Adderall
Meaning of Adderall: Not one drug but a fixed blend of amphetamine salts, which is why its generic name is longer than its brand name.
Definition of Adderall
Adderall is the brand name of a stimulant medicine made from a fixed mixture of four amphetamine salts, which together supply about three parts dextroamphetamine to one part levoamphetamine. It is prescribed for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and for narcolepsy, and it is sold as immediate-release tablets and as a longer-acting capsule.
What is actually in it?
The tablet contains dextroamphetamine saccharate, amphetamine aspartate, dextroamphetamine sulfate and amphetamine sulfate. Those four salts release two closely related molecules, dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine, in a ratio of roughly three to one. The mirror-image forms are not interchangeable: the dextro form acts more strongly on attention circuits, while the levo form has relatively more effect on the cardiovascular system and a longer duration. That mixture is what separates the product from single-isomer stimulants containing dextroamphetamine alone.
| Form | How it is taken | Duration |
|---|---|---|
| Immediate release | Tablet, often more than once a day | Several hours per dose |
| Extended release | Capsule of beads that dissolve in two stages | Most of a waking day from one dose |
How does it work?
Amphetamines enter the nerve ending and force dopamine and norepinephrine out of their storage vesicles into the gap between nerve cells, while also blocking the transporters that would clear them away. Releasing the messenger is the important half, and it is what separates amphetamines from medicines that only block reuptake. In the prefrontal cortex, the region that sustains attention and holds back impulses, the extra signaling appears to steady circuits that are otherwise under-driven, which is the working explanation for why a stimulant reduces rather than increases hyperactivity in this condition. Alertness rises through the same messengers acting on wake-promoting pathways, which is the basis of its use in narcolepsy.
Why is it a controlled substance?
Amphetamines produce euphoria at higher doses and can lead to compulsive use, so the medicine sits in the most tightly restricted category that still has accepted medical use. In the United States that is Schedule II, which limits refills and imposes record-keeping on prescribers and pharmacies. Other countries place amphetamines under their own control systems, and some do not permit this product at all, so the label a prescription carries depends on where it is written. Nothing comparable is sold as an over-the-counter product; stimulant medicines of this class require a prescription everywhere they are available.
Also known as
Used in a sentence
The patient was prescribed Adderall as part of the treatment plan for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Good to know
Adderall is a fixed mixture of amphetamine salts rather than a single active ingredient, so it delivers both dextroamphetamine and levoamphetamine, which distinguishes it from stimulants containing a single isomer.