Despite diagnoses for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) occurring in a reported 11 percent of U.S. school-aged kids, clinicians still don't fully understand the underlying causes of this common condition. Now a brain marker may be on the horizon, thanks to a new approach that provides evidence of a relationship between brain structure and dimensional measures of ADHD symptoms. The study's results are reported in an Article in Press in Biological Psychiatry.

There are numerous examples of people with learning disabilities and mental health disorders doing extraordinary things: the child on the autism spectrum who is masterful at putting together incredibly intricate Lego creations, the young person with Asperger's syndrome who knows more about presidential history than most adults, the child with dyslexia who is a master chef in the kitchen. This is not a coincidence, according to a new book that could help turn the stigma associated with these challenges on its head.

A group of French researchers headed by Jean-François Viel, MD, PhD, professor of epidemiology, Faculty of Medicine, Rennes, France, and the French National Institute of Health and Medical Research, investigated the associations between exposure to pyrethroid insecticides and behavioral skills in 6-year-olds..."We are being cautious because this is an observational study, so we cannot draw firm conclusions based simply on an association," he added. Nevertheless, "we think general practitioners should be aware of these findings."

The efficacy of atomoxetine (Strattera/Eli Lilly) for attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been demonstrated in patients with and without comorbid psychiatric conditions, and a new review suggests that the treatment does not adversely affect those conditions. Although the reviewers found that up to 52% of children and adolescents and 87% of adults with ADHD are estimated to have other psychiatric conditions, they found no review of how those conditions may impact the therapeutic effect of atomoxetine on ADHD, or are affected by the treatment.

Traumatic brain injuries do more kinds of damage than thought, a pair of University of California Los Angeles researchers have found. That includes changes in leukocytes—a finding that could help diagnosis and treatment of related disorders. [The researchers] have identified master genes they believe control hundreds of other genes linked to a variety of neurological conditions, behavioral conditions, and illnesses. These include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, post-traumatic stress disorder, stroke, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism, schizophrenia, and other disorders.

It's a controversial topic that's made headlines nationwide, law enforcement officers and how they respond to people with mental health issues. For the first time, one south Georgia sheriff's office is learning how to handle those cases. "Providing this training, what we're doing is helping them understand what they're seeing"

Political science senior John Shelden has trouble focusing. His mind wrestles with itself for control, and his thoughts can be hard to corral. The stillness of the classroom winds him up, so he concentrates on concentrating, as even a momentary lapse leads to a wasted lecture and pages of empty notes. However, Shelden has a remedy. Metadate CD, commonly prescribed to sufferers of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder like himself, helps him stay on track, despite a disorder keen to derail him.