is a central nervous system stimulant, a norepinephrine-dopamine reuptake inhibitor, used mainly to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy. It works by blocking the reuptake of dopamine and norepinephrine by neurons, raising the concentration and prolonging the presence of these neurotransmitters in the synapse, which at therapeutic doses increases alertness and concentration and reduces hyperactivity and impulsivity in people with ADHD. Chemist Leandro Panizzon first synthesized methylphenidate in 1944, and the Swiss company CIBA, now part of Novartis, brought it to market under the brand name Ritalin, which Panizzon named after his wife Marguerite, nicknamed Rita, who used the drug to counter low blood pressure; the United States approved it for medical use in 1955. Physicians began prescribing it for children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder from the 1960s onward, and production and prescription rose significantly in the 1990s as the condition became more widely recognized and accepted.