Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) News and Research

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Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)

Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurobehavioral disorder that affects 3-5 percent of all American children. It interferes with a person's ability to stay on a task and to exercise age-appropriate inhibition (cognitive alone or both cognitive and behavioral).

Detailed picture of prevalence of ADHD in U.S.

Most children in the United States who meet the medically accepted definition of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) have not been diagnosed by a physician, and are not consistently treated with medications, according to the first national ADHD prevalence study in children based on the "gold standard" of diagnostic criteria, according to a new study conducted by researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center.

4 Sep 2007

Restless legs syndrome common and troublesome in children and adolescents

Restless legs syndrome is a common problem in children 8 years of age and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, according to a new report from an international team of researchers.

24 Aug 2007

Non-medicinal interventions for young children with ADHD

Non-medicinal interventions are highly effective in preventing the behavioral and academic problems associated with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), according to a five-year study led by researchers at Lehigh University's College of Education.

22 Aug 2007

Variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with ADHD

A variant of the dopamine receptor gene may be associated with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and with thinner tissue in areas of the brain that handle attention, but also appears associated with better clinical outcomes among individuals with the disorder, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry , one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Brain areas that control attention thinnest in children with ADHD

Brain areas that control attention were thinnest in children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) who carried a particular version of a gene in a study by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

7 Aug 2007

ADHD linked to depressed dopamine activity in the brain

Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) show a blunted response to the drug methylphenidate (Ritalin), which increases brain dopamine levels, according to a report in the August issue of Archives of General Psychiatry, one of the JAMA/Archives journals.

7 Aug 2007

Methylphenidate improves vigilance performance of ADHD children with poor sleep

WESTCHESTER, Ill. -- In the first known study of its kind, an article published in the August 1st issue of the journal SLEEP finds that children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and whose sleep efficiency is poor, experience significant improvement on some measures of the Continuous Performance Test (CPT) if they are treated with methylphenidate (MPH).

2 Aug 2007

Link between increased white matter and poor motor skills in children with autism

A study published in the August issue of the journal Brain demonstrates, for the first time, an association between increased white matter volume and functional impairment in children with autism.

1 Aug 2007

Severe trauma affect kid's brain function

The first study to examine brain activity patterns in severely traumatized children showed their brains function differently than those of healthy children, say researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine and Lucile Packard Children's Hospital.

30 Jul 2007

ADHD drug given to toddlers

Reports in the UK suggest that almost 400,000 youngsters aged between 5 and 19 are being treated with Ritalin and similar drugs for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, regardless of fears about the drugs' serious side-effects such as cardiovascular disorders, hallucinations and even suicidal thoughts.

30 Jul 2007

Severe trauma affects kids' brain function

27 Jul 2007

Prenatal alcohol exposure alters brain activity in the frontal-striatal areas

Heavy prenatal alcohol exposure does not always lead to fetal alcohol syndrome (FAS); sometimes it can lead to cognitive and behavioral deficits in the absence of craniofacial features needed to make an FAS diagnosis.

25 Jul 2007

Parents of kids with ADHD rejoice - it will get better whatever the treatment!

A new study has welcome news for parents of children who suffer from Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

21 Jul 2007

Comparison of ADHD treatments

Most children treated in a variety of ways for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) showed sustained improvement after three years in a major follow-up study funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH).

20 Jul 2007

Neurons help find what your are looking for!

A person searching for a ripe tomato at the grocery store is more likely to notice apples, strawberries and other red fruits as well, according to a new study that measured changes in blood flow in the brain.

19 Jul 2007

Discovery of gene variant that increases risk for Crohn's disease

Pediatrics researchers have identified a gene variant that raises a child's risk of Crohn's disease, a chronic and painful condition attributed to inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract.

19 Jul 2007

Potential dangers of Ritalin

Use of the attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drug Ritalin by young children may cause long-term changes in the developing brain, suggests a new study of very young rats by a research team at Weill Cornell Medical College in New York City.

18 Jul 2007

New gene found for type 1 diabetes in children

Pediatrics researchers at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia and McGill University in Montreal have identified a gene variant that raises a child's risk for type 1 diabetes, formerly called juvenile diabetes.

16 Jul 2007

Mothers' second-hand smoke exposure while pregnant linked to children's ADHD

Children whose mothers were exposed to second-hand smoke while they were pregnant have more symptoms of serious psychological problems compared to the offspring of women who had no prenatal exposure to smoke, according to a new University of Washington study.

28 Jun 2007

Pediatric chronic disease poses future health and welfare challenges

The increased incidence of chronic conditions among American children predicts serious strains on health care and social welfare systems in the future, caution investigators from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

27 Jun 2007