Study identifies gene linked with ADHD

BETHESDA, Md., Feb. 16 (UPI) -- A U.S.-led multinational research team says it analyzed data from more than 6,000 people to find a gene linked to attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Researchers from the United States, Colombia, Germany, Norway and Spain said they discovered ADHD is linked with the Latrophilin 3 gene after examining data from members of 18 ADHD-afflicted families in an isolated region of Colombia.

The scientists said they then replicated their finding in five samples of people from Germany, Norway, Spain and the United States. Their samples comprised 2,627 people with ADHD and 2,531 people without the disorder.

The team said subsequent brain-imaging studies showed the LPHN3 gene is expressed in areas of the brain associated with attention and influences the metabolism of groups of nerve cells associated with ADHD.

The researchers said their findings could lead to novel drug treatments, as well as a mechanism to identify those likely to develop ADHD. In addition, they said their discovery could help identify ADHD patients who would be more likely to show a therapeutic response to stimulant medication.

The study led by Maximilian Muenke and Mauricio Arcos-Burgos of the U.S. National Institutes of Health appears in the early online edition of the journal Molecular Psychiatry.