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Adrenergic α2A receptor gene is not associated with methylphenidate response in adults with ADHD

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Abstract

Adrenergic α2A receptor gene (ADRA2A) is one of the most promising candidate genes for ADHD pharmacogenetics. Thus far, three studies have investigated the association between the ADRA2A −1291 C>G polymorphism and the therapeutic response to methylphenidate (MPH) in children with ADHD, all of them with positive results. The aim of this study is to investigate, for the first time, the association between three ADRA2A polymorphisms (−1291 C>G, −262 G>A, and 1780 C>T) and the response to MPH in adults with ADHD. The sample comprises 165 Brazilians of European descent evaluated in the adult ADHD outpatient clinic of the Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre. The diagnostic procedures followed the DSM-IV criteria. Drug response was assessed by both categorical and dimensional approaches, through the scales Swanson, Nolan, and Pelham Rating scale version IV and the Clinical Global Impression-Severity Scale, applied at the beginning and after the 30th day of treatment. We found no evidence of association between the three ADRA2A polymorphisms and the therapeutic response to MPH treatment. Our findings do not support a significant role for the ADRA2A gene in ADHD pharmacogenetics, at least among adult patients.

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Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to Felipe A. Picon, Paula O. G. da Silva, Katiane Silva, Nyvia O. Sousa and Rafael S. Giordani for help in the sample collection of ADHD patients and to Francine Z. Marques for part of the laboratory analysis. Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq, Brazil), Instituto do Milênio (CNPq), FIPE-HCPA, Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio Grande do Sul (FAPERGS), DECIT/SCTIE/MS/PPSUS and PRONEX funded this study.

Conflicts of interest

The ADHD Program received educational and research support from the following pharmaceutical companies in the last 3 years: Abbott, Bristol-Myers Squibb, Eli-Lilly, Janssen-Cilag, and Novartis. Dr Belmonte-de-Abreu is on the speaker’s bureau or is a consultant for Janssen-Cilag and Bristol-Myers Squibb. Dr Grevet is on the speaker’s bureau or is a consultant for Novartis and Janssen-Cilag.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departament of Genetics, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS), Caixa Postal 15053, CEP 91501-970, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Verônica Contini, Caio C. S. Cerqueira, Evelise R. Polina & Claiton H. D. Bau

  2. Adult ADHD Outpatient Clinic, Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Marcelo M. Victor, Eugênio H. Grevet, Carlos A. I. Salgado, Rafael G. Karam, Eduardo S. Vitola, Paulo Belmonte-de-Abreu & Claiton H. D. Bau

  3. Departament of Psychiatry, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Paulo Belmonte-de-Abreu

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  1. Verônica Contini
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  2. Marcelo M. Victor
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  3. Caio C. S. Cerqueira
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Correspondence to Claiton H. D. Bau.

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Contini, V., Victor, M.M., Cerqueira, C.C.S. et al. Adrenergic α2A receptor gene is not associated with methylphenidate response in adults with ADHD. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 261, 205–211 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-010-0172-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00406-010-0172-4

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