The Connection Between ADHD and Genetics.

Commentary

An Impulsive Gene?

My youngest son jumps from one task to another. Ask him to clean his room, he eventually quits because he becomes fixated on something. He can’t sit still for long. On the other hand, when he’s doing something he likes, he is fixated on it, sometimes barely taking in his surroundings or listening to others.

Welcome to the world of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, or better known by its abbreviation: ADHD. This is a place where children lose focus and parents lose sleep. For years it has been a mystery what triggers it and how it can be treated or cured. While treatment has been relegated to several medications, its cause has been tricky to diagnose. They included:

• Bad parenting;
• Bad diets; and
• A particular chemical in the environment

But, there appears to be another culprit. One that may change the way one looks at the condition.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the condition often associated with restless, impulsive and easily distracted children may not be the result of bad diets and bad parenting. Instead - if a new study proves to be correct - it’s in the genes. Still, does this theory establish this? That’s a question that needs to be examined.

And, by the way, can this start with me? Well, I’ve never been diagnosed with it. Then again, my son is adopted.

What A Study Suggests

Recently, scientists at Cardiff University in Wales published a report in the prominent British medical journal Lancet detailing their findings that heredity is a possible factor in causing ADHD. These findings may put to rest that outside environmental factors such as a high sugary diet being the culprits that cause this condition.

In the study, the scientists examined a sequence of genes linked to brain development. Previous studies of these genes revealed that they may have also been connected to other disorders such as schizophrenia and autism.

After comparing the DNA of 366 children between the ages of 5 and 17 with ADHD to that of 1,047 without the condition, they discovered that children with ADHD were more likely to have segments of their DNA duplicated or missing.

In a news report from CBS News Online, Professor Anita Thapar, the study’s lead author, said in a written statement: “We hope that these findings will help [those with the condition] overcome the stigma associated with ADHD.”

Also, she stated that people with ADHD are often dismissed as products of bad parenting and poor diet. Also, it clearly designates the condition as a brain disorder rather than a behavioral condition.

She added: “As a clinician, it was clear to me that this was unlikely to be the case. 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.”

These findings may have a far reaching impact on the world of medicine, psychology and education. For medicine and psychology, doctors and other specialists may refocus treatment toward other medications or therapy treatments. It also holds out hope that solutions that target the genes affected by this condition can be found.

For education, laws such as the Individual with Disability Education Act (IDEA), may have to change the designation, definition and forms of educational accommodations for the condition. IDEA, a major federal law affecting special education and accommodations/modifications of students with disabilities, lists and defines several conditions or disorders. ADHD is covered by IDEA; however, this discovery may give it a new definition. The law is supposed to renewed every seven years by the legislative branch of the U.S. federal government.

Is This Definitive?

It sounds definitive. And with it appearing in a peer reviewed journal, this may be the key to understanding and effectively treating ADHD. This may even change how the condition is approached within the confines of the classroom.

That is if this study holds. While this was published in a highly acclaimed peer reviewed journal, there are still others out there seeing if they can replicate the same conclusion. This is essential to prove if this is definitive or not. In addition, Lancet has made a mistake in the past that can hamper this research (i.e. Wakefield’s flawed Autism/vaccine connection).

In addition, is it heridartary (as it appears to be ) or a congenital condition caused by a mishap such as brain damage or exposure to environmental causes, or if the person with ADHD is predisposed to this condition and something triggers it. These are questions that need to be explored, considering that one factor rarely is the cause for a condition.

What We Know about ADHD?

ADHD is a condition that strikes an estimated one in 50 children worldwide. There are three forms of this condition:

• Predominantly hyperactive,
• predominantly inattentive (commonly referred to as ADD or Attention Deficit Disorder), and
• Combined Hyper-impulsive and Inattentive (which most children with ADHD have).

Currently, medicinal treatment such as Ritalin and other medications are used to help a child with ADHD keep his or her focus. There are no known cures at this time.

The science to finding and treating ADHD is ongoing and is showing vast improvements in identifying its cause. The genetic link is the most promising. Still, more studies need to be done. It can be genetics, but it can also be environmental causes that contribute to the condition.

Work Cited

1. Freeman, David (posting) (2010): “ADHD Genetic Link: Is Attention Deficit All in the Genes?” :CBS News Online (URL not available).
2. Dalrymple, Theodore (Oct. 1, 2010): “It’s not ADHD, Sir, it’s in my genes…”: Telegraph.Co.uk : (URL not available)
3. U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (retrieved 2010): “Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)”: NIMH.Online: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-what-you-need-to-know
4. DeNoon, Daniel (2010): “New Genetic Clues for ADHD”: WebMD (URL not available)
5. Thaper, Anita (Sept. 30, 2010): “Rare Chromosmol deletions and duplications in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a genome-wide analysis”: Lancet: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(10)61109-9/fulltext
6. Cheng, Maria (Sept. 30, 2010): “Kids with ADHD more likely to have missing DNA”: Yahoo News (URL not available).