Developmental/Behavioral Disorders

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Girls with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)-combined type, who have deficits in both attention and hyperactivity-impulsivity, are more likely than girls with ADHD-inattentive type or other girls to develop eating pathologies as adolescents, according to a report in the February issue of the Journal of Abnormal Psychology.

The use of stimulant treatment in male children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) wasn't associated with an increased or decreased risk of later substance use disorder, according to research published online March 3 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

The use of stimulant treatment in male children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) wasn't associated with an increased or decreased risk of later substance use disorder, according to research published online March 3 in the American Journal of Psychiatry.

Treatment with L-acetylcarnitine may be beneficial in improving hyperactivity and social behavior in boys with fragile X syndrome who have attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), according to an article published online Feb. 19 in the American Journal of Medical Genetics.

ADHD is an equal-opportunity condition, affecting children from all walks of life. But what role, if any, does ethnicity have on the response to diagnosis and treatment?

Adolescents with ADHD are different from other patients. Impulsiveness and inattention pose bigger problems than hyperactivity, which can translate into lower medication adherence and growing behavioral problems. And adolescent girls tend to exhibit more problems than boys in the same age range.

Researchers funded by the National Institutes of Health's (NIH) National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) and National Institute on Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) have discovered that the brain's fear hub likely becomes abnormally small in the most severely socially-impaired males with autism spectrum disorder. New findings suggest that social fear in autism may initially trigger a hyperactive, abnormally enlarged amygdala, which eventually gives way to a toxic adaptation that kills amygdala cells and shrinks the structure, said Richard Davidson, Ph.D., and colleagues at the University of Wisconsin.

New research reported at the annual meeting of the American Psychiatric Association in Toronto in May shows that Shire Pharmaceutical Group's methylphenidate transdermal system (Daytrana) appears a safe and well-tolerated alternative to OROS methylphenidate, and is equally efficacious.

A new study on potential interactions between genetic and environmental factors in ADHD suggests that current limits on lead exposure are too high. Lead exposure below the current limits allowed by Environmental Protection Agency regulations produced measurable impairment of executive functions, especially in boys, who have a specific variation in the DRD4 dopamine receptor gene.