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Preclinical studies suggest possible long-term brain effects from methylphenidate given to children (Journal Watch Psychiatry Oct 16 2006). Therefore, its use should be limited to the patients most likely to respond. Finding specific genetic markers for drug response in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder was the goal of two recent studies of dopamine pathway genes because of the known inhibitory effect of methylphenidate on the dopamine transporter.
Researchers in Korea genotyped 83 children (mean age, 8) for dopamine receptor D4 polymorphisms. Although the 7-repeat allele on exon three has been associated with methylphenidate response, very few Asian children have this allele, and so the researchers focused on the 4-repeat allele. The…