Effect of methylphenidate on gene expression profiles of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder patients and unaffected controls.. Homo sapiens

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a common psychiatric condition of children with a prevalence of 5-10% worldwide. Up to 30% of adults with a history of childhood ADHD maintain symptoms in later life; these adult ADHD patients are severely impaired in social and professional life due to persistence of ADHD core symptoms like impulsivity, attention deficit and hyperactivity as well as frequently observed co-morbidities like alcohol and drug abuse, major depression, bipolar and personality disorders. Pharmaceutical treatment options include methylphenidate (MPH), which is amongst others an inhibitor of the dopamine transporter and therefore increases dopamine levels in the brain. However, not all ADHD patients are MPH responders with clinical features to distinguish responders and non-responders being not at hand so far. Likewise, neurobiological reasons for drug response are still elusive. Overall design: Here, we examined the global transcriptional response of MPH on lymphoblastoid cell lines (LCLs) derived from ADHD patients and unaffected controls.