Researchers Awarded $3.23M to Study Brain Changes in ADHD Treatment

Researchers at the University of Cincinnati (UC) have received a five-year, $3.23 million grant from the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) to investigate brain changes in response to standard psychostimulant treatment in adolescents who are experiencing symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and have a familial risk for developing bipolar disorder.

Melissa DelBello, MD, MS, and Robert McNamara, PhD, are co-principal investigators for the study, which is recruiting up to 240 volunteers. DelBello is the Dr. Stanley and Mickey Kaplan Professor and Chair of the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience at the UC College of Medicine and co-director of the Mood Disorders Center at the UC Neuroscience Institute. McNamara is a professor in the department’s Division of Bipolar Disorders Research and director of the Lipidomics Research Program.

DelBello and McNamara will work with Jeff Epstein, PhD, a professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the College of Medicine and director of the Center for ADHD at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, and sub-investigators from the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neuroscience.

Using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) brain scans taken at Cincinnati Children’s Imaging Research Center, the researchers will have two specific aims:

  • To examine the effects of standard psychostimulant treatment for ADHD in high-risk adolescents, defined as those having at least one biological parent with bipolar disorder. "Although psychostimulants are standard treatment for ADHD, it is not known whether the children of bipolar parents with ADHD are at increased risk for developing bipolar disorder when exposed to psychostimulants,” says Delbello. "This represents a significant knowledge gap, and in the absence of more definitive data these high-risk youth will continue to receive psychostimulants for symptoms of inattention, which could potentially place them at increased risk for developing mania.”
  • To investigate the influence of omega-3 fatty acid in the body as a moderator of negative brain changes in high-risk ADHD adolescents. "Omega-3 fatty acids are primarily found in certain fish and have been found to play a crucial role in brain development and resilience to a variety of different insults,” says McNamara, who has conducted extensive research on the role of omega-3 fatty acids in psychiatric illness. "Previous research has shown that adolescents at high risk for bipolar disorder exhibit low omega-3 fatty acid levels. We’ll be testing the hypothesis that higher levels of omega-3 fatty acids will be protective against negative brain changes occurring in response to psychostimulant treatment compared with lower levels.”

Volunteers for the study are being recruited in three categories:

  • Adolescents (ages 13 to 17) who are experiencing ADHD symptoms or have been diagnosed with ADHD and do not have a biological parent with bipolar I disorder.
  •  Adolescents (ages 13 to 17) who are experiencing ADHD symptoms or have been diagnosed with ADHD and have a biological parent with bipolar I disorder.
  • Adolescents (13 to 17) who do not have a personal or family history of mental illness to serve as control subjects.

The researchers plan to examine brain changes in subjects with ADHD over a 12-week period of treatment with a psychostimulant commonly prescribed for adolescents with ADHD. Volunteers will be divided into four groups, each with 60 members: ADHD subjects without a bipolar parent (low-risk) will receive open-label psychostimulant (both doctor and volunteer are aware of the medication), ADHD subjects with a bipolar parent (high-risk) will receive a double-blind (neither party is aware) treatment with either a psychostimulant or placebo, and healthy controls (no treatment). Baseline and endpoint scans will be conducted.

Medication will be provided free of charge, and volunteers will receive monetary compensation for completing each scan and reimbursement for travel.

For information about participating in the study, contact Kaitlyn Bruns at kaitlyn.bruns@uc.edu or call 513-558-5303.

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