Does treatment of ADHD with stimulants increase the risk of substance abuse? This question has been extensively researched by Dr. Wilens and Dr. Biederman at Harvard Medical School Department of Psychiatry. There were two significant findings. First – Untreated ADHD doubles the risk of alcohol and/or recreational drug abuse. Second […]
ADHD
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Question: How do we cope with our ADHD/angry/grown-child who is living at home? Answer: Unfortunately, I frequently hear “ADHD/angry/grown-child living at home with no job for several months and parents feeling helpless.” Blames you for ______ is also common. Not taking responsibility for one’s problems and life situations may be […]
Question: Once we have a diagnosis of ADHD what is next? Answer: The role of medication in treating ADHD is as strong as the role of antihypertensive medications for high blood pressure. The MTA study showed that medication is by far the most effective type of treatment. Just as it […]
Question: How is ADHD diagnosed? Answer: The diagnosis of ADHD is made clinically. It does not require (and in fact can’t be made through) expensive neuropsychiatric testing or brain imaging. Neither is at a point where they should be used for clinical decision making. It is essential to get information […]
Question: What causes ADHD? Answer: Personality is thought to be 1/2 temperament which is primarily genetic. But personality disorders are thought to be primarily learned, maladaptive, and mostly deficits in character development. ADHD on the other hand has been found to be 75% genetically determined. Studies include comparing ADHD identical […]
Question: What exactly is ADHD? Why does it exist in the world? Why has it become the “diagnosis du jour”? Answer: In most cases ADHD can be thought of as a part of personality. Personality is made up of temperament which is mainly genetic, and character which is mainly learned. […]
Question: Can any physician diagnose and treat ADHD in kids, or does it have to be a specialist? Answer: Most pediatricians are comfortable at least screening for ADHD in kids and in many cases will try at least a couple of medications before referring to a specialist. One problem with […]
Question: What is genopharmacology? Answer: It is the interaction of gene variations with specific medication treatments. Although some people inherit both the subtypes of ADHD the majority of the time this is probably not the case. There are already over a dozen gene variations (polymorphisms) that have been found to […]
Question: Why do most ADHD individuals have symptoms of different subtypes? Answer: Models have been developed to show how a person can inherit one subtype of ADHD and develop symptoms of the other over time. This helps us to understand the fact that the majority of ADHD patients have some […]
Question: Are there different types of ADHD? Answer: Yes. Recent research shows that there are two genetically distinct subtypes of ADHD symptoms. One involves the need for higher levels of stimulation for the brain to work well. There is lower level of functioning than normal when reward is delayed. There […]