Here are some of the latest health and medical news developments, compiled by editors of HealthDay:

FDA Approves First ADHD Patch

The first skin patch to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children was given the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s blessing late Thursday, the Associated Press reported.

Designed to be worn for nine hours, the patch contains a methylphenidate, a stimulant that has been effective in treating ADHD for decades. Known as Daytrana and made by Noven Pharmaceuticals Inc. in Miami, the wire service said the patch is considered an alternative treatment for children aged 6 to 12 with ADHD if taking pills is too difficult. The patch, which will be available in four doses, can also be removed immediately if side effects develop.

More than 3 million Americans aged 19 and younger used ADHD medications last year, according to Medco Health Solutions Inc., a prescription drug benefit program manager.

According to the AP, Daytrana’s label will carry the same standard warnings as other methylphenidates, which include insomnia, decreased appetite and nausea, along with the possibility that the patient could develop antibodies to the drug and no longer take it.

“We feel that the labeling approved with this product is adequate and adequately provides for safe and effective use,” Dr. Thomas Laughren, director of the FDA’s Psychiatry Products, told the AP.

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Jury Awards $4.5 Million in Vioxx Case

One of two plaintiffs was awarded $4.5 million in compensatory damages after a New Jersey jury handed down a split verdict Wednesday in a trial involving the once-popular painkiller Vioxx.

After two days of deliberations, the jury ruled that drug maker Merck & Co. concealed the heart attack dangers of the drug and failed to warn doctors and the public about the risks, the Associated Press reported.

The jurors found that Vioxx caused the heart attack of one plaintiff, who took it for four years, and awarded him compensatory damages. But the jury concluded that the drug did not cause the heart attack of the second plaintiff and awarded him only the cost of his Vioxx prescription.

This trial was the first involving long-term use of Vioxx and could prompt Merck to rethink its strategy of fighting each Vioxx lawsuit individually, the AP reported.

On Thursday, the former CEO of Merck denied a plaintiff lawyer’s suggestions that the drugmaker withheld information about the safety of Vioxx from the Food and Drug Administration.

Former CEO Raymond Gilmartin took the stand in a court hearing aimed at determining whether Merck should pay punitive damages to the plaintiff who received compensatory damages for his heart attack.

This is the sixth trial involving Vioxx, and Merck faces 9,650 other lawsuits.

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Teen Drug Use Dips, But Drinking Continues: Report

Drug use among American teens has dipped nationwide but underage drinking persists, with jumps in California and Wisconsin, according to a substance abuse report released Thursday.

The report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMSHA) was based on interviews of 135,500 people and is the first to document state-by-state drug and alcohol use from 2002 to 2004, according to the Associated Press.

In 2004, 10.9 percent of young people aged 12 to 17 reported that they had used an illegal drug in the past month, a drop from 11.4 percent in 2002, the report found. Fueling the decline were six states — Illinois, Nebraska, North Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont and Virginia — while use in other states was largely flat.

At seo tips the same time, teen alcohol use remained basically unchanged — from