Wang 2011.

Methods	An observational, 24‐week, prospective, non‐randomised study of methylphenidate treatment A 24‐week cross‐sectional study
Participants	Number of participants screened: not stated Number of participants included: 50 Number of participants followed up: 30 Number of withdrawals: 20 Diagnosis of ADHD: DSM‐IV diagnosis (subtype: combined (48%), hyperactive‐impulsive (22%), inattentive (30%)) Age: mean 7.56, range 6‐12 years old IQ: above 70 Sex: 40 males, 10 females Methylphenidate‐naïve: not stated Ethnicity: not stated Country: Taiwan Comorbidity: none Comedication: none Sociodemographics: not stated Inclusion criteria Age between 6 and 12 years ADHD according to DSM‐IV Newly diagnosed or had not taken medication for ADHD during the previous 6 months or more Exclusion criteria History of major physical or psychiatric diseases (such as pervasive developmental disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, conduct disorder, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, psychotic disorder, or substance use disorder)
Interventions	Methylphenidate type: not stated Methylphenidate dosage: 5‐15 mg/day Mean methylphenidate dosage: 10.62 mg/daily at 1 month, 14.15 mg/daily at 3 months and 12.84 mg/daily at 6 months. Administration schedule: not stated Duration of intervention: 24 weeks Treatment compliance: the drug compliance at each visit was confirmed to the reports of patients' parents and the remnant drug
Outcomes	Non‐serious adverse events No reporting of adverse events 3 patients discontinued prematurely due to decreased appetite and weight loss
Notes	Sample calculation: no Ethics approval: approved by the Institutional Review Board of Chang Gung Memorial Hospital Funding: the study was funded by the Chang‐Gung Memorial Hospital Research Project Vested interests/authors' affiliations: the authors have no conflicts of interest to declare Key conclusions of the study authors: DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), but not the cortisol basal level, may be a biological laboratory marker for ADHD, particularly for performance on the CPT. Both the causal relationship between DHEA and ADHD and the role of DHEA in treating ADHD require further investigation Supplemental information received through personal email correspondence with the authors in December 2013 (Wang 2013 [pers comm])