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The conceptualization of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has been the subject of some controversy. In this article, two US-based academic child psychiatrists discuss the prevailing approach to diagnosis and treatment of ADHD in the USA and suggest potential reasons for the variability in prevalence estimates between the USA and Europe.
Despite much research, it has been difficult to gain professional agreement on what attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is and how it should be treated. In this Viewpoint, Peter Hill—who has been running treatment and consultative services for ADHD at a national level in the UK for over 20 years—offers his observations on how the disorder is handled in the UK.
Autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) are characterized by qualitative impairments in the development of social and communication skills, often accompanied by stereotyped and restricted patterns of interests and behaviors. ASDs are usually diagnosed between the ages of 3 and 6 years, but, as Rebecca Landa discusses in this Review, there is increasing evidence that a diagnosis can be made in the second year of life in some children. She argues that early diagnosis and intervention are likely to lead to improved outcomes in children with ASDs.
Duchenne muscular dystrophy is an X-linked recessively inherited disorder of skeletal and cardiac muscle that is caused by mutations in the dystrophin gene. In this article, Lim and Rando describe new mutation-specific therapeutic strategies that use nonviral agents to target nonsense point mutations or frameshift deletions at the dystrophin locus, with the ultimate aim of developing 'personalized' gene therapy for Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Axon degeneration is a major contributor to disability in multiple sclerosis, and sodium channels have been shown to have a crucial role in this process. In this article, Waxman reviews the development of the concept of sodium channel blockers as neuroprotectants in multiple sclerosis, and discusses recent attempts to translate this approach from the laboratory to the clinic.
This Case Study describes a 78-year-old man with a pre-existing parkinsonian syndrome who experienced an adverse drug reaction following administration of an antipsychotic in combination with a cholinesterase inhibitor. The patient was diagnosed with a variant of neuroleptic malignant syndrome.
