Comments: ADHD Gene Fails To Predict Response To Ritalin, Adderall
Philip, do you really believe there's no genetic component to mental illness? Simply because COMT isn't involved in ADD doesn't mean that no genes are. In fact, twin studies have shown that most mental illnesses show a highly significant genetic component, although the genes involved may be particularly hard to pin down.
Ritalin/Adderall primarily affect synaptic dopamine levels. Thus, the researchers here thought that COMT genotype, which also affects synaptic dopamine levels, might be involved in ADD, and this is exactly what they find. However, while they expected some interaction between COMT and drug response, they found that COMT did not affect the degree of improvement that Ritalin produced.
This is a two-part study. The first part, the demonstration of a link between COMT and ADD, is definitely a positive one. It shows that COMT is "tied up" in ADHD. The second part is disappointing because it suggests that one of the main practical applications of this research, the tailoring of treatment plans to individuals' genotypes, may not work out in this particular case.
However, this study adds to a growing body of evidence linking COMT to mental illness. Caspi et al., 2005, showed a significant link between the same val158met polymorphism discussed here and the probability of developing schizophrenia after adolescent cannabis use.
Posted by Simon at June 25, 2008 05:11 PM
simon, can you show me where i said there wasn't in this post? or are you just trying to bait me?
Posted by Philip Dawdy at June 25, 2008 06:19 PM
Sorry, I misread your post. What I said above may not be particularly relevant.
Posted by Simon at June 25, 2008 09:16 PM
It is likely that ritalin, like antidepressants, can cause damage to mitochondria.
Posted by Lilly NC at June 30, 2008 01:04 PM