Methylation Dynamics on 5′-UTR of DAT1 Gene as a Bio-Marker to Recognize Therapy Success in ADHD Children
Bibliographic Data
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), a neuropsychiatric condition characterized by inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity, afflicts 5% of children worldwide. Each ADHD patient presents with individual cognitive and motivational peculiarities. Furthermore, choice of appropriate therapy is still up to clinicians, who express somewhat qualitative advice on whether a child is being successfully cured or not: it would be more appropriate to use an objective biomarker to indicate whether a treatment led to benefits or not. The aim of our work is to search for such clinical biomarkers. We recruited 60 ADHD kids; psychopathological scales were administered at recruitment and after six weeks of therapy. Out of such a cohort of ADHD children, we rigorously extracted two specific subgroups; regardless of the initial severity of their disease, we compared those who obtained the largest improvement (ΔCGAS > 5) vs. those who were still characterized by a severe condition (CGAS < 40). After such a therapy, methylation levels of DNA extracted from buccal swabs were measured in the 5'-UTR of the DAT1 gene. CpGs 3 and 5 displayed, in relation to the other CpGs, a particular symmetrical pattern; for "improving" ADHD children, they were methylated together with CpG 2 and CpG 6; instead, for "severe" ADHD children, they accompanied a methylated CpG 1. These specific patterns of methylation could be used as objective molecular biomarkers of successful cures, establishing if a certain therapy is akin to a given patient (personalized medicine). Present data support the use of post-therapy molecular data obtained with non-invasive techniques
Bioinformatics · Biology · Biomarker · Cognition · Cohort · CpG site · Disease · DNA methylation · Gene · Impulsivity · Psychiatry · Psychopathology · Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder · Bipolar Disorder and Treatment · Clinical Psychology · Genetics and Neurodevelopmental Disorders · Medicine · Psychology · Genetics · Internal Medicine · Oncology
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
A Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS)
Long-Term Outcomes of Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Conduct Disorder
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder
Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version (K-Sads-PL)
Methylation in the Promoter Region of the Dopamine Transporter DAT1 Gene in People Addicted to Nicotine
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