First direct genetic link to ADHD found

[P.Stibbons]

http://uk.reuters.com/article/idUKTRE68S5UD20100929

Researchers who scanned the gene maps of more than 1,400 children found that those with ADHD were more likely than others to have small chunks of their DNA duplicated or missing.

Anita Thapar, a professor of child and adolescent psychiatry at Cardiff University who led the study, said the research should help dispel the myths that ADHD is caused by bad parenting or poor diets that are too high in sugar.

"This is really exciting because it gives us the first direct genetic link to ADHD. Now we can say with confidence that ADHD is a genetic disease and that the brains of children with this condition develop differently to those of other children,"...


...The study also showed an overlap between the deleted or duplicated DNA segments, known as copy number variants (CNVs), and genetic variants linked to the brain disorders autism and schizophrenia -- providing what the scientists said was "strong evidence" that ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition.

The Cardiff team analyzed the genomes of 366 children with ADHD and compared them with 1,047 samples from children without ADHD to try to find variations in their genetic make-up.

The findings, published in The Lancet medical journal, showed that rare CNVs were almost twice as common in children with ADHD compared to the other children....