People who report having enjoyed amphetamine are more likely to have gene variants associated with protection against attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder and schizophrenia, a study shows.
A euphoric response to amphetamine could signal the presence of gene variants associated with protection against attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and schizophrenia. Publishing today (April 7) in PNAS, a team led by Abraham Palmer from the University of Chicago reported having found that DNA differences associated with amphetamine response are also correlated with a reduced risk for both conditions.
The results link two disorders that are treated in opposing ways: people with schizophrenia are often given drugs to block dopamine signaling, while those with ADHD are typically given drugs that imitate dopamine. So identifying a common feature between them is “interesting and somewhat surprising,” Philip Asherson, a molecular psychiatrist at King’s College London, told The Scientist in an e-mail. Asherson, who was not involved in the study, called the results convincing: “to have these findings by chance does seem unlikely,” he said.
“I might’ve predicted that whichever way it went for schizophrenia, it would go the opposite way for ADHD because of what we use to treat these disorders,” said Palmer. “But in fact, that’s not what we saw. So that’s a little bit surprising.”
