From Sport Health

[hhh]

Why not just swing a steak WIllie Mason's way next time you run in to him at State of Origin? Another thing, don't these guys find out what you write about them? He is a massive unit and I'm guessing you are probably pushing 60 kilos.

Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med. 2004 Dec;158(12):1113-5.
Related Articles, Links

Iron deficiency in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Konofal E, Lecendreux M, Arnulf I, Mouren MC.

BACKGROUND: Iron deficiency causes abnormal dopaminergic neurotransmission and may contribute to the physiopathology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). OBJECTIVE: To evaluate iron deficiency in children with ADHD vs iron deficiency in an age- and sex-matched control group. DESIGN: Controlled group comparison study. SETTING: Child and Adolescent Psychopathology Department in European Pediatric Hospital, Paris, France. PATIENTS: Fifty-three children with ADHD aged 4 to 14 years (mean +/- SD, 9.2 +/- 2.2 years) and 27 controls (mean +/- SD, 9.5 +/- 2.8 years). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Serum ferritin levels evaluating iron stores and Conners' Parent Rating Scale scores measuring severity of ADHD symptoms have been obtained. RESULTS: The mean serum ferritin levels were lower in the children with ADHD (mean +/- SD, 23 +/- 13 ng/mL) than in the controls (mean +/- SD, 44 +/- 22 ng/mL; P < .001). Serum ferritin levels were abnormal (<30 ng/mL) in 84% of children with ADHD and 18% of controls (P < .001). In addition, low serum ferritin levels were correlated with more severe general ADHD symptoms measured with Conners' Parent Rating Scale (Pearson correlation coefficient, r = -0.34; P < .02) and greater cognitive deficits (r = -0.38; P < .01). CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that low iron stores contribute to ADHD and that ADHD children may benefit from iron supplementation.

[injuryupdate]

Much as it may be presumed that the Sport Health article was me being journo no 478 to take a dig at Willie Mason, the biggest criticism was the system that allows such a gaping loophole.

If Willie can get respected docs to diagnose him with ADHD then he gets a head start on the rest of the field by being able to play with the advantage of strong stimulants. He hasn't broken any rules.

The change needs to occur at the admin level, where the panels (in all countries) need to be instructed that Ritalin and competitive sport are non-compatible. If you have life threatening ADHD, then take the Ritalin at times when you are not competing and come back to sport when you can get off the drug for a day or two.

If the young punks out there on Ritalin were banned from competitive sport whilst on the drug, it may put a stop to some of the unnecessary use, rather than the current rules, which encourage use.

I don't think any rugby league players (or other sprint athletes) would ever play worse on speed. Maybe golfers might.