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Unaltered dopamine transporter availability in adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder
Christopher H van Dyck1, Donald M Quinlan, Lisa M Cretella
1Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, Cognitive Disorders Clinic, New Haven, CT 06510, USA. christopher.vandyck@yale.edu
Objective:
The authors examined whether patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have altered striatal dopamine transporter levels, which may explain psychostimulant effects in this disorder.
Method:
Single photon emission computed tomography and [(123)I]2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([(123)I]beta-CIT) were used to assess dopamine transporter availability in nine adult patients with ADHD (eight of whom were stimulant naive) and nine age- and gender-matched healthy comparison subjects.
Results:
Striatal [(123)I]beta-CIT binding did not differ significantly between the ADHD and comparison subjects.
Conclusions:
The findings suggest that a hypothesized dysregulation of dopamine function in ADHD does not entail altered dopamine transporter levels.