Zyprexa

Anti-psychotics are intended for use against schizophrenia and other psychotic illnesses.

However, attention deficit disorder is sometimes accompanied by outbursts and other disruptive behavior.

As a result, some doctors prescribe anti-psychotics to these children to calm them down - a strategy some doctors and parents say works.

The drugs, typically several dollars per pill, are considered safer than older anti-psychotics - at least in adults - but they still can have serious side effects, including weight gain, elevated cholesterol and diabetes.

Anecdotal evidence suggests similar side effects occur in children, but large-scale studies are needed, Cooper said.

Cooper said some of the increases might reflect repeat prescriptions given to the same child, but he said that is unlikely and noted that his findings echo results from smaller studies.

Heavy marketing by drug companies probably contributed to the increase in the use of anti-psychotic drugs among children, said Dr.

Daniel Safer, a psychiatrist affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, who called the potential side effects a concern.

The study appears in the March-April edition of the journal Ambulatory Pediatrics.

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