Understanding the Genetics of ADHD: Getting Closer

New genetic techniques are beginning to unlock the genetic foundation of neurodevelopmental disorders, including attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

Although attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is highly heritable (about 76%), specific susceptibility genes have not been identified. Copy number variants (CNVs) are a form of DNA structural variations in which stretches of DNA are deleted or duplicated. CNVs have been found in some neurodevelopmental disorders. To examine whether CNVs are elevated in children with ADHD, researchers in the U.K. performed a genome-wide analysis of CNVs in 366 children with ADHD (age range, 5–17 years) and 1047 controls without ADHD.

Children with ADHD had a significantly higher rate of CNVs than controls (15.6% vs. 7.5%). The excess of CNVs included duplications and a single deletion on chromosome 16p13.11. These results were replicated in a large…

Reviewing Author

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics

Martin T. Stein, MD

Disclosures

Consultant / Advisory boardPearson Neuroscience Advisory Board

Speaker’s bureauAmerican Academy of Pediatrics

RoyaltiesElsevier, Inc.

Editorial boardsJournal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics