Your ADD / ADHD News

ADD Forums 2.0

In December ADD Forums made the long awaited upgrade to the latest incarnation of its forum software. This new generation of software offers expanded functionality and features such as expanded profiles with "friend’s lists", personal photo galleries, etc.

Today ADD Forums added a new Blogging system where each ADD Forums member can have his or her own blog, respond to other member’s blogs and more.

In the coming weeks ADD Forums will be adding a completely new chat system and many other new features that have been requested and are becoming available.

New Information Published About Adults With Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Supports Previous Research Regarding Potentially Significant Impacts on Social, Financial and Personal Aspects of Life

Nationally recognized Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) authority Russell Barkley, Ph.D., has embarked on a national speaking tour to discuss the symptoms of ADHD in adults and the potentially serious consequences these symptoms may have on the life of an adult living with this disorder. ADHD is believed to affect an estimated 8.1 percent of adults, or 9.2 million adults across the U.S. based on a retrospective survey of adults aged 18 to 44, projected to the full U.S. adult population. The purpose of this tour is to help raise awareness about the importance of identifying, diagnosing and treating adult ADHD.

In children, ADHD may interfere with paying attention in school, completing homework or making friends. Difficulties experienced in childhood may continue into adulthood. The symptoms of ADHD in adults may lead to potentially serious consequences. Surveys have shown that when compared with their non-ADHD peers, adults with ADHD may be:

    --  Three times more likely to be currently unemployed
    --  Two times more likely to have problems keeping friends
    --  Forty-seven percent more likely to have trouble saving money to pay bills
    --  Four times more likely to have contracted a sexually transmitted disease

"This educational initiative is meant to provide information about ADHD in adults including the results of recent studies of adults with ADHD concerning their symptoms, impairments and functionality in many domains of life that support the results of previous research in this area," said Dr. Barkley author of a recently published book, ADHD in Adults: What the Science Says.

ADHD Experts Fear Brain-Growth Study Being Misconstrued

Educators sat up and took notice last month when researchers published the results of a groundbreaking brain-imaging study suggesting that attention deficit hyperactivity disorder stems from delayed brain maturation.

National education and advocacy groups put the news on their Web sites, and The New York Times featured findings from that and another study in a front-page article. Implicit in some of the coverage was the hopeful idea that many—even most—children eventually grow out of the disorder.

But that’s not exactly true, according to the researcher who led the brain-imaging study and other experts.

“I think there’s been a bit of overinterpreting going on,” said Russell A. Barkley, a clinical professor of psychiatry at the Medical University of South Carolina, in Charleston, an ADHD expert who was not connected with the brain-imaging study. His own research, based on longitudinal surveys and behavioral observations, has long suggested that only 14 percent to 35 percent of children with ADHD fully overcome the symptoms by age 27.

Read More>>>

Brain Studies Show ADHD Is Real Disease

Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a real disease linked to changes in production of the brain chemical dopamine, two new reports suggest.

In the first report, researchers found that a variant of the dopamine receptor gene may help cause the behavioral condition but also improve its long-term outcome.

"If you have a certain variant of this gene, you have a greatly increased risk of having ADHD," said lead researcher Dr. Philip Shaw, a researcher in the Child Psychiatry Branch at the U.S. National Institute of Mental Health. However, "what we found that was surprising was that having this variant was also associated with having a better outcome from ADHD," he said.

Read More>>>

ADHD Treatment Pays Off

Washingtonpost.com

July 31, 2007

Matt McMillen

Most kids with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder benefit from long-term treatment, whether or not that treatment includes drugs, according to a study funded by the National Institute of Mental Health.

READ MORE >>

ADHD Drug Does Stunt Growth

By Daniel J. DeNoon
WebMD Medical News

Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

July 20, 2007 – After three years on the ADHD drug Ritalin, kids are about an inch shorter and 4.4 pounds lighter than their peers, a major U.S. study shows.

The symptoms of childhood ADHD -- attention deficit hyperactivity disorder -- usually get dramatically better soon after kids start taking stimulant drugs. But this benefit may come with a cost, says James Swanson, PhD, director of the Child Development Center at the University of California, Irvine.

READ MORE >>

Study Highlights Misperceptions About ADHD in College Students

A recent study warns parents of college-bound students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) to be prepared for difficulties when adjusting to life in higher education, suppressing the notion that symptoms of the disorder disappear in adulthood.

Buffalo State College graduate Kate Norwalk and psychology professor Jill M. Norvilitis, Ph.D., conducted research on the subject of ADHD and how it can persist in college. College students with ADHD may not anticipate their academic difficulties because of the misconception that symptoms of the disorder fade away later in life.

“College students with ADHD can be in for a rude awakening when they arrive on a college campus,” Norwalk said. “They can be blind-sided by the effects of the disorder, which can quickly lead to low self-esteem and in some cases dropping out.”

Read More>>>

Fish oil’s effect on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder studied

In the only Canadian study of its kind, researchers in Thunder Bay are studying a link between souped up fish oil supplements and its effects on attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, ADHD, is one of the most common mental disorders that develop in children. Children with ADHD have impaired functioning in multiple settings, including home, school, and in relationships with peers. If untreated, the disorder can have long-term adverse effects into adolescence and adulthood.

Symptoms of ADHD will appear over the course of many months, and include impulsiveness, hyperactivity and inattention. Dr. Ed Rawana, director for the Centre of Excellence for Children and Adolescents with Special Needs, said a new Omega-3 fatty acid supplement has shown dramatic results in children with ADHD. Also known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs), omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids play a crucial role in brain function as well as normal growth and development.

Read More>>>

Addicted to the Internet? You may have ADHD

A study performed at Kaohsiung Medical University in Taiwan set out to investigate the links between emotional conditions such as anxiety, depression and ADHD and Internet addiction. Two thousand fourteen students, 1204 male and 910 female, were assessed for all of the above factors using a self-report questionnaire.

The results showed that Internet addiction is associated with ADHD, depression, and hostility in males, while it is associated with ADHD and depression in females. Researchers noted that adolescent girls who had an Internet addiction didn’t display the hostility issues demonstrated by the adolescent boys. Social anxiety appeared to be a factor for both sexes.

Read More>>>

Co-Morbid ADHD in Bipolar Adults May Respond To Non-Stimulants

When attention deficit hyperactivity disorder meets bipolar disorder in an adult, the diagnosis is hard and the course is poorly understood but the co-morbidity appears to exacerbate matters, researchers said here. Action Points

Explain to patients who ask that a diagnosis of co-morbid bipolar disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults is challenging, because many of the symptoms overlap.

This study was published as an abstract and presented orally at a conference. These data and conclusions should be considered to be preliminary as they have not yet been reviewed and published in a peer-reviewed publication.
A systematic review of rates of bipolar disorder and ADHD in adults revealed that co-morbidity ranges anywhere from about 5% to 47%, reported Aliza P. Wingo, M.D., and S. Nassir Ghaemi, M.D., M.P.H., of Emory University in Atlanta.

But patients with the co-morbid conditions may benefit from the addition of bupropion (Wellbutrin) to their antimanic agents, said Dr. Wingo, who co-authored the study with Dr. Ghaemi.

Read More>>