Dopamine transporter gene and response to methylphenidate in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder

This study aims to evaluate whether a previously reported association between homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele of the dopamine transporter gene (10/10) and poor response to methylphenidate (MPH) would be replicated in a sample of Brazilian attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) boys. In a blind naturalistic study, 50 male ADHD youths were treated with MPH. Efficacy of the medication was measured by means of the 10-item Conners Abbreviated Rating Scale (ABRS), and the Children's Global Assessment Scale (CGAS). While 75% (15/20) of the youths without 10/10 genotype demonstrated an improvement higher than 50% in the ABRS scores with MPH, only 47% (14/30) of the subjects with 10/10 genotype achieved the same level of improvement with medication (one-tailed P=0.04). In addition, the group without this genotype had significantly higher increase in the CGAS scores than the other group (one-tailed P < 0.01). Our findings support an association between homozygosity for the 10-repeat allele at dopamine transporter gene locus and poor response to MPH.