Prevalence of methylphenidate prescription among school-aged children in a Swiss population: increase in the number of prescriptions in the Swiss Canton of Vaud, from 2002 to 2005, and changes in patient demographics.

OBJECTIVE: Methylphenidate is prescribed for children and adolescents to treat ADHD. As in many Western countries, the increase in methylphenidate consumption is a public concern in Switzerland. The article discusses the authors' assessment of prescription prevalence in 2002 and 2005 for school-aged children in the canton of Vaud. METHOD: Pharmacy prescription information is available from the regional public health authority. Descriptive analyses are conducted on an anonymized database of the years 2002 and 2005. Data for each year are compared to assess trends in methylphenidate prescription prevalence. RESULTS: The findings show an increase from 0.74% to 1.02% in the number of prescriptions for 5- to 14-year-old children, particularly in prescriptions for girls. Data also show important geographical differences in prescription. CONCLUSION: The prevalence of methylphenidate prescription is lower in Switzerland than other Western countries, particularly the United States. However, some aspects of prevalence are similar, including the increase per year, demographics, and geographic characteristics.

The list of the chromosome races of the common shrew Sorex araneus (updated 2002)

In 1996 the International Sorex araneus Cytogenetics Committee (ISACC) published a comprehensive list of 50 chromosome races of the common shrew Sorex araneus (lima et al. 1996). Since that time twenty one new races have been described and three races have been removed from the list. The present list summarises the data about races described since the 1996 publication. The rules introduced by Searle et al. (1991) and Hausser et al. (1994) were followed in the compilation of the list. It can be considered a reference for further studies of evolutionary relationships between the chromosome races of Sorex araneus. A summary table of all the 68 known races, arranged alphabetically according to their names, is given.