Dexmethylphenidate Stats & Data

Measured binding and functional data for dexmethylphenidate, curated by the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY. Each row cites the paper it came from. Lower concentrations mean tighter binding — a value in the sub-nanomolar range indicates a very potent interaction.

Reading this. pKi, pEC50 and pIC50 are negative log molar values, so a higher number means a tighter interaction; the concentration column converts them for you. Values from non-human species are laboratory measurements and do not translate directly to human effect. Receptor affinity is not a dose — it describes what a molecule binds, not how much of it is safe to take.

Receptor data from the IUPHAR/BPS Guide to PHARMACOLOGY (v2026.2), licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Matched to this substance by InChIKey.

Dexmethylphenidate is the dextrorotatory enantiomer of methylphenidate, isolated and developed as a separate pharmaceutical product. It received approval for medical use in the United States in 2001 and was subsequently introduced to the market in 2002 under the brand name Focalin. The rationale for its development was that the d-isomer was believed to be the more pharmacologically active component of the racemic methylphenidate mixture. Since its introduction, dexmethylphenidate has become widely prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Generic formulations have become available, expanding access beyond the original brand-name product. By 2023, it had become the 127th most commonly prescribed medication in the United States, with more than 4 million prescriptions written annually.

A toxic dose of methylphenidate is considered to be more than 2 mg/kg or 60 mg of an immediate-release formulation, or more than 4 mg/kg or 120 mg of an intact extended-release formulation. In the majority of cases in one study, methylphenidate overdose was asymptomatic or characterized by minor symptoms even in children under age 6. However, a significant amount of patients (31%) in the study developed symptoms typical of stimulant overdose, most commonly tachycardia, agitation, and paradoxically lethargy. In the 2012 National Poison Data System report, methylphenidate exposure was reported 9,787 times, with 1,609 reporting no adverse effects, 1,009 reporting mild effects, 662 reporting moderate effects, 33 reporting major symptoms, and no cases resulting in death.

Effects aggregated from 7 experience reports (7 single-substance Erowid)

Each bar is the share of reports mentioning the effect; its whisker, and the band on the rows below, is the 95% interval: where the share could plausibly be with other reports of the same kind.

Too few reports for bars: these effects come from 7 single-substance Erowid reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?

Also reported in combinations. In the 8 Dexmethylphenidate reports where another drug was taken too, 1 mentions hospital, emergency services or an overdose, 0 a seizure and 0 psychosis (too few reports for percentages). In the 7 single-substance reports: 2, 0 and 0. These are not in the figures above: they cannot be put down to Dexmethylphenidate alone, and a mention is not always something that happened to the writer.

From 30 of 30 recorded dose entries: those that state a weight (mg, g or µg), in routes with at least five of them. Values above Q3 + 3×IQR, far above what people typically take, are left out; they can include real heavy doses and overdoses, not only mistakes.

Most co-occurring substances, as a share of all 15 reports filed under Dexmethylphenidate

Too few reports for bars: these combinations come from 15 reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?

• THC 3 of 15

Most common forms and preparations, as a share of the 10 reports that give one

Too few reports for bars: these forms come from 10 reports, and a bar is drawn only from 20 reports or more. With fewer, a percentage cannot tell a common effect from a rare one. Counts are shown instead. Why 20?

• Ground / Crushed 7 of 10
• Pill / Tablet 2 of 10

Dose per kg of body weight, one dose per report (the first listed), from reports giving a weight of 30–250 kg. Doses above Q3 + 3×IQR, far above what people typically take, are left out of the median and range and listed under each route.

Redosing behavior across 11 reports