Autism prognosis: Parental genes ‘incredibly useful’ : Medical News Today

While one main risk gene may make an individual susceptible to autism or another neurodevelopmental disorder, it is the whole collection of associated changes in their DNA that decides whether they develop it and how severe it becomes.

This was the conclusion that researchers arrived at after analyzing developmental, cognitive, and genome sequencing data of hundreds of people with known risk genes together with that of their parents and siblings.

They suggest that their findings explain why two people carrying the same risk gene, also known as the “primary mutation,” can have very different symptoms of the associated neurodevelopmental disorder.

“For example,” says senior study author Santhosh Girirajan, an associate professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at Pennsylvania State University in University Park, “when a parent and child have the same primary mutation but only the child develops the disorder.”

He explains that when diagnosing a disorder such as autism, the focus on finding the cause tends to be on identifying the “one primary mutation.”

However, this approach does not explain why many people with the same primary mutation can have widely different symptoms.

 

Source: Autism prognosis: Parental genes ‘incredibly useful’ : Medical News Today

Girls have ADHD too – here’s why we may be missing them : The Conversation

Asked what they know about attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD, many people will likely tell you that it mostly affects children, and mostly boys. However, recent research has shown that neither of these perceptions is entirely true.

There is a striking difference in the sex of children diagnosed with ADHD, with boys more likely to be diagnosed than girls (the ratios can be as high as 9:1 in some studies). However, these studies are of children who have an established diagnosis of ADHD, and such estimates are affected by referral patterns (for example, parents may be more likely to take their sons in for an ADHD assessment), so they may not reflect the true sex ratio.

Indeed, when we estimate the occurrence of ADHD in the population as a whole, rather than just in children at clinics, we find that a lot more girls meet diagnostic criteria than is reflected in the estimates from clinics. The same equalising trend between the sexes is visible when looking at adults with a diagnosis of ADHD. Taken together, this suggests that there are a substantial number of girls with ADHD going undiagnosed in childhood, with potentially serious implications for the effects of their untreated symptoms in childhood, adolescence and adulthood.

Why are girls less likely to be diagnosed?

One reason that fewer girls are diagnosed with ADHD is that girls may be more likely to have the inattentive-type ADHD symptoms, rather than the hyperactive and impulsive symptoms that are more common in boys. The issue is that while inattention and an inability to focus will cause problems for a child, such symptoms may be less disruptive and noticeable for parents or teachers, which means that these children’s ADHD may go unrecognised.

Considering that diagnostic criteria were created based on studies of boys, they are likely to be better geared towards the identification of ADHD in males. This has led to a stereotypical image of ADHD as a “disruptive boy”, even though it is becoming more widely recognised that ADHD also affects large numbers of females and adults.

 

Source: Girls have ADHD too – here’s why we may be missing them  The Conversation

ADHD treatment may be needed by hundreds of thousands more children, experts suggest | The Independent

Hundreds of thousands more schoolchildren should be treated for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), say leading experts.

A major study led by University of Oxford academics suggests ADHD is seriously underdiagnosed and says more children should be given medication such as Ritalin, which it found is highly effective.

Concerns have been raised about the number of youngsters overmedicated for the disorder – but the evidence suggests just 10 per cent of those with ADHD are on any form of medication.

“We have strong evidence that in the UK, and many countries outside the US, ADHD is underrecognised and underdiagnosed,” said Professor David Coghill, a child and adolescent psychiatry expert from the University of Melbourne and a co-author of the study.

 

Source: ADHD treatment may be needed by hundreds of thousands more children, experts suggest | The Independent

ADHD and sexuality: Effects, dysfunction, sex drive, and more : Medical News Today

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) causes a range of symptoms, including hyperactivity, difficulty paying attention, and behavioral problems. ADHD may also affect romantic relationships, feelings of self-worth, or even the ability to perform sexually.

These markers are not used to make a diagnosis, and they may be due to the disorder itself or develop as a side effect of medicines used for treatment.

 

Source: ADHD and sexuality: Effects, dysfunction, sex drive, and more : Medical News Today

Attention deficit disorders could stem from impaired brain coordination: Researchers uncover link absent between brain regions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia : Science Daily

Researchers from Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine and colleagues have discovered how two brain regions work together to maintain attention, and how discordance between the regions could lead to attention deficit disorders, including schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and major depression.

People with attention deficits have difficulty focusing and often display compulsive behavior. The new study suggests these symptoms could be due to dysfunction in a gene — ErbB4 — that helps different brain regions communicate. The gene is a known risk factor for psychiatric disorders, and is required to maintain healthy neurotransmitter levels in the brain.

In a study published in the current issue of Neuron, researchers showed mice lacking ErbB4 activity in specific brain regions performed poorly on timed attention tasks. The mice struggled to pay attention and remember visual cues associated with food. Neuroscientists describe the kind of thought-driven attention required for the tasks as “top-down attention.” Top-down attention is goal-oriented, and related to focus. People who lack efficient top-down attention are at a higher risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study is the first to connect ErbB4 to top-down attention.

 

Source: Attention deficit disorders could stem from impaired brain coordination: Researchers uncover link absent between brain regions in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia : Science daily

ADHD drugs increase brain glutamate, predict positive emotion in healthy people : Science Daily

A new study shows that healthy people who take attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) drugs experience a surge in the neurotransmitter glutamate in key parts of the brain. And that increase in glutamate is associated with subsequent changes in positive emotion.

The findings, published in the journal Neuropsychopharmacology, not only provide clues about how these drugs affect healthy brains, they also hint at a previously undiscovered link between glutamate and mood.

“This is the first time that an increase in brain glutamate in response to psychostimulant drugs has been demonstrated in humans,” said Tara White, an assistant professor in the Brown University School of Public Health and lead author of the new study. “That’s important since glutamate is the major neurotransmitter responsible for excitation in the brain, and affects learning and memory.”

 

Source: ADHD drugs increase brain glutamate, predict positive emotion in healthy people : Science Daily

Almost No Children in France are Medicated for ADHD: Here’s How They Define and Treat it! : Plain Live

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC ) says that roughly 11% of American kids between 4 and 17 have been determined to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and on the off chance that you ask the American Psychiatric Association (APA), they keep up that despite the fact that exclusive 5% of American kids experience the ill effects of the turmoil, the finding is really given to around 15% of American kids. This number has been relentlessly rising, bouncing from 7.8% in 2003 to 9.5% in 2007.

Enormous Pharma assumed a noteworthy part in assembling the ADHD plague in the U.S., persuading guardians and specialists that ADHD is a typical issue among youngsters and one that ought to be sedated. In any case, numerous nations can’t help in contradicting the American position on ADHD,  an extent that they have completely unique structures for characterizing, diagnosing, and treating it. For instance, the rate of kids in France that have been analyzed and cured for ADHD is under 0.5%. This is to a great extent since French specialists don’t think about ADHD as a natural issue with organic causes, yet rather a medicinal condition brought on by psycho-social and situational components.

Why France Defines ADHD Differently

 

Source: Almost No Children in France are Medicated for ADHD: Here’s How They Define and Treat it! : Plain Live

ADHD: Could maternal depression be the cause? : Medical News Today

In this article, we discuss new evidence in support of a significant link between depression during pregnancy and an increased risk of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in the child.

ADHD is now one of the most common pediatric neurodevelopmental disorders, affecting up to 7.2 percent of all children.

The condition raises the likelihood that the child will face difficulty at school and later in life. Also, some evidence suggests that ADHD increases mortality rates.

And worryingly, according to some reports, the incidence rate of ADHD is steadily rising. Although better detection rates certainly play a part in the increase, this cannot explain the size of growth.

Therefore, the race is on to understand what causes ADHD and, importantly, whether or not it can be prevented.

Source: ADHD: Could maternal depression be the cause? : Medical News Today

Why Some Kids With ADHD Seek Attention and Play “Class Clown” : Understood

• Kids with ADHD often use attention-seeking behaviors to mask difficulties.
• Being the class clown can be a way for kids with ADHD to cope with anxiety.
• You can help your child develop positive strategies.

Whether they’re cracking jokes, making faces or doing handstands, for some kids with ADHD (also known as ADD), class clown can seem like a role they were born to play. But goofing around in class and elsewhere isn’t all fun and games. Attention-seeking behavior can have real consequences, both in school and out.

Understanding why kids with ADHD seek attention and play the class clown is key. It can help you help your child find better ways to channel his energy and emotions.

ADHD and Seeking Attention

When kids with ADHD draw attention to themselves, they’re usually not trying to be difficult. The funny comments and slapstick routines are a way to draw attention away from the problems ADHD can create. Those problems include impulsivity and hyperactivity, as well as inattention.

Your child may be afraid that his classmates will laugh at him if they realize he forgot his homework, again. He may worry that they’ll think he’s dumb if he can’t answer the teacher’s question because he got distracted. Or that he’s annoying if he blurts something out when he shouldn’t have. Clowning around is often a way to cover for the anxiety and get ahead of criticism.

This behavior might look like:

 

Source: Why Some Kids With ADHD Seek Attention and Play “Class Clown”

Understood

Teens With ADHD and Lying: Why It’s Common and How to Respond : Understood

• Many teens lie, and some do it frequently.
• Teens with ADHD may have different patterns of lying than other teens.
• Teens with ADHD generally don’t lie to be defiant, but rather to cope with their challenges.

Most parents of teens have dealt with the issue of lying at some point. Telling lies or leaving out the truth is a common teen behavior. Kids at this age have a lot more going on in their lives—sometimes good and sometimes bad—that they may want to keep to themselves.

But when teens with ADHD (also known as ADD) frequently tell lies, there are sometimes other factors to consider—and to watch out for.

Not all kids with ADHD have issues with frequent lying. In fact, some are compulsively honest, which can create a different kind of problem. For many kids, however, lying is a behavior that starts when they’re young and that can become even more problematic as they travel through their teens years.

Here’s what to know about teens with ADHD and the problem of frequent lying, and how to help.

 

Source: Teens With ADHD and Lying: Why It’s Common and How to Respond : Understood