Involuntary Eye Movement May Provide Definitive Diagnosis of ADHD

Zothecula writes: If a child who's simply very active is mistakenly diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), he can end up on pharmaceuticals such as Ritalin unnecessarily. The problem is, it can be quite difficult to determine if someone actually has ADHD, and misdiagnoses are common. Now, however, researchers from Tel Aviv University have announced that analyzing a patient's eye movements may be the key. "The researchers found a direct correlation between ADHD and the inability to suppress eye movement in the anticipation of visual stimuli. The research also reflected improved performance by participants taking methylphenidate, which normalized the suppression of involuntary eye movements to the average level of the control group."

Comments

I don't know what they're talking about

[sandytaru]

I can stay focused just fine (*flicks eyes to where Outlook just refreshed*) and concentrate for long periods of time (*glances outside - cute squirrel!*) and I can assure you my eyes stay glued firmly to the screen. (*twitches and changes tabs because the title bar just changed on one*)

Re:I don't know what they're talking about

[JMJimmy]

They need to be specific, this applies to ADHD-H. This does not apply to ADHD-I and is questionable with ADHD-C. I have ADHD-I and I have the problem that my eyes get sore from hyperfocusing to the extent that my body forgets to blink.

Besides, they already have a definitive diagnosis. A brain scan. Aside from the very obvious differences in brain wave patterns, the structure of the brain is physically different. ADHD-H will show the centre of the brain growing at an accelerated rate compared to the other areas of the brain. ADHD-I will show under development of the frontal and/or temporal lobes and a noted size difference in the rear of the brain (something on the right side rear is smaller)... I'm totally not awake so all the appropriate terms and thoughts in general aren't coming to me...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?... --this lecture talks about it... it's split into a bunch of random pieces so I don't know which one the ADHD-I brain portion is in... that or there's a 3 hour video with it all (I think it's the same lecture)

Re:I don't know what they're talking about

[sandytaru]

I actually have to do just that a lot of the time. Also, music helps a bunch - background noise that isn't random allows me to keep my mind on the task at hand instead of bouncing all over the place.

We also a problem of celebrating the ability to multi-task as an adult, and yet getting on the case of any child who exhibits those abilities because they're not "focused" enough.

Re: I don't know what they're talking about

[Anonymous Coward]

As someone recently diagnosed, my experience has never been one of distraction, per se. I would force myself to sit at my desk and stare at a project. I might read an article every now and then, but I was never constantly going back and forth. My problem was actually forcing my brain to work on the task when it wasn't particularly interesting. If the task took no concentration it was much easier. If the task was highly stimulating (I.e. learning lots of new stuff) eventually I'd slip into "the zone". But for most stuff it was a daily struggle.

For 15 years I worked 60+ hour weeks (sometimes 80+), partly because I had to compensate with time for my inability to focus on work.

I thought I was just undisciplined. But in any event meds changed my life completely. Now I can work an 8 hour day, and while its sometimes still a struggle I don't feel like a failure at the end of the day. (A psychotherapist thought my anxiety about work was what kept me from focusing. But I kept telling her it was the other way around. Once I met a psychiatrist he understood immediately and even had anecdotes about a friend from medical school who exhibited my behavior.)

For anybody in my position, don't think you're stupid or it's your fault. I have an IQ in the 99.99th percentile, actually managed to fumble through a good law school, and I'm a well paid software engineer. In retrospect my "issue" helped make me who I am. It explains, at least in part, my varied interests and ability to deeply focus on stimulating activities. But in our culture it began to make my life miserable, especially in middle adulthood.

I used to be skeptical about ADHD. The list of symptoms reads like a horoscope; that is, everybody can identify. But frankly I don't care about any of that anymore. Psychiatry may still be in the stone age in many regards, but I'm doing much better now. So much about my life, even as a kid, makes much more sense now. I had invented all kinds of explanations for why I was the kind of student, worker, husband what I am. But in retrospect ADHD is such a much more elegant explanation.

I'm also a life-long stutter, which also fits the pattern. But ironically my stuttering helped keep me more reserved than the stereotypical ADHD kid or adult. To not stutter I always have to carefully and deliverstely think through what I want to say aloud, which mitigates my tendency to interrupt others or speak in a hyperactive manner.

Re:Fake diseases

[Lazere]

Hardly an invented condition when people with ADHD respond to stimulants differently from others.

The drugs are terrible

[bluefoxlucid]

They put me on methylphenedate. Then they put me on Risperdone to control the psychosis induced by methylphenedate. The drugs are horrible. The only thing worse is Prednizone.

Phenotropil is effective in small doses, with fewer and less severe side effects. I did the pharmacology myself, with lots of Googling. Psychosis isn't a side effect--Phenotropil sharply controls, reduces, and prevents dementia--but INSOMNIA sure as hell is!

Okay, I found better drugs. But the drugs still have bad side effects. Let's face it: Insomnia is bad. I have always had delayed sleep phase disorder (self-diagnosis): if I don't rigidly discipline my sleep, any deviation causes me to stay awake. Stay up until 10:30? Become no longer tired, until 1-2am, then sleep until noon--and continue to do this until I somehow fix my sleep cycle, so I can't ever have a night out. On-call fucking sucks. And now, due to further conditioning, I not only can't sleep early, but I can't stay in bed past 7am; I'm sleep-deprived because my body refuses to get more than 4-6 hours of sleep!

I could take sleep drugs. Melatonin no longer works: after some occasional use, it now only works in high doses; and both high doses and chronic use cause my nuts to ache for extended periods, which I thought was just me sleeping on my side or something... until I found out melatonin affects testosterone production and can be bad for the testicles. Whoops. Valerian... I ran through a railroad crossing barrier. Ambien and Allegra I've seen do the same: you're incredibly fucking high, but you feel fine... until you crash into a parked car, or smile and nod while a pedestrian wanders in front of you. Thud.

That doesn't mean drugs are BAD; they're risk. You risk side effects against a disease. Is your ADHD worse than ... potential insomnia? Potential minor psychosis? Psychosis can be MAJOR if you're prone to dementia. Sleep drugs may not ruin your life; out of millions of cases, I know one person who almost died because Ambien affects him for 10 hours and he didn't know that. Of course you should take life-saving drugs, and life-enhancing drugs, if the side effects don't occur or are less bad than your symptoms.

I think we should drop back to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and floatation-REST as our first attempts for ADHD and Aspergers and insomnia. CBT is a particular sticking point in insomnia: bad sleep hygiene is terrible, and parents are horrible parents for forcing their kids into bed. Go to bed even if you're not tired? Fuck you, mom. If you're not asleep in 10 minutes, GET OUT OF BED. Don't do other things in bed. Wake your ass up in the morning; if you're tired, too bad. Get up. When you're sleepy, you'll sleep at night.

So yeah. Let's eject this ADHD magic pill bullshit. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, physical activity, and flotation-REST to start; move up to lighter drugs (lighter side effects, even if less effective), and then into the heavy shit (methylphenedate, adderall, drug cocktails). Throwing methylphenedate down someone's throat as a first option is like launching MIRV nukes three seconds after someone stands and shakes his fist at the UN table.

Re:I would be very interested...

[Andtalath]

Nope.
Notice the "regardless of the circumstances".

Medicating with amphetamine all the time is obviosuly quite moronic.
I myself need it to function normally in the work-environment.

I didn't even realize what people meant by saying "just concentrate" until I took my first methylphenedate when I was 25.

ADHD is an issue, and it's NOT just kids being kids.
It's a fundamentally different way for the brain/body to function then the norm.

Re:inb4

[p00kiethebear]

It must be nice to jerk yourself off with a story like that. You're absolutely right. Millions of scientists and doctors and pharmacists are all fucking conspiring to sell your kids ritalin! Are the corporate overlords also making you get vaccinated? It must be nice where you live, being able to stick your head in the sand and make up stories about why things don't exist rather than looking deeply for reasons why they DO.

Re:inb4

[robsku]

Ignorance is a bliss. ADD and ADHD can actually be physically shown as disorder of the brains dopamine system - but you wouldn't know that since you haven't actually studied any real information about ADD/ADHD as it's easier to hold on to your pre-determined opinions when you have no facts to confuse you.

Also, that ADD/ADHD is a "children issue" only is something that makes me angry. I was diagnosed with ADHD at age of 26. Since I've started with medication my life, in certain areas has become much easier - some would say much more "normal", but I like to avoid that term. I was finally able to get through education on IT field - something people like you claimed I had problems only because of lack of motivation. They say that lack of motivation was the reason I couldn't pass a 3-year education even though I tried for 5-years, and they happily miss seeing anything illogical in their statement.

I do sometimes wonder how different my life had been if ADD/ADHD had been known when I was a kid. For sure I would have avoided many problems with school as well as with other problems I made my family go through... Child services tried to find ways to help me and my family, but they didn't know about ADHD back then, so the reasons behind my misbehaviours remained mystery.

May I presume you are a US citizen? I apologize if I'm wrong... However if I'm right then I have less problems understanding how, no matter how ignorant and irrational, you have come to your conclusions. It is true that medical industry is milking this thing - and USA is the leader in over-diagnosing of ADD/ADHD. Still, just like with chronic depression, the fact that some doctors are over diagnosing a medical condition and the fact that pharmaceutical companies are always more than willing to milk such errors to the maximum does not mean that said medical condition is false. Also it's logical fallacy to say that because a condition had not been known before a time, it didn't thus exists before said time.

Re:inb4

[RyuuzakiTetsuya]

Nice diagnosis doctor assface.

Check the research.

Basically, ADHD isn't being able to sit still for a long time, it's not being able to focus on things that aren't fun.

For most brains, being able to get through say, homework, isn't a problem. You just sit down, figure, it's going to take about 20 minutes to do all the math problems and you go play video games.

For someone with ADHD, the brain is constantly craving rewards. So video games, movies, etc. all basically jam a fork into the pleasure centers of the brain. So ADHD kids can sit still and enjoy the fuck out of it. When the gears shift, and into say work mode, there's nothing jamming against the pleasure center and the mind loses focus.