The gene encoding latrophilin 3 (LPHN3) is involved in the development of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), US scientists report in the pages of Molecular Psychiatry. The same variant of the LPHN3 gene affects the body’s response to drugs, thanks to which it will be possible to predict the patient’s response to treatment, and in the future to develop new effective methods of ADHD therapy.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) affects approximately 8-12 percent of school-age children. It manifests itself in chronic attention deficit disorder, hyperimpulsiveness and hyperactivity. The results of recent studies indicate that children suffering from ADHD also have problems with executive acting and integrative thinking – necessary for achieving goals and completing started tasks.
In order to investigate the genetic basis of ADHD, Maximilian Muenke and Mauricio Arcos-Burgos, together with colleagues from the National Institutes of Health in Bethesda, analyzed DNA samples of 18 Colombian families with ADHD and showed the relationship of the LPHN3 gene with the disease, later confirmed their observations in patients from Germany , Norway, Spain and the USA.
Through brain imaging techniques, ADHD-related LPHN3 variants have been shown to be active in regions of the brain involved in attention and activity, as well as in the body’s response to stimulant drugs.
According to the authors of the research, the relationship between ADHD and the LPHN3 gene shows a new molecular mechanism of the development of this disease, which brings scientists closer to the development of new therapies for this disease. In addition, the involvement of LPHN3 in the body’s response to stimulant medications should help diagnose ADHD-prone children and patients who respond well to stimulant medications. (PAP)