The Effect of Long-Acting Methylphenidate and Modafinil on Attention and Impulsivity of Children with ADHD using a Continuous Performance Test: A Comparative Study

Objectives Given the importance of having a continuous performance for the academic and social life of children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), in this study, a continuous performance test was used to compare the effect of long-acting methylphenidate and modafinil on attention and impulsivity of these children. Materials & Methods A randomized clinical trial was conducted on 50 children aged 6 to 12 years with ADHD in the child and adolescent psychiatric departments of Imam Hossein and Mofid hospitals, Tehran, Iran. The children were selected by availability sampling and randomly divided into two groups of 25. One group was treated with long-acting methylphenidate and the other with modafinil for 14 days. The continuous performance test was carried out before and after the treatment. The obtained data were analyzed by F and t tests Results Long-acting methylphenidate and modafinil were both effective in improving attention and impulsivity in children with ADHD. There was no significant difference between the two drugs in terms of effectiveness on attention and impulsivity. Conclusion The findings of this study showed that long-acting methylphenidate and modafinil are equally effective in improving attention and impulsivity in children aged 6 to 12 years with ADHD

The effects of positive parenting program (Triple P) on parenting styles and the attitude towards strengths and difficulties of the child

Introduction: The present study gives an account of the effects of Triple P, positive parenting program, on parenting styles as well as the attitude towards strengths and difficulties of the child. Methods: This study is a clinical trial, which sets out to explore the effects of psychiatric disorders on 30 parents – parents of teenagers being admitted to Imam Hossein Hospital, Tehran, Iran – based on the diagnosis of child psychiatrist, teenagers with psychiatric disorders were studied in two groups: trial and control. Positive parenting program i.e. Triple P sessions were held for the trial group while the control group received usual clinical services. Results: Based on the results of the present study, after holding 3P sessions, Baumrind`s parenting styles scores show some improvement in comparison with previous test scores; however, the difference was not statistically significant (p=0.167). The overall score of the child`s strengths and difficulties questionnaire, that was completed by the parents, represents a statistically significant difference (p=0.02) between the test scores before and after the intervention.  Conclusion: It is important to note that positive parenting interventions can improve and, at the same time, change parenting styles. Moreover, Triple P can change parents` attitudes concerning the strengths and difficulties of the child, not to mention improving their parenting styles. Our results are consistent with those of similar studies on children. Declaration of Interest: Non

Theory of mind in adolescents with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: A cross-sectional study

  Objective Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder which may be associated with impaired Theory of Mind (ToM) and social cognition. ToM is a domain in social cognition which refers to one's ability to attribute beliefs, intents, perspectives, and understandings to oneself or others and to understand other's mental state. Materials & Methods The present study enrolled 52 ADHD of adolescents and 41 healthyage-matched controls in this study. This study applied The Readingthe Mind in The Eyes Task (RMET) and Theory of Mind AssessmentScale (Th.o.m.a.s.) for all participants. The results of these tasks were compared between the two study groups. Results e no significant differences between these two study groups in terms of ToM abilities using mean scores in Th.o.m.a.s inventory and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test. Also, we did not find any association between the mean score in ToM (in both study groups) and our study parameters of gender, mean age, birth rank, family structure, and income. Conclusion This study did not support the hypothesis that adolescents with ADHD perform worse on ToM tasks

Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Associated with WPW Syndrome

Noncompaction of the ventricular myocardium is an embryonic cardiomyopathy that is increasingly being recognized. Noncompaction of LV myocardium, right ventricular myocardium, or both can occur in isolation, in congenital heart diseases, in valvular heart diseases, in neuromuscular disorders, skeletal abnormalities and in endocrinologic abnormalities. Clinical manifestations of ventricular non-compaction include congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, sudden cardiac death and embolic events. This report is illustrative of non-compaction left ventricle associated with WPW syndrome in a 12-year-old girl presented with aborted sudden cardiac death and heart failure

Experiences of parents of children with psychiatric disorder from Covid‐19 pandemic and its related quarantine: A qualitative study

Abstract Introduction Owing to the considerable mortality caused by Covid‐19, different countries have made some decisions for dealing with this virus, one of which was quarantine. It was shown that a range of behavioral and emotional changes may exacerbate in children while staying more at home, and parents may then experience these positive or negative behavioral changes. The present study was conducted to examine the experiences of families with children with psychiatric disorders in a psychiatric outpatient clinic in Iran. Method The phenomenological method, which is a qualitative approach, was used in this study. The population was the parents of children with psychiatric disorders referred to the pediatric psychiatric clinic of Imam Hossein Hospital. Sampling was purposeful, which continued until data saturation. Finally, the number of included participants reached 14. As well, the Colaizzi method was used for data analysis. Results The results of this study included 12 secondary codes and 10 tertiary codes, which were divided into three main thematic groups as follows: effective factors for improving behavior, effective factors for worsening behavior, and affective factors on creating a new behavior during quarantine. Conclusion In conclusion, quarantine, social restrictions, closure of schools, and online classes can affect the mental health status of children and adolescents in different ways, especially in children with a history of psychiatric disorders

‎ Comparison of Creativity between Children with and without ‎Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: ‎A Case-Control ‎Study

Objective: The aim of this study was to compare creativity in children with and without attention deficit hyperactivity ‎disorder. Method: This was an analytic and descriptive study. Participants were 33 children aged 7-12 years selected from a ‎child and adolescent psychiatric clinic at Imam Hossein hospital (Tehran, Iran), who were diagnosed with ‎ADHD by a child and adolescent psychiatrist. They met the DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for ADHD and had ‎no comorbidity according to K-SADS (Kiddi-Scadule for Affective disorders and Schizophrenia). They ‎were requested not to take any medication. They took the Figural TTCT (Torrance Test of Creativity ‎Thinking) and Raven Intelligence test after using medication. Thirty-three age and sex-matched children ‎selected from the regional schools were recruited for the control group. They did not have any ‎psychiatric disorders according to K-SADS. The Figural TTCT and Raven Intelligence test were conducted ‎for the controls as well. ‎ Results: No statistically significant difference was found in the intelligence score and the mean±SD of the total ‎score of creativity between children with ADHD (125.2 ± 42.6) and the control group (130.6 ± 47.5) (P ‎value = 0.49). Children with ADHD had worse function in fluency and flexibility items and were not ‎different in originality and elaboration items.‎ Conclusion: The creativity of children with ADHD is not different from that of the control group.

Validation of Persian version of PHQ-9 for diagnosis of major depressive episode in psychiatric wards in IRAN

Major depressive disorder is one of the most serious and disabling psychiatric disorders. It can be followed by medical problems, impaired individual functioning, reduced quality of life and mortality (1-3). The prevalence varies among different countries. This discrepancy depends on genetics, environmental parameters, racial factors, cultural differences in perceiving diagnostic parameters, psychometric characteristics of diagnostic tools and sampling protocol (3). Major depressive episode may happen during major depressive disorder (unipolar depression) and also in bipolar disorder type I and II patients

Profile of Major Depressive Disorder Symptoms among Patients in Tehran

Objectives: Culture may place a differential emphasis on particular emotions. The aim of this study is to find the most frequent symptoms in patients with major depressive disorder in Tehran. Method: 509 patients were recruited from 5 treatment settings. The sample was used from the project of assessing psychometric properties of CIDI in the Iranian population. The patients were evaluated by conducting clinical interviews and using DSM-IV criteria (American Psychiatric Association, 1994) for major depressive disorder. Results: Depressed mood (98.7%), sleep change (92.1%) and, fatigue / energy loss (89.4%) were the three highest-ranking symptoms. As cognitive factors, guiltiness and worthlessness were among the lowest ranking symptoms. There were no significant differences between men and women in frequency of symptoms with the exception of suicidal thoughts. Men had significantly higher suicidal thoughts than women. (P: 0. 01) Conclusion: Data were presented on the depressive symptomatology in population of Tehran. Key findings included a high rate of somatic symptoms in patients who suffered from MDD in this population

A Persian translation of the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition: psychometric properties.

The aim of this study is to assess the reliability and validity of a Persian translation of the Structured Clinical Interview for Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition Axis I Disorders (SCID-I) through a multicenter study in a clinical population in Iran