Early motor signs of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder: a systematic review

ADHD is a common neurodevelopmental disorder with onset of symptoms typically in early childhood. First signs of the disorder, including language delay, motor delay and temperament characteristics, may be evident as early as infancy. The present review describes published evidence about early motor signs of either children with later symptoms of ADHD or a later diagnosis of the disorder. Nine published cohort studies were included after a systematic search of related terms in PubMed and PsycInfo databases. Study eligibility criteria included: (1) report on early motor function or any motor-related signs; (2) the presence of a participants’ assessment by/at 12 months of age; (3) report of a later presence of ADHD symptoms. The limited number of reports included suggests an association between mild early neurological markers and later developmental coordination disorder and motor overflow movements. Unfortunately, due to their small sample sizes and focus on group reports rather than individuals, they have limited power to find strong associations. Early motor indicators of ADHD, if present, appear to be non-specific, and therefore not yet useful in clinical screening. Spontaneous motility seems to be a promising measure for early ADHD detection, although further studies with large cohorts are recommended to determine its clinical role in children at risk for ADHD

Ovatoxin-a, a palytoxin analogue isolated from Ostreopsis cf. ovata Fukuyo: cytotoxic activity and ELISA detection

This study provides the first evaluation of the cytotoxic effects of the recently identified palytoxin (PLTX) analog, ovatoxin-a (OVTX-a), the major toxin produced by Ostreopsis cf. ovata in the Mediterranean Sea. Its increasing detection during Ostreopsis blooms and in seafood highlights the need to characterize its toxic effects and to set up appropriate detection methods. OVTX-a is about 100 fold less potent than PLTX in reducing HaCaT cells viability (EC50 = 1.1 7 10 129 M vs 1.8 7 10 1211 M, MTT test) in agreement with a reduced binding affinity (Kd = 1.2 7 10 129 vs 2.7 7 10 1211 M, saturation experiments on intact cells). Similarly, OVTX-a hemolytic effect is lower than that of the reference PLTX compound. Ost-D shows the lowest cytotoxicity toward HaCaT keratinocytes, suggesting the lack of a hydroxyl group at C44 as a critical feature for PLTXs cytotoxic effects. A sandwich ELISA developed for PLTX detects also OVTX-a in a sensitive (LOD = 4.2 and LOQ = 5.6 ng/mL) and accurate manner (Bias = 0.3%), also in O. cf. ovata extracts and contaminated mussels. Although in vitro OVTXa appears less toxic than PLTX, its cytotoxicity at nanomolar concentrations after short exposure time rises some concern for human health. The sandwich ELISA can be a viable screening method for OVTXs detection in monitoring program

Neuropsychological characterization of aggressive behavior in children and adolescents with cd/odd and effects of single doses of medications: The protocol of the matrics_wp6-1 study

Aggressive behaviors and disruptive/conduct disorders are some of the commonest reasons for referral to youth mental health services; nevertheless, the efficacy of therapeutic interventions in real-world clinical practice remains unclear. In order to define more appropriate targets for innovative pharmacological therapies for disruptive/conduct disorders, the European Commission within the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) funded the MATRICS project (Multidisciplinary Approaches to Translational Research in Conduct Syndromes) to identify neural, genetic, and molecular factors underpinning the pathogenesis of aggression/antisocial behavior in preclinical models and clinical samples. Within the program, a multicentre case-control study, followed by a single-blind, placebo-controlled, cross-over, randomized acute single-dose medication challenge, was conducted at two Italian sites. Aggressive children and adolescents with conduct disorder (CD) or oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) were compared to the same age (10–17 y) typically developing controls (TDC) on a neuropsychological tasks battery that included both “cold” (e.g., inhibitory control, decision making) and “hot” executive functions (e.g., moral judgment, emotion processing, risk assessment). Selected autonomic measures (heart rate variability, skin conductance, salivary cortisol) were recorded before/during/after neuropsychological testing sessions. The acute response to different drugs (methylphenidate/atomoxetine, risperidone/aripiprazole, or placebo) was also examined in the ODD/CD cohort in order to identify potential neuropsychological/physiological mechanisms underlying aggression. The paper describes the protocol of the clinical MATRICS WP6-1 study, its rationale, the specific outcome measures, and their implications for a precision medicine approach