The relationship between divorce and children with AD/HD of different subtypes and comorbidity: results from a clinically referred sample

This study investigated the relationship between divorce and thesymptom profile of children with attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder(AD/HD). The files of 1,201 children from a pediatric practicein Sydney, Australia were used in this study. Children wereaged 6 to 18 years, and were diagnosed with either the inattentiveor combined type of AD/HD. Results show that 213 children hadparents who were divorced. Children with the combined type, andespecially boys with comorbid conduct disorder/oppositional defiantdisorder (CD/ODD) were more common in the divorced group,and children of the inattentive type with comorbid learning disabilitieswere overrepresented in nondivorced families. Results suggestthat divorce is associated with disruptive behavior patterns inchildren with AD/HD. The importance of including marital status asan important correlate in AD/HD treatment outcomes is discussed.

Amyloid-beta and depression in healthy older adults: a systematic review

Depression has been shown to be a risk factor for Alzheimer's disease (AD), and in older adults may provide a marker for the beginning of the prodromal phase of AD. The purpose of this systematic review is to examine the relationship between amyloid-β (Aβ), a key biomarker of AD, and depression in older adults.

Behavioural differences between EEG-defined subgroups of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: This study investigated the presence and nature of EEG clusters within a clinically-referred sample of children with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD), and whether behavioural differences exist between clusters.

Method: Participants were 155 boys with AD/HD and 109 age- and gender-matched controls. EEG was recorded during an eyes-closed resting condition and Fourier transformed to provide estimates for total power, and relative delta, theta, alpha, and beta. EEG data were grouped into 3 regions, and subjected to Cluster Analysis. Behavioural data for each cluster were compared against the remaining AD/HD subjects.

Results: Four EEG clusters were found. These were characterised by (a) elevated beta activity, (b) elevated theta with deficiencies of alpha and beta, (c) elevated slow wave with less fast wave activity, and (d) elevated alpha. An exploratory analysis of behavioural correlates with these EEG subtypes indicated the presence of interesting trends that need further investigation.

Conclusions: This study found that the AD/HD EEG profiles reported in past studies are robust and not substantially affected by the inclusion of children with other comorbid conditions. The observed group differences in behavioural profiles indicated that different patterns of EEG activity have importance in determining behaviour.

Significance: This is the first study to link behavioural profiles of children with AD/HD to specific EEG abnormalities.