title: Decreased levels of serum oxytocin in pediatric patients with Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder.
abstract: Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are highly comorbid, and both disorders share executive function deficits. Accumulating evidence suggests that ASD patients have significantly lower peripheral oxytocin (OXT) levels compared with their normal counterparts, and that the repetitive behavior seen in ASD is related to abnormalities in the OXT system. In this study, we investigated whether serum levels of OXT are altered in pediatric patients with ADHD. We measured serum OXT levels: drug naive ADHD (n=23), medicated ADHD (n=13), and age- and sex- matched, neurotypical controls (n=22). Patients were evaluated using the ADHD-RS. Serum levels of OXT in total subjects with ADHD were significantly decreased compared with those of neurotypical controls, and serum levels of OXT in drug naive ADHD patients were significantly lower than those in medicated ADHD patients. Interestingly, there was a significant negative correlation between serum OXT levels and ADHD-RS total scores, as well as ADHD-RS inattentive scores in all ADHD patients. In conclusion, this study suggests that decreased levels of OXT may play a role in the pathophysiology of patients with ADHD and its inherent inattentiveness.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Chiba University Hospital, Japan; Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan. Electronic address: sasaki@faculty.chiba-u.jp.
authors.forename: Tsuyoshi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Sasaki
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan.
authors.forename: Kenji
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yasunori
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Oda
authors.affiliation: Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan.
authors.forename: Tamaki
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Ishima
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Chiba University Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: Tsutomu
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Kurata
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Chiba University Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: Junpei
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Takahashi
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Kamata
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kimura
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Tomihisa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Niitsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Hideki
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Komatsu
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Masatomo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ishikawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Tadashi
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hasegawa
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Chiba University Hospital, Japan.
authors.forename: Akihiro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Shiina
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Tasuku
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Hashimoto
authors.affiliation: Division of Medical Treatment and Rehabilitation, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan.
authors.forename: Nobuhisa
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Kanahara
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan.
authors.forename: Tetsuya
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Shiraishi
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychiatry, Chiba University Hospital, Japan; Department of Psychiatry, Chiba University Graduate School of Medicine, Japan; Division of Clinical Neuroscience, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan; Division of Medical Treatment and Rehabilitation, Chiba University Center for Forensic Mental Health, Japan.
authors.forename: Masaomi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Iyo
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000097:blood* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000097:blood / Q000175:diagnosis; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D002648:Child; D015897:Comorbidity; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010121:Oxytocin / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D010121:Oxytocin
keywords: Amygdala; Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder; Biological markers; Oxytocin; Serum