Yang 2004.

Methods	A 16 week, open‐label methylphenidate treatment study
Participants	Number of participants screened: not stated Number of participants included: 25 Number of participants followed up: 19 Number of withdrawals: 6 Diagnosis of ADHD: DSM‐IV (subtype: combined (100%)) Age: mean 8.7 (SD 1.7) years (range: 6 years and 4 months ‐ 11 years and 10 months) IQ: full intelligence quotients available from 10 participants (mean 100, range 86‐129). The other 9 participants were estimated to be normal Sex: 14 males, 5 females Methylphenidate‐naïve: not stated Ethnicity: 100% Asian Country: Taiwan Comorbidity: none Comedication: not stated Sociodemographics: not stated Inclusion criteria 6‐12 years old Confirmed ADHD diagnosis, combined subtype (DSM‐IV) Maternal report of developmental history consistent with ADHD Absence of gross neurological, sensory, or motor impairment determined by paediatric examinations Attending public elementary school IQ above 70 Exclusion criteria Conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, anxiety disorder, bipolar disorder, depressive disorder, dyslexia, autistic disorder, psychosis or Tourette syndrome
Interventions	Methylphenidate type: not stated Methylphenidate dosage: 10 mg/day (starting dose, bodyweight < 30kg) or 20 mg/day (starting dose, bodyweight ≥ 30 kg) Mean methylphenidate dosage: 18.95 (SD 7.56, range 10‐35) mg/day, equivalent to 0.61 mg/kg of bodyweight (SD 0.15, range 0.38‐0.87 mg/kg) Administration schedule: twice daily, mornings before school and at 1 pm Titration period: 3 weeks Duration of intervention: 16 weeks Treatment compliance: 4 noncompliant
Outcomes	The study does not mention any measuring of adverse events. However it is reported, that 2 participants dropped out due to intolerable medication side effects
Notes	Sample calculation: not stated Ethics approval: not stated Funding/vested interests: not stated Authors' affiliations: Department of Psychiatry, Kaohsiung Medical University Hospital and Department of Psychiatry, Chung Shan Medical University Hospital, Taiwan Key conclusions of the study authors: the methylphenidate treatment demonstrated improvement in domains of classroom/home behaviours and academic performance, but showed minimal change on neuropsychological functioning in Taiwanese ADHD children. The finding of academic gain was unexpected, which might be due to the greater interest in achievement and better compliance to cultural expectations by Taiwanese versus Western students, which translated into more rapid improvement in academic performance Comments from the study authors: limitations of the study: the present study was conducted in a naturalistic manner, without a placebo controlled or contrast group and without blinding. The diagnoses were made by clinicians, without the benefit of standardised diagnostic instruments administered by a blind clinician. The exclusion criterion dyslexia was not tested Exclusion of methylphenidate non‐responders/children who have previously experienced adverse events on methylphenidate: no