ADHD in the News 2024-06-06

Eight Tips on Managing Medication Shortages

Try these tips if you need to access drugs in short supply.



Younger children are more commonly diagnosed with ADHD than their older classmates, says new study

New research, led by experts at the University of Nottingham, has found that teachers may be attributing signs of age-related immaturity in children, to conditions such as Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) or Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).



Autism, dyslexia, ADHD. How the University of San Diego is helping ‘neurodivergent’ students succeed

Niki Elliot skipped the fifth grade. She was so smart that she could have skipped another, she said, but her mother didn’t want her in class with older boys. She was bored in school. She had a “near photographic” memory and didn’t need to study — so she never learned how to, Elliot said.



New study finds that both stimulant and non-stimulant medications improve cognition in ADHD

[Excerpt] This is the first meta-analysis paper of chronic medication effects on cognition in ADHD, looking at attention, inhibition, reaction time and working memory.



Study links household chaos with sleep quality among teens with ADHD symptoms

A new study to be presented at the SLEEP 2024 annual meeting found that household chaos and sleep hygiene are important factors in the relationship between sleep quality and ADHD symptoms in teens.



Shared genetic links between sleep and neuropsychiatric conditions may lead to new treatments

Disturbed sleep is very common in almost all neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions (NDPCs), such as autism, attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder, schizophrenia, and bipolar disorder. While it is understandable that the symptoms of such conditions would lead to sleep disruption and also that sleep disruption would worsen symptoms in these conditions, Irish researchers have now found new genetic associations between some of these conditions and chronotype, the behavioral manifestations of an individual's circadian rhythm ("night owl" or "early bird)".



Creativity Not Influenced by Maternal Epilepsy

Key Takeaways: No differences in creativity emerged between children whose mothers had epilepsy and other children at age 4.5 years. However, children of women with epilepsy showed exposure-dependent effects in executive function. Exposure-dependent effects in executive function were most pronounced in children of women taking levetiracetam.



Genetic basis of ADHD and autism spectrum disorder impacts on children’s school performance

[Excerpt] A study coordinated by the Vall d'Hebron Research Institute (VHIR), the Sant Joan de Déu Research Institute (IRSJD), within the SJD MIND Schools program, and the CIBER of Mental Health (CIBERSAM) has analyzed the impact of the genetic basis of these disorders on the mental health and academic outcomes of children and adolescents from 43 schools and high schools in Catalonia. The results have been published in the journal Molecular Psychiatry.



Clearing the Clinical Picture: Navigating Adult ADHD Treatment Amid Comorbidities and Misconceptions

The Psych Congress Network sat down with Tim Wilens, MD, chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital and professor of psychiatry at Harvard Medical School, in September for an in-depth Q&A on adult attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) treatment.



Genetic factors predict depression patterns in adolescents

A recent study published in JAMA Psychiatry has shed new light on how genetic factors contribute to different patterns of depression during adolescence. By analyzing the genetic data of over 14,000 adolescents from two major cohorts, researchers identified distinct trajectories of depressive symptoms and linked these patterns to genetic risks shared across multiple psychiatric conditions.



Using heart rate monitors for ADHD support

A Chicago area high school has an innovative new program to help kids regulate their emotions.



Some prescription drugs are hard to fill. A pair of bills could make it easier.

Rhode Island Senate passes bill to improve access for DEA-scheduled prescription drugs, which includes ADHD meds