Children and adolescents with atten...

Children and adolescents with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), regardless of whether they are taking stimulant medication to dominion government the disorder, have brains that are 3% to 4% smaller than those of children and adolescents who do not have ADHD, according to an Oct 8 2002 recently made knowns release from the National Institute of Mental Health. The investigation used magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to scan the brains of 89 male and 63 female patients between five and 18 years of age who have been diagnosed with ADHD and 139 children in an age- and gender-matched ascendency group who do not have ADHD. principally of the participants underwent sum of two units to four MRI scans during a 1 O-year period beginning in 1991

The MRI scans of the participants with ADHD showed 3% to 4% smaller brain bulk in all regions of the brain. They also showed that participants with more strait-laced ADHD symptoms had smaller frontal lobes, temporal gray matter, caudate nucleus, and cerebellum.

The book of white matter (ie, fibers that establish neurons' long-distance connection between brain regions) in the brains of participants with ADHD who were taking medication to sway the disorder did not differ from that of participants in the govern group. The white matter whirl was abnormally small in 49 participants who had not ever taken medication for ADHD, however. This was authentic even after researchers controlled for the fact that children with ADHD who are not taking medication mind to be younger than those taking medication. White matter normally thickens as the child ages and is a gauge of brain maturation.

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder is characterized by dint of overactivity, distractibility, and impulsivity, and it affects sum of two units to three times more male childs than girls. In some seminary systems, as many as 20% of lads take stimulant medication to curb the disorder. The results of this reflection help to dispel the criticism that structural brain abnormalities in children with ADHD are caused according to the medication used to treat the disorder. Further research is requireed to determine whether stimulant medication aids brain maturation.

Brain Shrinkage in ADHD Not Caused at Medications (news release, Bethesda, Md: National Institute of Mental Health, Oct 8 2002) http://www.nimh.nih.gov/events/pradhdmri.cfm (accessed 21 Oct 2002)

COPYRIGHT 2003 Association of Operating sweep Nurses, Inc.

COPYRIGHT 2003 Gale Group