The Metabolome Profiling and Pathway Analysis of ADHD

The purpose of this study is to understand the pathophysiological mechanisms of ADHD, especially the metabolomic pathway related to the behavioral/neuropsychological deficits of ADHD.

To identify specific metabolites that show significant differences between ADHD and control groups, both liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry will be performed. In addition, the behavioral measures include ADHDRS-IV, SNAP-IV, CBCL, CGI-ADHD-S, SAICA, and Family APGAR-C. Neuropsychological testing, including CPT and CANTAB, will be performed. Conditional logistic regression and partial least squares discriminant analysis will be applied to identify significant metabolites for ADHD. Pathway enrichment and topology analyses will be conducted to evaluate the regulated pathways.

Study Overview

• Status: Completed
• Conditions: Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

Detailed Description

Because attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is an early onset and long-term impairing disorder with tremendous impact on individuals, families, and societies, detection and diagnosis are very important for ADHD. Current diagnosis of ADHD relies mainly on clinical observation and interview tools that may involve a great subjective variability, and thus the investigation of objective biomarkers for ADHD is warranted. Metabolomics is the study of a biologic process involving all metabolites that are end products of the cellular process in a whole organism. Because metabolites represent the downstream expression of genome, transcriptome, and proteome, metabolomic profiles are more proximal to the behavioral phenotypes of ADHD. Analyzing metabolic differences between children with ADHD and healthy controls will provide insight into underlying disease pathology. To date, there has been no metabolomics study on ADHD. In this 3-year project, the investigators will perform a metabolomics analysis of serum to identify potential biomarkers for the behavioral and neuropsychological deficits of ADHD.

This is a 3-year project. After careful calculation of sample size, the investigators will recruit 120 drug-naïve children with ADHD, aged 7-18, and 120 healthy controls with matched age, sex and BMI. Using both liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, serum-based metabolomic profiling will be performed. The behavioral measures include ADHDRS-IV, SNAP-IV, CBCL, CGI-ADHD-S, SAICA, and Family APGAR-C. Neuropsychological testing, including CPT and CANTAB, will be performed. Conditional logistic regression and partial least squares discriminant analysis will be applied to identify significant metabolites for ADHD. Pathway enrichment and topology analyses will be conducted to evaluate the regulated pathways.

Using a matched study design, the investigators anticipate to identify specific metabolites that show significant differences between ADHD and control groups. In addition, results of pathway analysis may offer more biological understanding in explaining the underlying metabolic regulation among children with ADHD. This findings will significantly contribute to the knowledge of the pathophysiological mechanisms of ADHD, especially the metabolomic pathway related to the behavioral/neuropsychological deficits of ADHD.

• Study Type: Observational
• Enrollment (Actual): 240

Contacts and Locations

Study Locations

• Taiwan
  • Taipei, Taiwan
    • National Taiwan Univeristy Hospital

Participation Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

• Ages Eligible for Study: 7 years to 18 years (ADULT, CHILD)
• Accepts Healthy Volunteers: Yes
• Genders Eligible for Study: All

• Sampling Method: Non-Probability Sample

Study Population

We plan to recruit 120 ADHD subjects and 120 control subjects.

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

• Subjects without any current or lifetime DSM-V psychiatric disorders based on the K-SADS-E interviews.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Participants who had any past or current medical or neurological illness, who currently took psychotropic medication, or whose intelligence quotient (IQ) score was less than 80 were excluded.

Study Plan

How is the study designed?

Number of groups / cohorts

2

Cohorts and Interventions

Group / Cohort
TD group; Typically development controls without lifetime diagnosis with ADHD
ADHD group; Subjects with clinical diagnosis of ADHD according to the DSM-V criteria

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Psychiatric interview	Subjects will be interviewed by Chinese Version of the Kiddie Epidemiologic version of the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia (K-SADS-E)	1 hour

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure	Measure Description	Time Frame
Spatial working memory	Subjects will be assessed by the Cambridge Neuropsychological Test Automated Battery (CANTAB)	1.5 hours

Collaborators and Investigators

• Sponsor: National Taiwan University Hospital

Study record dates

Study Major Dates

• Study Start (Actual): August 1, 2016
• Primary Completion (Actual): March 19, 2020
• Study Completion (Actual): March 19, 2020

Study Registration Dates

• First Submitted: October 20, 2016
• First Submitted That Met QC Criteria: October 20, 2016
• First Posted (Estimate): October 24, 2016

Study Record Updates

• Last Update Posted (Actual): September 4, 2020
• Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria: September 2, 2020
• Last Verified: March 1, 2020

More Information

Terms related to this study

• Keywords: metabolomics; Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder; neuropsychological deficits; pathway analysis
• Additional Relevant MeSH Terms: Mental Disorders; Nervous System Diseases; Neurologic Manifestations; Dyskinesias; Attention Deficit and Disruptive Behavior Disorders; Neurodevelopmental Disorders; Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity; Hyperkinesis
• Other Study ID Numbers: 201601035RINA

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

• Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?: NO