Active clinical trials for "Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity"

To observe the clinical efficacy and mechanism of functional near-infrared spectroscopy imaging neurofeedback therapy for attention deficit and hyperactivity disorder.

This study is an assessor-blind, parallel-group, controlled trial to evaluate the benefit of home-based training with a low-cost, mobile neurofeedback system (Myndlift) in adults with ADHD. Randomized controlled trials have shown significant benefit for neurofeedback, including persistent effects without the side effects of psychostimulants (i.e., diminished appetite, insomnia, anxiety, irritability). However, standard application requires clinic visits and significant expense, limiting training frequency and compromising potential efficacy. Additionally, extant evidence for efficacy comes almost exclusively from children and adolescents, with very few studies in adults. The present trial will measure the ability of home-based neurofeedback using a low-cost, user-friendly system to ameliorate symptomatology (e.g., enhancing attention, reducing impulsive behavior) in adults with ADHD. Participants will receive either neurofeedback or treatment as usual (TAU). Primary outcomes will be objective scores on a continuous performance task (CPT) and subjective report on a standardized adult ADHD symptoms questionnaire. Eligible participants recruited from an adult ADHD clinic will complete a baseline assessment (1.25 hours) including subjective questionnaires, computerized cognitive assessment, and resting-state EEG administered by a blinded assessor. The experimental group will train at home with a neurofeedback headset and tablet 4 times/week for ten weeks (session duration: 21-30 minutes). Neurofeedback will be provided via a conventional theta beta protocol in which participants train using gamified tasks, videos, or audio clips in a tablet-based app, and receive positive visual/auditory feedback when their brainwaves are in the desired range. The control group will follow the regular treatment plan set by the clinic (i.e., treatment as usual; TAU). Care may include pharmacological intervention, cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), a combination of both, or no intervention. Care will often include pharmacological intervention (e.g., methylphenidate), with the specifics (e.g., type of medication, dosage) determined by psychiatrist recommendation. After completing the ten-week intervention period, all participants will return to the clinic for a follow-up assessment identical to the baseline assessment. It is hypothesized that home-based neurofeedback training will demonstrate non-inferiority to TAU as measured by improvement in subjective and objective symptoms.

This project is designed to preliminarily assess the effects and feasibility of parent-delivered TCM pediatric massage for ADHD symptoms in preschool children.

To identify the difference in the lipidomic profiles between ADHD and controls; To examine the effects of methylphenidate and atomoxetine on the lipidomic profiles in ADHD, and the relationship between medication-related changes in the lipidomic profiles and medication-related improvements in the behavioral symptoms and neuropsychological functions; To map medication-related lipidomic biomolecules to their respective metabolic pathways to identify the underlying mechanisms of neuroprotective effects of methylphenidate and atomoxetine.

The overall objective of the current study is to determine whether computerized Working Memory (WM) training will enhance WM capacity in college students with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). There are also four additional objectives. The first is to investigate whether the program's efficacy is impacted by the duration of the daily training sessions. The second is to determine whether improvements in WM will generalize to secondary outcome tasks, such as inhibitory control and planning. The third objective is to examine whether WM training will also ameliorate ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity. The last objective is to investigate whether improvements will be maintained at a two month follow-up period. The investigators will also be assessing healthy control participants,who will not be receiving treatment, but will be used as a basis of comparison with the ADHD participants, It is expected that the computerized WM training program will enhance WM capacity in college students with ADHD. In addition, it is believed that these increases in WM capacity will also lead to improvements in other executive functions. It is also hypothesized that WM training will lead to a reduction in ADHD symptomology. Lastly, these improvements should be maintained at three month follow-up.

This study aims at combining imaging techniques and clinical evaluations to assess clinical change as well as brain changes that occur as a result of brain stimulation in adult attention deficit disorder.

Children with ADHD display a certain brainwave profile which might be different to that of a child who does not have ADHD. Treatment with tPCS (transcranial pulsed current stimulation) has shown that this brainwave profile could possibly be altered to more closely resemble a brainwave profile of a child who does not have ADHD. Researchers believe that by changing this brainwave profile it might lessen symptoms of ADHD. tPCS is a name used to describe the type of current this device produces. It involves randomly (in no specific pattern) produced pulses of current at different times that the brain picks up. These pulses of low current stimulate the brain in a certain way and affect the brainwave activity. Treatment is given by applying a low frequency current using small electrodes clipped to the earlobes. The current comes from an external battery source. The pulses of current generated by this device stimulate certain parts of the brain which result in a possible increased control of attention and behaviour. This treatment has already been proven to be safe and will not hurt your child. Due to these specific parts of the brain being stimulated, and the positive results of previous research, it seems possible to control certain functions in children suffering from inattention and hyperactivity. The idea of using tPCS stimulation as a possible way for helping children with confirmed ADHD opens a new window to future research. The final goal of this device and research is to offer a safe, non-invasive (conservative treatment that does not require piercing into the body or the removal of tissue) treatment that can be used on a long-term basis and shows a clear improvement of ADHD symptoms for children and even adults with ADHD.

The investigators therefore propose a pilot study to establish the effectiveness of NIRS Neurofeedback training in reducing the intensity of ADHD symptom expression on children, improvement of the cognitive and global functions associated with ADHD, effects on cerebral blood perfusion in the cortex and safety plus possible unknown side-effects.

A sample of 60 children is randomly assigned to an intervention and a control condition. The intervention group receives 15 sessions of child-focused treatment with play training to enhance play persistence and intensity. The control group receives the same amount of placebo play sessions. The intervention group receives subsequently 15 sessions of parent training. All children are 3 to 6 years old and meet diagnostic criteria for ADD or ADHD. Main hypothesis are a stronger reduction of ADHD symptoms of the child in different settings in the intervention than in the control group. Play-persistence and -intensity should also increase more in the intervention group. An additional effect of a subsequent parent training shall furthermore be tested.

Brief summary The aim of the study is to provide preliminary data on the relationship of Essential Fatty Acids (EFAs) to cognitive and electrophysiological measures of brain and behavioural functions in adults with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and controls. This main aim will be achieved in two ways. First the investigators will measure the relationship of the various measures to blood levels of EFAs in ADHD cases and controls. Secondly, the potential effects of dietary supplementation with EFAs on cognitive-electrophysiological and behavioural measures in ADHD cases will be investigated. We will evaluate the extent to which changes in neuronal activity and cognitive performance are related to behavioural and functional measures over time. This is to be carried out by conducting a randomised controlled trial of fish oil supplementation in adults with ADHD (The OCEAN study: Oils and Cognitive Effects in Adult Neurodevelopment). The study design will be a 6-month double blind placebo control study with a group of 80 adults with a diagnosis of ADHD. The group will be divided into 40 participants who receive EFA dietary supplements and 40 who receive placebo, over a 6-month period. Allocation to EFA dietary supplementation and placebo groups will be randomly allocated and blind to both the investigator and participants. In addition a sample of 30 controls will take part in baseline levels of assessment and be used for case-control comparisons to investigate the links between EFA blood levels and cognitive-electrophysiological function at one time point. The study design will enable preliminary data to address the following hypotheses: Changes in cognitive and electrophysiological function (neuronal activity) will be found following supplementation with dietary EFAs. Changes in cognition and/or brain activity will be related to blood levels of EFAs. Changes in cognitive performance and electrophysiological parameters will correlate with behavioural function, affective regulation or functional impairments. At baseline, case-control differences in EFA blood-levels will be found which will be linked to cognitive and electrophysiological function.