A new study conducted through the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) has found that an abnormality in the way the brain processes rewards and motivation may be a root cause of ADHD.

In studies past, researchers have focused on issues of attention and hyperactivity, viewing them as the primary issues -- but a NIDA release indicates that approach may need to be revised:

Recent studies have found that children with ADHD don’t respond to rewards in the same way as children without ADHD, [lead researcher Nora] Volkow said. ‘In addition to the classic symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity, there is also a disruption in motivations and sensitivity to rewards,’ she said.

This newest study found a disruption in the brain’s reward/motivation pathway in people with ADHD. The study also found a direct correlation between that disruption and the severity of inattention. Researchers called the study a “wake up call” for teachers, believing it emphasizes the importance of finding creative ways to keep kids engaged.

Labels: brain_activity, brain_chemistry, research

The David Lynch Foundation will host a Sept. 30 webinar during which a panel of physicians and scientists will discuss the benefits that ADHD students can experience from a simple meditation.

A Sept. 16 article on The Medical News website provided the following details:

The webinar, which comes on the final day of National ADHD Public Awareness Month, will report on published research on the effects of the Transcendental Meditation technique for improving academic achievement and executive brain function while reducing learning disorders, anxiety, depression, metabolic syndrome, diabetes, and heart disease.

One recent study, published in the January 2009 issue of the peer-reviewed Current Issues in Education, followed a group of 10 middle school students with ADHD who were practicing the Transcendental Meditation technique twice a day in school. After three months, researchers found over 50 percent reduction in stress and anxiety, and improvements in ADHD symptoms.

"The effect was much greater than we expected," said Sarina J. Grosswald, Ed.D., a George Washington University-trained cognitive learning specialist and lead researcher on the study. "The children also showed improvements in attention, working memory, organization, and behavior regulation."

Conference panelists will include Sarina Grosswalk, Ed.D and William Stixrud, Ph.D. of George Washington University, and Norman Rosenthal, M.D. of the National Institute of Mental Health.

The webinar is scheduled to begin at noon (ET) on www.adhd-tm.org.

Labels: meditation, webinar

Actor-comedian Patrick McKenna spent five years working on two shows at the same time. He worked seven days a week and attributes his success during that period, in part, to Attention Deficit Disorder. Now, he’s teaming up with filmmaker Rick Green on a new documentary, “ADD and Loving It?!”

“The hour-long program ... has McKenna posing questions about the disorder that are answered by experts in an effort to debunk myths," the Canadian Press reported. "The film brings a humorous approach to an often weighty issue, partly because of the duo’s comedic background and view of the world, but also in an effort not to add fears about the disorder, Green said."

Green told the Canadian Press that he got the idea for the documentary after he had been diagnosed with ADD himself. Not only did the diagnosis explain some of his behavior, but it helped him put structures in place to better handle some of the negative effects of ADD.

Labels: awareness

Autism may develop in the last months of the first year of life, and it may involve enlargements of certain areas of the brain, according to a new study from the University of North Carolina.

• Researchers studied 50 children with autism and 33 children without the disorder.
  
• They used brain scans and other tests when the children were ages two and four years old.
• The children with autism were more likely to have amygdala enlargements.
  
• The amygdala is a brain area associated with several functions, including processing faces and emotions.
  

“Amygdala disturbances early in development disrupt the appropriate assignment of emotional significant significance to faces and social interest action,” lead author Dr. Matthew W. Mosconi wrote in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

Dr. Mosconi and his colleagues plan to keep following the children in this study for several more years.

Labels: autism, brain development

Fairy tales such as Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella are little more than love stories involving handsome princes and damsels in distress, right?

Not necessarily.

A new theatre production by Youth Enhancement Support, Inc., puts a unique twist on the stories, using them to raise awareness about issues such as depression and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

According to information on the website of the Minnesota Association for Children's Mental Health, the creators of Fidgety Fairy Tales have adapted classic plays in order to send an uplifting message about children who have been diagnosed with ADHD and related disorders:

In this retelling of the classic tales Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty, and Little Red Riding Hood, writer/director Matt Jenson and composer/lyricist Marya Hart have crafted a lively and thought-provoking production that artfully combats the negative and damaging stereotypes that surround mental illness.

Their characters, all based on well-known fairy tale characters, have mental health disorders. Through the telling of each of their stories, the audience comes to see that people with disorders such as depression and AD/HD can just as readily be the heroes of the story.

Labels: acceptance, accomplishments, awareness

A proclamation from Connecticut Gov. M. Jodi Rell has identified the week of September 14-18 as ADHD Awareness Week throughout the state.

Events throughout the week will include a bilingual "Understanding ADHD" workshop Sept. 15 at Columbus Magnet School in Norwalk, Conn.

"This workshop is ideal for parents and teachers to begin to understand the disorder that is so prevalent in our society but simultaneously so misunderstood," Norwalk Deputy Corporation Counsel Jeffrey Spahr said in an e-mail to Norwalk newspaper The Hour. "Who hasn't heard some comment about 'having ADD' following a forgetful moment or a comment about a kid 'being on medication' or 'needing some Ritalin' when a child is seen running in a store full of energy?"

Labels: awareness

At the start of a new school year, some parents whose children have been diagnosed with ADHD consider keeping the diagnosis to themselves. Rather than informing the child’s teacher, they keep quiet, not wanting to label their child.

In an Aug. 23 article on about.com, ADHD expert Keath Low advises against withholding this important information:

Communication ... is key. Your child’s teacher needs to know about any issues that can impair his learning, social situations and general school life. The teachers need to know about your child’s interests and strengths, too. Your collaboration and open rapport with the teacher is vital. ...

As this new school year begins (or even before it does), talk with your child’s teacher about the ADHD. Share about the strategies that worked in his previous school - as well as those strategies that did not.

"Don’t withhold information in hopes this year will be a better one," Low wrote. "Be proactive. Establish a trusting and open relationship early on."

Labels: parenting, schools, teachers

A charity in Northern Ireland that offers support services for children and adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder may have to shut down.

According to a Sept. 8 article on the BBC News website, the Northern Ireland ADD Support Centre (NI-ADD) says it faces a funding crisis that was caused, at least in part, by a lack of funding from the Belfast Health and Social Care Trust.

Sarah Salters, charity director with NI-ADD, said its current financial situation is untenable. "From June 2007 to June 2009 we provided 214 services to Belfast Trust," she explained. "In terms of money that we as an organization have had to secure, that equates to [$228,033.] Of that, Belfast Trust has given us nothing.”

A statement released by Belfast Trust said it is not in a position to provide funding to NI-ADD. NI-ADD didn’t indicate how long it could continue operating within its current financial framework, the BBC reported.

Labels: money, support groups

The global biopharmaceutical company Shire has received approval from the FDA to begin selling INTUNIV™, an extended release tablet that is used to treat ADHD in people ages 6 to 17 years old.

“Once-daily INTUNIV is expected to be available in US pharmacies in November and will come in four dosage strengths (1mg, 2mg, 3mg, and 4mg).

INTUNIV will be marketed in the United States by the existing Shire ADHD sales team of nearly 600 representatives. INTUNIV is not a controlled substance and has no known potential for abuse or dependence.” (Source: News-Medical.net)

The efficacy of INTUNIV was established in two separate, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials in children ages 6 to 17 years. In both trials, significant reductions of ADHD symptoms were demonstrated in the patients taking INTUNIV. Improvements became statistically significant one to two weeks after INTUNIV was administered.

Labels: FDA, medications

A concerned mother recently wrote to The Morning Call for advice about ADHD. Her daughter, a third-grader, was recently diagnosed with ADHD, and the mother wanted to know where she can find more information about the condition.

The Morning Call's Kathy Lauer-Williams offered the following advice:

There are many places to learn about ADHD. There is a national non-profit organization that provides information and support called CHADD (Children and Adults with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder). ...

[Expert Rochelle] Freedman also recommends ''Putting on the Brakes,'' by Patricia O. Quinn, a book for children ages 9 to 12 that offers strategies for coping with ADHD.

''There are tons of books for parents on ADHD,'' Freedman says. ''This is the time to become self educated. Be so intelligent on the topic, and take all of that and know you are still the expert.

In general, Freeman said, parents who want to educate themselves about ADHD should cast a wide net -- reading books, consulting with doctors, talking to other parents, and contacting ADHD organizations.

Labels: parenting

A new study from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that more teenagers and their parents are seeking help from poison control centers because of incidents involving drugs for Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

The number of poison control center calls related to the abuse of ADHD medication has increased by 76 percent since 2001.

About 42 percent of the people who called poison control centers because of reactions to ADHD drugs ended up in emergency rooms, and four people died.

Labels: abuse, medications