First biological test for ADHD unveiled http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6886
The first biological test for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder has been developed. The researchers claim the diagnosis, based on examination of eye movements, is more than 93% accurate and could lead to earlier identification and treatment for children with the condition. Scientists analysed the eye movements of 65 children aged between four and six in Thessaloniki, Greece. About half of the children had been diagnosed as having ADHD through the standard method of psychological assessment and the use of questionnaires. The children were placed in front of a computer screen while wearing special goggles to monitor their eye movements and asked to use their eyes to "lock-on to" and follow spots of light that traversed the screen during a 10-minute test. "Children with ADHD show large difference in eye movements compared with normal children. For example, those without ADHD could follow the light spot for 30 seconds to as much as five minutes, whereas the children with the disorder could only follow the stimulus for about three to five seconds," says Giorgos Pavlidis at University of Brunel, UK, who led the study. The group analysed eye movements according to various criteria, these included fixation on the stimulus, saccades - jerking between two focal points - and smooth pursuit. The computer was able to correctly diagnose 93.1% of the children. Early intervention "Children as young as three years old could benefit from the test. It could reliably identify those children who have ADHD early on so that effective intervention could be given to reduce loss of confidence and other behavioural and psychological problems," Pavlidis told New Scientist. Caroline Hensby, of the UK's ADHD support group, Adders, welcomed the research, saying the test could be a valuable addition to current testing procedures. "It would give sufferers a lot more confidence in their diagnosis knowing that they had actually taken a biological test, as opposed to just talking to someone - it would make the diagnosis more legitimate," she says. "Also, it's very difficult for someone with ADHD to sit down and concentrate for two hours - the length of current test period - so this short, ten-minute test would be far better." Responding to Ritalin And Pavlidis hopes the test could be used for prognosis in the future: "Some patients with ADHD respond well to drugs such as Ritalin, and these patients show differences in eye movements from other ADHD sufferers both before and after taking the drug - in fact, after taking Ritalin, the patients who respond well to it show normal eye movements. I hope to be able to construct a computer test that can classify those ADHD patients who will respond to drugs." Pavlidis estimates that between 3% and 7% of the population has ADHD, but believes 80% of cases remain undiagnosed. It is not known how eye neurology is affected in ADHD, but Pavlidis points out that a symptom of the disorder is premature action - acting before thinking - and eye movements in those with the disorder are also premature. "The children's eyes jerk across before the light stimulus has moved," he explains. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Find out how CFTicket can increase your company's customer support efficiency by 100% http://www.houseoffusion.com/banners/view.cfm?bannerid=49 Message: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=i:5:142915 Archives: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/threads.cfm/5 Subscription: http://www.houseoffusion.com/lists.cfm/link=s:5 Unsubscribe: http://www.houseoffusion.com/cf_lists/unsubscribe.cfm?user=11502.10531.5 Donations & Support: http://www.houseoffusion.com/tiny.cfm/54
