Translational Issues in Psychological Science, Vol 11(3), Sep 2025, 292-307; doi:10.1037/tps0000452
In 2022, approximately 10.5% (6.5 million) of children (3–17 years old) in the United States currently have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which can cause detrimental effects on a child’s social, familial, and academic outcomes. ADHD has three different presentations based on the symptoms, which include (a) inattentive, (b) hyperactive/impulsive, or (c) combined type. Additionally, ∼78% of children with ADHD have co-occurring mental, behavioral, and developmental disorders (MBDDs) making treatment difficult. Children with co-occurring disorders are generally prescribed a medication for ADHD (stimulant or nonstimulant drugs) and a second medication for the MBDDs (typically atypical antipsychotic drugs or antidepressant drugs for mental or behavioral disorders). The newly approved nonstimulant serotonin-norepinephrine modulating agent, viloxazine (Qelbree), is a medication that has the potential to treat both ADHD and MBDD symptoms in children. This review covers several topics. First, this review discusses the different types and demographics of ADHD in children, co-occurring MBDDs, and current treatments for pediatric ADHD. Second, we discuss the history of viloxazine, the pharmacological mechanisms of viloxazine that provide relief of ADHD symptoms, and the clinical efficacy of viloxazine for treating pediatric ADHD. Lastly, we propose that viloxazine could potentially treat co-occurring mental and behavioral disorders via serotonin 5-HT2B antagonism, which increases extracellular serotonin and the firing rate of pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)