Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-21T12:47:27.407Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

Introduction

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 November 2014

Extract

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may be the most common chronic, undiagnosed psychiatric disorder in adults. ADHD is characterized by restlessness, overactivity, disorganization, impulsivity, and inattention; and as further characterized in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition, Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). For most cases, an adult ADHD diagnosis is preceded by symptoms in childhood, which is a time when the disorder is rarely inquired about and usually overlooked.

ADHD has been recognized in children for several decades, and the importance of detection and treatment is well established. Whereas it was initially believed that children outgrew the disease, researchers now know that approximately two thirds of children affected with ADHD symptoms carry the condition into adolescence and then into adulthood. Consequently, >4% of adults in the United States have ADHD. Nevertheless, the disorder is unrecognized and untreated in the vast majority of these people.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2007

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

1.Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. 4th ed, text rev. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association; 2000.Google Scholar
2.Wender, PH. Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder in Adults. New York, NY: Oxford University Press; 1995.Google Scholar
3.Faraone, S, Biederman, J, Mick, E. The age dependent decline of attention-deficit/hyper-activity disorder: a meta-analysis of follow-up studies. Psychol Med. 2006;36:159165.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
4.Kessler, RC, Adler, LA, Barkley, R. Patterns and predictors of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder persistence into adulthood: results from the national comorbidity survey replication. Biol Psychiatry. 2005;57:14421451.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
5.Faraone, SV, Biederman, J. What is the prevalence of adult ADHD? Results of a population screen of 966 adults. J Atten Disord. 2005;9:384391.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
6.Shaffer, D. Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults. Am J Psychiatry. 1994;151:633638.Google ScholarPubMed
7.Spencer, T, Biederman, J, Wilens, T, Faraone, SV. Adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: a controversial diagnosis. J Clin Psychiatry. 1998;59(suppl 7):5968.Google ScholarPubMed
8.Furman, L. What is attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)? J Child Neurol. 2005;20:9941002.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
9.Faraone, SV. Etiology and pathophysiology of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Primary Psychiatry. 2004;11:2840.Google Scholar
10.Castellanos, FX, Lee, PP, Sharp, W et al. , Developmental trajectories of brain volume abnormalities in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. JAMA. 2002;288:17401748.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
11.Bush, G, Frazier, JA, Rauch, SL et al. , Anterior cingulate cortex dysfunction in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder revealed by fMRI and the Counting Stroop. Biol Psychiatry. 1999;45:15421552.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
12.Biederman, J, Petty, C, Fried, R et al. , Impact of psychometrically defined deficits of executive functioning in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Am J Psychiatry. 2006;163:17301738.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
13.Wilens, TE, Decker, MW. Neuronal nicotinic receptor agonists for the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: focus on cognition. Biochem Pharmacol. 2007;74:12121223.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
14.Staller, JA, Faraone, SV. Targeting the dopamine system in the treatment of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Expert Rev Neurother. 2007;7:351362.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
15.Lumme, V, Aalto, S, Ilonen, T, Någren, K, Hietala, J. Dopamine D2/D3 receptor binding in the anterior cingulate cortex and executive functioning. Psychiatry Res. 2007;156:6974.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
16.Madras, BK, Miller, GM, Fischman, AJ. The dopamine transporter and attention-deficit/ hyperactivity disorder. Biol Psychiatry. 2005;57:13971409.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
17.Mehler-Wex, C, Riederer, P, Gerlach, M. Dopaminergic dysbalance in distinct basal ganglia neurocircuits: implications for the pathophysiology of Parkinson's disease, schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Neurotox Res. 2006;10:167179.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
18.Volkow, ND, Wang, GJ, Telang, F et al. , Dopamine increases in striatum do not elicit craving in cocaine abusers unless they are coupled with cocaine cues. Neuroimage. 2007. In press.Google ScholarPubMed
19.Cheon, KA, Ryu, YH, Kim, JW, Cho, DY. The homozygosity for 10-repeat allele at dopamine transporter gene and dopamine transporter density in Korean children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: relating to treatment response to methylphenidate. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol. 2005;15:95101.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
20.Kim, JW, Biederman, J, McGrath, CL et al. , Further evidence of association between two NET single-nucleotide polymorphisms with ADHD. Mol Psychiatry. 2007. In press.Google ScholarPubMed
21.Young, JB, Landsberg, L. Catecholamines and the adrenal medulla. In: Wilson, JD, Foster, DW, eds. Williams Textbook of Endocrinology. 5th ed.Philadelphia, PA: WB Saunders Co; 1998:680682.Google Scholar
22.Pacholczyk, T, Blakely, RD, Amara, SG. Expression cloning of a cocaine- and antidepressant-sensitive human noradrenaline transporter. Nature. 1991;350:350354.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
23.Barker, EL, Blakely, RD. Norepinephrine and serotonin transporters: molecular targets of antidepressant drugs. In: Bloom, FE, Kupfer, DJ, eds. Psychopharmacology. A Fourth Generation of Progress. New York, NY: Raven Press; 1995:321333.Google Scholar
24.Zavosh, A, Schaefer, J, Ferrel, A, Figlewicz, DP. Desipramine treatment decreases 3H-nisoxetine binding and norepinephrine transporter mRNA in SK-N-SHSY5Y cells. Brain Res Bull. 1999;49:291295.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
25.Ding, YS, Lin, KS, Logan, J. PET imaging of norepinephrine transporters. Curr Pharm Des. 2006;12:38313845.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
26.Markowitz, JS, DeVane, CL, Pestreich, LK, Patrick, KS, Muniz, R. A comprehensive in vitro screening of d-, l-, and dl-threo-methylphenidate: an exploratory study. J Child Adolesc Psychopharmacol. 2006;16:687698.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
27.Bymaster, FP, Katner, JS, Nelson, DL et al. , Atomoxetine increases extracellular levels of norepinephrine and dopamine in prefrontal cortex of rat: a potential mechanism for efficacy in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Neuropsychopharmacology. 2002;27:699711.CrossRefGoogle Scholar