Researchers Find Hyperactive Children Get Less Blood to Brain

Researchers Find Hyperactive Children Get Less Blood to Brain

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Researchers using a new type of magnetic imaging detected reduced blood flow in a section of hyperactive children's brains. The diminished flow was discovered in the putamen, an area associated with motor movements and attention, the researchers report in the journal Nature Medicine. The finding adds evidence for a biological cause of hyperactivity and attention deficit disorder, said the researchers, led by Dr. Martin H. Teicher of McLean Hospital in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Teicher's team studied 11 boys diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The diagnosis was confirmed in six using a computer test. The test did not confirm the disorder in the other five, although they were inattentive. Using a technique of magnetic resonance imaging that they developed, the researchers determined that the six youths confirmed to have hyperactivity disorder had reduced blood flow in the putamen. The other five did not. The boys' brains were studied after they were given Ritalin, the drug commonly used to combat attention deficit and hyperactivity.

Ritalin increased blood flow in the six youths in whom the computer test confirmed the disorder, the researchers found, but it decreased blood flow in the putamen of the other five. The finding indicates Ritalin may not be effective in all children with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, Teicher said. The findings indicate that not all children with similar behavioral problems have identifiable neurological abnormalities.

The information in this article is not intended to provide personal medical advice, which should be obtained from a medical professional, and has not been approved by the U.S. FDA.

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