Researchers find potential 'biomarker of ADHD'

Researchers have found new technique which may help doctors detect early symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

Researchers at the University of South Carolina found major differences in iron levels in healthy kids and kids already diagnosed with ADHD. Un-medicated children already diagnosed with the disorder had brain iron levels much lower than ADHD kids already taking medication and those without the condition.

"[A biomarker] gives more weight to the ADHD diagnosis, but also more caution to writing the disorder off and blindly prescribing drugs to a child just because he's rowdy," study author Vitria Adisetiyo, postdoctoral research fellow at Medical University of South Carolina, told FoxNews.com. "We don't understand the risk to giving medication to kids who are misdiagnosed."

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that causes concentration problems, uncontrollable behavior and overactivity. ADHD onset usually occurs in childhood and the condition can last well into adulthood.

The team wanted to see whether levels of iron in the brain could be a potential biomarker for the diagnosis of ADHD.

Brain iron - which functions differently than iron in the blood - is required for dopamine production. Abnormal brain iron levels have been related to abnormal dopamine levels, which may explain its potential as an ADHD biomarker, Adisetiyo said.

"We want the public to know that progress is being made in identifying potential noninvasive biological biomarkers of ADHD, which may help to prevent misdiagnosis. We are currently testing our findings in a larger cohort to confirm that measuring brain iron levels in ADHD is indeed a reliable and clinically feasible biomarker," Dr. Adisetiyo added.