Adherence to psychostimulant medication in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: the role of attitudes.

Objective: To investigate how attitudes towards psychostimulant medication influence the adherence to psychostimulant treatment in children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Method: Thirty-three children with ADHD were prospectively recruited to take part in this study. The children and their parents filled questionnaires at both baseline and at a three-month follow-up to assess the severity of ADHD symptoms in the child and attitudes towards psychostimulant medication.

Efficacy of Methylphenidate in ADHD Children across the Normal and the Gifted Intellectual Spectrum.

Objective: This study evaluates whether attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) children with a borderline intelligence quotient (IQ) (70≤FSIQ<80), normal IQ (80≤FSIQ<120) and high IQ (FSIQ≥120) respond differently to psychostimulant treatment.

Method: 502 children, aged 6 to 12 years, with an IQ range from 70 to 150 participated in a two-week, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover methylphenidate (MPH) trial.

Results: In addition to differences in socioeconomic background and parental education, higher IQ children were found to present with less severe symptoms.

Relation between therapeutic response and side effects induced by methylphenidate as observed by parents and teachers of children with ADHD.

Background: The desired (therapeutic) and undesired (side) effects of methylphenidate might have underlying correlations. The aim of this study was to explore the strength and the possible sources of these correlations.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-seven children with ADHD (6-12 years) were administered placebo and methylphenidate (0.

COMT Val108/158Met polymorphism and the modulation of task-oriented behavior in children with ADHD.

It has been suggested that the symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), including inattention and/or hyperactivity/impulsivity, translate into deficits in task-oriented behavior or problem-focused activity. The frontosubcortical dopamine pathway has been implicated in ADHD. One of the key modulators of extracellular dopamine levels in the prefrontal cortex is catechol-O-methyltransferase (COMT).

Dopamine transporter 3'UTR VNTR genotype is a marker of performance on executive function tasks in children with ADHD.

Background: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a heterogeneous disorder from both clinical and pathogenic viewpoints. Executive function deficits are considered among the most important pathogenic pathways leading to ADHD and may index part of the heterogeneity in this disorder.

Methods: To investigate the relationship between the dopamine transporter gene (SLC6A3) 3'-UTR VNTR genotypes and executive function in children with ADHD, 196 children diagnosed with ADHD were sequentially recruited, genotyped, and tested using a battery of three neuropsychological tests aimed at assessing the different aspects of executive functioning.

Relation of maternal stress during pregnancy to symptom severity and response to treatment in children with ADHD.

Objective: There is considerable evidence that maternal stress is associated with behavioural disturbances in offspring. The objective of this study was to examine whether there is an association between the severity of maternal stress during pregnancy and the severity of symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). A second objective was to examine whether there is an association between maternal stress and children's response to methylphenidate (MPH).

COMT Val108/158Met gene variant, birth weight, and conduct disorder in children with ADHD.

Objective: In a recent study, Thapar and colleagues reported that COMT "gene variant and birth weight predict early-onset antisocial behavior in children" with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. We have attempted to replicate these findings in a group of ADHD children using a similar research design.

Method: Children (n=191) between 6 and 12 years of age who were diagnosed with ADHD were included in the study.