Cerebrospinal fluid monoamine metabolites, aggression, and impulsivity in disruptive behavior disorders of children and adolescents.

Arch Gen Psychiatry 1990 May;47(5):419-26
Kruesi MJ, Rapoport JL, Hamburger S, Hibbs E, Potter WZ, Lenane M, Brown GL

National Institute of Mental Health, Child Psychiatry Branch, Bethesda, MD 20892.

Cerebrospinal fluid levels of 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid, a metabolite of serotonin, were measured in relation to aggression, impulsivity, and social functioning in 29 children and adolescents with disruptive behavior disorders.

The cerebrospinal fluid 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid level was low compared with that of age-, sex-, and race-matched patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Read more of the article...

Reduction of (3H)-imipramine binding sites on platelets of conduct-disordered children.

Neuropsychopharmacology 1987 Dec;1(1):55-62
Stoff DM, Pollock L, Vitiello B, Behar D, Bridger WH

Medical College of Pennsylvania, Eastern Pennsylvania Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, Philadelphia.

Binding characteristics of tritiated imipramine on blood platelets were determined in daytime hospitalized prepubertal children who had mixed diagnoses of conduct disorder (CD) plus attention deficit disorder hyperactivity (ADHD) and in inpatient adolescents who had a history of aggressive behavior. Read more of the article...

About 5 percent of school-age children have ADHD. Children with untreated ADHD have higher than normal rates of school problems, social problems, and even injury.

ADHD frequently co-occurs with other problems, such as depression and anxiety disorders, conduct disorder, drug abuse, or antisocial behavior.

Although ADHD is relatively common, our knowledge of the problem is fairly limited.

It is pretty common today for ADHD treatment to include a variety of approaches, such as drug therapy, counseling, supportive services in schools and communities, diet interventions, and alternative treatments such as Attend.

The medical literature offers many studies carried out over brief treatment periods to try to find out what the best treatment for ADHD really is. Read more of the article...

Genetics of Childhood Disorders: XX. ADHD

Part 4: Is ADHD Genetically Heterogeneous?

Author/s: Stephen V. Faraone
Issue: Nov, 2000

Reviews of the literature leave no doubt that genes influence the etiology of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) (Faraone et al., 1998).

Notably, twin studies show the heritability of ADHD to be about 0.80, indicating that the effect of genes is substantial.

These genetic epidemiological studies have motivated molecular genetic studies of ADHD that have produced intriguing but conflicting results (Faraone and Biederman, 1998). Read more of the article...

Etiology of Inattention and Hyperactivity/impulsivity in a Community Sample of Twins with Learning Difficulties.

Author/s: Erik G. Willcutt
Issue: April, 2000

Erik G. Willcutt [1,3] Bruce F. Pennington [2] John C. DeFries [1]

A community sample of 373 8 to 18 year-old twin pairs in which at least one twin in each pair exhibited a history of learning difficulties was utilized to examine the etiology of inattention and hyperactivity/impulsivity (hyp/imp).

Symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) were assessed by the DSM-III Diagnostic Interview for Children and Adolescents. Inattention and hyp/imp composite scores were created based on results of a factor analysis. Read more of the article...

Adoptive and Biological Families of Children and Adolescents With ADHD.

Author/s: Susan Sprich
Issue: Nov, 2000

ABSTRACT

Objective: Using an adoption study design, the authors addressed the issue of genetics in attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Method: This study examined the rates of ADHD and associated disorders in the first-degree adoptive relatives of 25 adopted probands with ADHD and compared them with those of the first-degree biological relatives of 101 nonadopted probands with ADHD and 50 nonadopted, non-ADHD control probands.

Results: Six percent of the adoptive parents of adopted ADHD probands had ADHD compared with 18% of the biological parents of nonadopted ADHD probands and 3% of the biological parents of the control probands. Read more of the article...