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Dopamine not the problem?

Dopamine not the problem?2013-11-02T10:13:15+00:00

The Forums Forums What is it? The Neurology Dopamine not the problem?

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  • #122704

    Scattybird
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    Post count: 1096

    Anyone seen this?

    http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-10-imaging-dopamine-dysfunction-main-attention.html

    Interesting commentary. However, really need to read the original paper to see what they really found.

    The lack of detail is frustrating.  What they don’t say here and what should be disclosed is the starting point. They acknowledge that stimulants increased function in those with ADHD and in those without.  They are arguing that because of this medics might be thinking along the wrong lines with regard to the cause of ADHD. But why shouldn’t stimulants increase function in the linears? Surely the point is if they bring us up to ‘normal’ functioning then they are still doing their job. In fairness they aren’t saying that Ritalin doesn’t work, they are just saying that lack of dopamine receptors might not be the cause.  So despite my grump, it’s an interesting article, but I do wish science writers could be given more space to actually give all the facts and not just the snippets.

    I suppose my first thought was OMG I hope this isn’t used as an excuse not to prescribe stimulants to us……but since they still demonstrated a beneficial effect that couldn’t happen.

     

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    #122706

    darkwynde
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    Post count: 42

    Heh…

    In my situation, it doesn’t seem to matter whether the doc prescribes the stimulants or not, my insurance doesn’t want to pay for them.  The only script I’ve actually been able to get filled so far is strattera, and it didn’t do anything but make me irritable, mainly because of the side effects and the fact that it wasn’t helping my symptoms any.

    Been fighting with the insurance company for two months now on this BS.  It’s not like Ritalin is an especially expensive drug, or an experimental one.  In fact, it’s a whole lot cheaper than strattera, which has only been recently approved.  I don’t understand the thinking there.

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    #122710

    blackdog
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    Post count: 906

    To understand the thinking I suspect you would have to look at the relationship between the insurance company and the pharmaceutical company. But that is only a hunch. I really have no understanding of how that sort of thing works. It may also have something to do with the nature of the drug, being that it is a stimulant. Regardless, I agree that it makes no sense. Especially since Ritalin is dirt cheap.

    I haven’t looked at the article yet. Reading before commenting would be out of character. But the whole concept of ADHD being caused by dopamine deficiency is new to me. Last time I did any research into ADHD I don’t remember there being any mention of it. I am a little behind. But it’s all pretty much still theoretical. There is very little known about how neurotransmitters function and the effect that medications have on them. And there is still no simple test to detect ADHD. So I wouldn’t doubt there will be some changes to current thinking as further studies are done and new methods of testing and diagnosing are developed.

    Of course stimulants have a similar effect on anyone, with or without ADHD. I would have thought that would be obvious. The difference is of course how much of an effect.

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    #122711

    shutterbug55
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    Post count: 430

    OK, so when I read this report, I was frustrated by it’s lack of detail. I would love to get my hands on the original study.

    It seems like they found that dopamine receptors were a (not the) culprit. That explains why raising the dopamine levels in the brain is a successful treatment. It makes dopamine more readily available for uptake. There is nothing in the article about the differences in the brain’s construction and they only hint that EEG are different for ADD brains. Our brains are different. See: http://psychcentral.com/news/2008/11/18/structure-of-brain-may-influence-adhd/3362.html

    There is a lot of work being done by researchers, but what I find kind of disturbing, is they look at “Childhood” ADD or “Adult” ADD and they are Missing a fundamental concept… Childhood ADD and Adult ADD are the SAME.

    I would REALLY like to hear from Dr J and his colleagues to post a list of studies and new knowledge on ADD. Heck! Need a test subject? Sign me up! I am so there!

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    #122714

    blackdog
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    Post count: 906

    Yes! Sign me up to! I always wanted to be a guinea pig when I grow up.  Well, that or an astronaut. 😉

    I too would love to have the opportunity to read the actual studies. And I’m serious about the testing too. I would gladly have my brain scanned in the interest of science. And just plain curiosity.

    Interesting about the EEG. I had one of those when I was a kid and as far as I know there was nothing out of the ordinary. But then they were looking for epilepsy and ADHD was pretty much unheard of so they might have just missed it.

    I hope that they just missed it. Because otherwise I am about to shell out a whole pile of money on an ADHD assessment for nothing. 😐

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    #122720

    dithl
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    Post count: 158

    *sigh* I actually had the opportunity to have my brain scanned for an ADD study…and could have even taken away a print as my “thank you”. Which would have been SO cool. And what stopped me? After making an initial inquiry about it, I never got around to responding and setting up an appointment. Yup. *sigh*

    For anyone who is curious, here is a link to current studies which are recruiting: http://www.caddac.ca/cms/page.php?95

    Thanks for posting, @shutterbug55. There is a link to a second study, too — which talks about an increase in dopamine transport receptors (I think) after 12 months of treatment on stimulants. Which they cryptically said may account for drug tolerance. Hmmm. Still trying to sort out how my Adderall is working, and feeling in the dark.

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