Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is the most common hereditary form of mental retardation. Many children with FXS also suffer from attention deficit and/or hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), which complicates social relationships at home and at school. Although stimulant medication such as Ritalin® is often successfully used to treat children with ADHD, studies have shown that while it is effective in children with mental retardation, it also causes side effects such as increased irritability, decreased verbalization and social withdrawal.
A previous study showed that L-acetyl carnitine (LAC), a form of the amino acid carnitine, significantly reduced hyperactive behavior in FXS boys with ADHD who were treated with it for one year without causing adverse side effects. The same authors have now conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled multicenter study to determine the effectiveness of LAC in a larger group. The study is published in the April 1st, 2008 issue of the American Journal of Medical Genetics Part A, available online via Wiley InterScience at
http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/jhome/33129.
Led by M. Giulia Torrioli and Giovanni Neri of the Università Cattolica in Rome, the study involved 51 boys between 6 and 12 years old with FXS and ADHD who were treated in one of eight centers in Italy, France and Spain. Each patient followed the treatment for 12 months, which involved 500 milligrams of LAC or a placebo given twice daily. Patients were evaluated by an interdisciplinary team of child neuropsychiatrists and psychologists at the start of the study, after one month, six months and 12 months. The effects of the drug and placebo were evaluated using a set of neuropsychological tests to assess behavior.
Those treated with LAC demonstrated reduced hyperactive behavior and increased attention. No side effects were exhibited, confirming that LAC is a safe alternative to stimulants. The patients treated with the placebo also showed reduced hyperactive behavior, although not nearly to the extent as the LAC-treated patients. The patients treated with LAC also had significantly improved social ability compared to the placebo-treated group. Both groups took intelligence tests, but LAC did not improve overall intellectual functioning.
“We propose that LAC be recommended as a treatment of ADHD in FXS children,” conclude the authors, “since it effectively reduces hyperactive behavior and improves social abilities without adverse side effects.” They also suggest that these results may be applicable to children with autism, who also do not easily tolerate stimulants.
Source: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Related stories:
Scientists discover 'Planet of the Apes'
The world's population of critically endangered western lowland gorillas received a huge boost today when the Wildlife Conservation Society released a census showing massive numbers of these secretive great apes alive and well in the Republic of Congo.
Radio telescope reveals secrets of massive black hole
At the cores of many galaxies, supermassive black holes expel powerful jets of particles at nearly the speed of light. Just how they perform this feat has long been one of the mysteries of astrophysics.
New technique yields more detailed picture of chromatin structure
University of Illinois researchers have developed a technique for imaging cells under an electron microscope that yields a sharper image of the structure of chromatin, the tightly wound bundle of genetic material and proteins that makes up the chromosomes. Their findings appear in
Nature Methods.
Study finds evidence of gender-related differences in development of colon cancer
A new study by researchers at the University of Southern California (USC) has found evidence that supports gender-related differences in the development and survival of metastatic colon cancer.
Autoantibodies and neuropsychiatric events in lupus
Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), commonly known as lupus, can affect nearly any part of the body, including the joints, skin, kidneys, heart, nervous system, and brain. Along with joint pain, muscle pain, unexplained fever, extreme fatigue, and skin rashes, neurologic and psychiatric events often accompany this autoimmune disease. Depending on the study, between 37 and 95 percent of SLE patients experience signs and symptoms of neuropsychiatric (NP) disease. Determining the correct attribution to NP events is a challenge when managing nervous system disease in individual SLE patients, as well as a critical factor in selecting the right treatment and evaluating progress. For guidance in these decisions, doctors need reliable biomarkers -- which, as dedicated researchers know, have proven difficult to find.
Does the desire to consume alcohol and tobacco come from our genetic makeup?
Alcohol and smoking can be harmful, if not deadly. While the desire for these substances can be due to environmental cues, genomic factors also play an important role. The etiology of these desires is multifactorial and a result of complex interactions with the environment. Adoption and twin studies have shown that the use of these substances is likely to be inherited. Such studies have provided evidence that one’s sex can influence the genetic factors for alcohol and tobacco use.
Small Organisms, Great Proxies
The present and past compositions of communities of single-celled algae in several Canadian lakes and their relationship to the known climate record suggest that these organisms and the lakes they reside in are highly influenced by sun spot cycles, says a University of Arkansas researcher.
Polymer grid technology a boon for bridges
When the long-awaited Highway 151 bypass around Fond du Lac, Wisconsin, opens later this year, vehicles traveling northbound will cross DeNeveu Creek on a bridge like no other in the country.
Externally, the bridge looks identical to its adjacent twin. However, internally, the concrete deck reinforced with a novel fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) grid system that could replace conventional epoxy-coated reinforcing bars (rebars) inside future bridges.