ADHD - Four Genes Linked To The Disorder (Study)

[HuckleB]

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/238664.php

"Four gene variants, all members of the glutamate receptor gene family, appear to be involved in vital brain signaling pathways in a sub-set of children with ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), researchers from the Center for Applied Genomics at The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia reported in the journal Nature Genetics. The authors add that their findings could help create drugs that target those pathways, offering potential therapies for ADHD patients with those specific gene variants. There are an estimated half-a-million American children with ADHD and these gene variants.

Study leader Hakon Hakonarson, M.D., Ph.D., said:

"At least 10 percent of the ADHD patients in our sample have these particular genetic variants. The genes involved affect neurotransmitter systems in the brain that have been implicated in ADHD, and we now have a genetic explanation for this link that applies to a subset of children with the disorder."

...

Hakonarson believes his team's findings will trigger further research and subsequent discoveries of ADHD-related genes along the GMR signaling pathways. According to current research, carefully selected GRM agonists could be used in human studies to determine whether they might have potential as therapies for ADHD patients with particular CNVs. Preclinical studies will need to be carried out first on candidate medications."


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FYI.

:hi: