Publications by authors named "Barbara Aiello"

Article Synopsis
  • Sleep disturbances (SD) are common in children and adolescents with ADHD, affecting their treatment outcomes, particularly with stimulant medications like methylphenidate (MPH).
  • A study with 43 participants found that those with higher levels of SD experienced greater improvements in attention and reduced variability in reaction times after taking MPH.
  • The research suggests that factors such as externalizing behaviors and IQ also play a role in how children respond to MPH, highlighting the need for early identification of SD for better treatment predictions, while calling for further investigation into these relationships.
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The co-occurrence Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) in children and adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has been associated to difficulties in regulating adverse states, elevated functional impairment, deficits in Executive Functions and high risk for psychopathology. Recent studies have shown that ODD is a negative predictor of a positive response to methylphenidate (MPH) treatment for ADHD symptoms in children and adolescents and that patients with a diagnosis of comorbid ADHD and ODD are less likely to respond favorably to pharmacological treatment with MPH. We conducted a naturalistic study to understand the clinical characteristics of drug-naïve children and adolescents with ADHD that influence the response to MPH by measuring the effect on attention.

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Article Synopsis
  • ADHD is marked by ongoing challenges with inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, affecting daily functioning, and while methylphenidate (MPH) is the standard treatment, not all patients respond favorably to it.
  • This study assessed the effects of a single session of anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) compared to a dose of MPH and a sham tDCS in 26 children and adolescents with ADHD.
  • Results indicated that MPH significantly improved inhibitory control and visual-spatial working memory, while the tDCS session did not show any notable benefits compared to baseline or sham treatments, suggesting a need for different approaches to evaluate tDCS effectiveness.
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Introduction: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been associated with difficulties in regulating aversion states, high functional impairment, and a high risk of psychopathology across the lifespan. ADHD is clinically heterogeneous, with a wide spectrum of severity and associated symptoms. Clinical characteristics need to be carefully defined in different periods of life as ADHD course, symptoms, and comorbidities may fluctuate and change over time.

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Increasing evidence shows that children with Communication Disorders (CDs) may show gross, fine, and visual-motor difficulties compared to children with typical development. Accordingly, the present study aims to characterize gross, fine and visual-motor skills in children with CDs, distinguishing children with CDs into three subgroups, i.e.

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During the COVID-19 pandemic, medical students were burdened with high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression. The objective of the present study was to investigate predictors of positive mental health among medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. We conducted an online survey from September 2021 to March 2022.

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Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by inappropriate levels of attention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity that interfere with individual functioning. The international guidelines recommend targeting ADHD-related neurochemical brain abnormalities by intervening via drug treatment, such as methylphenidate (MPH), as first choice. Drug treatments are usually associated with a huge amount of cost for families and the healthcare system, suspension for low compliance, poor long-term efficacy, and side effects.

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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder diagnosed in the scholar age. It is associated with significant impairment in global functioning, and in moderate/severe presentations the outcome is critically dependent on pharmacological optimization of the multi-modal treatment. Methylphenidate (MPH) is the first-choice pharmacological treatment in children and adolescents with ADHD, with substantial evidence of significant efficacy and effectiveness on global functioning and symptoms' severity.

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Methylphenidate (MPH) is the treatment of first choice for developmental ADHD. To date, no reliable method to predict how patients will respond to MPH exists and conflicting results are reported on clinical characteristics of responders. The present study aims to give a more precise characterization of the patients who will respond best to MPH to help clinicians in defining the treatment plan.

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Article Synopsis
  • ADHD is the most common neurodevelopmental disorder in school-aged children and often leads to significant functioning issues, with boys being referred for assessments more frequently due to more visible symptoms.
  • A study of 715 children diagnosed with ADHD revealed that while boys had higher average IQs, girls had more severe symptoms and functional impairments.
  • Additionally, girls mostly displayed attention-related problems, whereas boys exhibited more internalizing issues like depression and obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
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Revolving Door (RD) is a frequent phenomenon afflicting children and adolescents with psychiatric diagnoses. Nevertheless, risk factors for RD are still a matter of debate. To better understand RD phenomenon, we conducted a retrospective study on 224 children and adolescents (165 females and 59 males, aged 6-16 years) with a psychiatric hospitalization, taking the multiple risk factors together.

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