ADHD Linked to Increased Risk of Early Parkinson's – WebMD

WEDNESDAY, Sept. 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) – According to a new study, people with attention deficit / hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are twice as likely to develop an early form of Parkinson's disease.

In addition, among "patients with ADHD who have been treated with amphetamine-like drugs – especially Ritalin [methylphenidate] – the risk has increased dramatically from eight to nine times, "said Glen Hanson, lead author of the study.

But his team did not prove that ADHD or its medications resulted in an increased risk of Parkinson's, and an ADHD expert noted that the absolute risk of developing Parkinson's disease remains very low.

For the study, the researchers analyzed nearly 200,000 residents of Utah. All were born between 1950 and 1992, with the onset of Parkinson's disease until the age of 60 years.

Before any diagnosis of Parkinson's, about 32,000 people had been diagnosed with ADHD.

Hanson, professor of pharmacology and toxicology at the University of Utah, said that patients with ADHD were "2.4 times more likely to develop Parkinson's-like disorders by the age of 50 to 60 years". history of ADHD. This finding is maintained even after taking into account a number of influential factors, including smoking, drug and alcohol abuse and other psychiatric disorders.

"Although we can not say exactly how much time has elapsed between ADHD and [a] The diagnosis of Parkinson's disease-like disorder was probably between 20 and 50 years old, "he said.

In terms of what might explain this link, Hanson said that ADHD and most forms of Parkinson's are both linked to a "functional disorder of the central nervous system's dopaminergic pathways".

In addition, Hanson said that "the drugs used to treat ADHD apparently work because of their profound effects on the activity of these dopaminergic pathways". Theoretically, the treatment itself could trigger a metabolic disruption, promoting degeneration of the dopaminergic pathway and ultimately Parkinson's disease, he explained.

Still, Hanson pointed out that, for the moment, "we are not able to determine whether the increased risk associated with the use of stimulants is due to the presence of the drug or the severity of ADHD". have more serious forms of the disease.