Altered Arginine/Nitric Oxide Pathway in Children Diagnosed Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, and the Effect of 10 Weeks Methylphenidate Treatment

Objective@#In this study, we investigated the levels of arginine, nitric oxide (NO), asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), and adrenomedullin that are presumed to play a role in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) etiology, and to compare the findings with healthy controls. @*Methods@#Thirty ADHD patients and thirty healthy control subjects aged 6−12 years were included in the study. Sociodemographic data form, Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School Age Children-Present and Lifetime Version; Conners’ Parent/Teacher Rating Scale-Revised: Long Form; Children’s Depression Inventory; and The State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children were applied to all cases. All participants included in the study were evaluated in terms of their serum arginine, NO, ADMA, and adrenomedullin levels. Subsequently, methylphenidate treatment was started in ADHD patients and blood parameters were tested again in the tenth week of treatment. @*Results@#At the start of the study, arginine and ADMA levels were significantly higher and NO and adrenomedullin levels were significantly lower in the ADHD group compared to the control group. Post-treatment arginine and ADMA levels were found to be significantly lower than in the pre-treatment period. There were no significant differences in NO and adrenomedullin levels before and after treatment. There was no correlation between scale scores and blood parameters. @*Conclusion@#These variations in the blood parameters of the ADHD group seem to be worth further investigation. Studies to be conducted with larger sample groups after longer-term treatment may provide new information about the alterations in neurobiological processes related to ADHD etiology and treatment.

Increased Serum Hepcidin Levels in Children and Adolescents with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we aimed to evaluate the serum hepcidin levels in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) patients that were newly diagnosed with no history of psychotropic drugs. METHODS: A total of 70 ADHD patients and 69 healthy controls were enrolled in our study. During the diagnosis, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia for School-Age Children-Present and Lifetime version were applied. The sociodemographic data form, Turgay DSM-IV-Based Child and Adolescent Behavior Disorders Screening and Rating Scale, and Conners’ Rating Scales-Revised: Long Form were used for the clinical evaluation. Serum hepcidin levels were measured and compared between the groups. RESULTS: No significant difference between the groups in terms of age (p=0.533) and gender (p=0.397) was determined. In addition, the groups did not differ significantly for the other sociodemographic variables recorded. Serum hepcidin levels were found to be significantly higher in the patients with ADHD than healthy controls (p=0.019). CONCLUSION: To the best of our knowledge, this study is the first to evaluate the total serum hepcidin levels in ADHD patients. Our study findings may suggest that high levels of hepcidin may cause iron dysregulation in ADHD patients. However, further studies are required to establish a definite conclusion.

Oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters in neutropenic patients secondary to chemotherapy

Objective: Neutropenia is a serious adverse event that necessitates dosage reduction in patients receiving chemotherapy. In this study, we evaluated the oxidative stress and antioxidant parameters in neutropenic patients after chemotherapy both during the neutropenic period and after successful treatment of neutropenia with filgrastim

Methods: We studied paraoxonase [PON1], arylesterase [ARE], malondialdehyde [MDA], high-density lipoprotein [HDL], lactate dehydrogenase [LDH], and alkaline phosphatase [ALP] in addition to routine biochemical and hematologic parameters. SPSS 12.0 was used for statistical evaluation of data [SPSS, Chicago, IL, USA]

Results: In our study, PON1, HDL, and LDH levels during the period of active neutropenia were statistically significantly higher than these levels were after resolution of neutropenia [P<0.05]; MDA and ALP levels were statistically significantly lower during the period of active neutropenia [P<0.05]

Conclusions: Overall, free oxygen radicals [FOR] were increased and antioxidant parameters were decreased with resolution of neutropenia. This is probably due to FOR produced by the increased number of neutrophils rather than tumor burden

Neutrophils Are Decreased in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: Preliminary Investigation

OBJECTIVE: There has been no study in the literature evaluating total blood count in obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Therefore, we performed the present study to spesifically measure serum total blood count particularly white blood cells to see whether or not its eventual alterations might have an etiopathogenetic significance in patients with OCD. METHODS: Total blood count was measured in thirty patients and same number of healthy controls. Additionally, all patients were assessed by Yale-Brown Obsession Compulsion Scale (Y-BOCS). RESULTS: Except for neutrophil count, there were no significant differences between the groups regarding any haematological parameter. The mean neutrophil count of the patient group was lower compared to that of the control subjects. CONCLUSION: In conclusion, the present study suggests that neutrophil count is reduced in pure OCD patients and this finding may contribute to the role of immunological factors in the pathogenesis of OCD.