Grazia Giana1, Emilia Romano2, Maria Cristina Porfirio3, Roberto D'Ambrosio4, Silvia Giovinazzo3, Miriam Troianiello3, Eleonora Barlocci5, Domenica Travaglini5, Oleg Granstrem6, Esterina Pascale7, Luigi Tarani4, Paolo Curatolo3, Giovanni Laviola5, Walter Adriani8. 1. Child Neuro-Psychiatry Unit, University of "Roma 2" Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy; Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy. 2. Cell Biology & Neurosciences Dept., Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy; Bambino Gesù Children's Hospital IRCCS, Rome, Italy. 3. Child Neuro-Psychiatry Unit, University of "Roma 2" Tor Vergata, Rome, Italy. 4. Policlinico Universitario "Umberto I", "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy. 5. Cell Biology & Neurosciences Dept., Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. 6. National BioService LLC, Saint-Petersburg, Russia. 7. Medical Surgical Sciences & Biotechnology Dept., "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy. 8. Cell Biology & Neurosciences Dept., Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. Electronic address: adriani@iss.it.
Abstract
UNLABELLED: Interest is rising for auto-immune contribution in neuro-psychiatry. We evaluated the auto-antibodies against dopamine transporter (DAT aAbs) in 61 children (46 ADHD who met DSM-IV-TR criteria, 15 healthy controls). METHODS: ADHD patients were assigned, according to severity, either to a non-pharmacological therapy (NPT, N=32) or to a pharmacological treatment (PT, N=14) with methylphenidate (MPH). In ADHD children, blood samples were withdrawn twice, at recruitment (T0 basal) and after 6 weeks (T1); following 16 excluded subjects, DAT genotype was characterized (9-repeat or 10-repeat alleles; N=15 each). After 18 months of NPT or PT, some patients (carrying at least one 9-repeat allele) were blood sampled again (T2), for comparison with healthy controls (final n=8) RESULTS: Compared to NPT, basal DAT aAbs titers were higher within most severe patients (then assigned to PT), specifically if carrying a DAT 10/10 genotype. DAT aAbs levels of NPT group resulted highly correlated with distinct subscales of Conners' Parent/Teacher Scales (Rs>0.34), especially within DAT 10/10 genotype (Rs>0.53). While T1 titers were elevated over T0 baseline for NPT children, such an increase was not observed in PT patients carrying at least one 9-repeat allele, who also showed behavioral response to subchronic MPH. After 12-24 months of MPH exposure, DAT aAbs titers in PT subjects were comparable to those of healthy controls, while titers remained significantly elevated in NPT patients. Data warrant further research on serum DAT aAbs, which could be used to confirm ADHD diagnosis and/or to monitor therapeutic efficacy of MPH.
UNLABELLED: Interest is rising for auto-immune contribution in neuro-psychiatry. We evaluated the auto-antibodies against dopamine transporter (DATaAbs) in 61 children (46 ADHD who met DSM-IV-TR criteria, 15 healthy controls). METHODS:ADHDpatients were assigned, according to severity, either to a non-pharmacological therapy (NPT, N=32) or to a pharmacological treatment (PT, N=14) with methylphenidate (MPH). In ADHDchildren, blood samples were withdrawn twice, at recruitment (T0 basal) and after 6 weeks (T1); following 16 excluded subjects, DAT genotype was characterized (9-repeat or 10-repeat alleles; N=15 each). After 18 months of NPT or PT, some patients (carrying at least one 9-repeat allele) were blood sampled again (T2), for comparison with healthy controls (final n=8) RESULTS: Compared to NPT, basal DATaAbs titers were higher within most severe patients (then assigned to PT), specifically if carrying a DAT 10/10 genotype. DATaAbs levels of NPT group resulted highly correlated with distinct subscales of Conners' Parent/Teacher Scales (Rs>0.34), especially within DAT 10/10 genotype (Rs>0.53). While T1 titers were elevated over T0 baseline for NPT children, such an increase was not observed in PT patients carrying at least one 9-repeat allele, who also showed behavioral response to subchronic MPH. After 12-24 months of MPH exposure, DATaAbs titers in PT subjects were comparable to those of healthy controls, while titers remained significantly elevated in NPT patients. Data warrant further research on serum DATaAbs, which could be used to confirm ADHD diagnosis and/or to monitor therapeutic efficacy of MPH.
Authors: Niels Hansen; Daniel Luedecke; Berend Malchow; Michael Lipp; Jonathan Vogelgsang; Charles Timäus; Tristan Zindler; Stefan Gingele; Simone Kühn; Jürgen Gallinat; Klaus Wiedemann; Johannes Denk; Nicole Moschny; Jens Fiehler; Thomas Skripuletz; Christian Riedel; Mike P Wattjes; Inga Zerr; Hermann Esselmann; Luise Poustka; Anne Karow; Hans Hartmann; Helge Frieling; Stefan Bleich; Jens Wiltfang; Alexandra Neyazi Journal: J Neural Transm (Vienna) Date: 2021-05-31 Impact factor: 3.575