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Background: There is a high need for evidence-based psychosocial treatments for adult attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to offer alongside treatment as usual (TAU). Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) is a promising psychosocial treatment. This trial investigated the efficacy of MBCT + TAU v. TAU in reducing core symptoms in adults with ADHD. Methods: A multicentre, single-blind, randomised controlled trial (ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT02463396). Participants were randomly assigned to MBCT + TAU (n = 60), an 8-weekly group therapy including meditation exercises, psychoeducation and group discussions, or TAU only (n = 60), which reflected usual treatment in the Netherlands and included pharmacotherapy and/or psychoeducation. Primary outcome was ADHD symptoms rated by blinded clinicians. Secondary outcomes included self-reported ADHD symptoms, executive functioning, mindfulness skills, self-compassion, positive mental health and general functioning. Outcomes were assessed at baseline, post-treatment, 3- and 6-month follow-up. Post-treatment effects at group and individual level, and follow-up effects were examined. Results: In MBCT + TAU patients, a significant reduction of clinician-rated ADHD symptoms was found at post-treatment [ M difference = −3.44 (−5.75, −1.11), p = 0.004, d = 0.41]. This effect was maintained until 6-month follow-up. More MBCT + TAU (27%) than TAU participants (4%) showed a ⩽30% reduction of ADHD symptoms (p = 0.001). MBCT + TAU patients compared with TAU patients also reported significant improvements in ADHD symptoms, mindfulness skills, self-compassion and positive mental health at post-treatment, which were maintained until 6-month follow-up. Although patients in MBCT + TAU compared with TAU reported no improvement in executive functioning at post-treatment, they did report improvement at 6-month follow-up. Conclusions: MBCT might be a valuable treatment option alongside TAU for adult ADHD aimed at alleviating symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Atomoxetine treatment is associated with improvements in functional outcomes in patients with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), although relationships between improvements in these outcomes and reductions in ADHD symptoms have not been comprehensively investigated in adults.Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess relationships between functional outcomes and ADHD symptoms (primary objective), and to assess time courses of changes in functional outcomes from baseline to weeks 10 and 24 (secondary objective).Methods: We analyzed data pooled from seven Eli Lilly-sponsored placebo-controlled trials of atomoxetine in adults with ADHD that had Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales-Investigator Rated: Screening Version (CAARS-Inv:SV) total scores and functional outcome data at baseline and at week 10. Two trials also had these data at week 24. Patients were included in these pooled analyses if they had a CAARS-Inv:SV total score at baseline and at one or more post-baseline visits at weeks 10 or 24, or had post-baseline scores that would allow missing scores at weeks 10 or 24 to be imputed. To address the primary objective, changes in functional outcomes during treatment with atomoxetine versus placebo were assessed using last observation carried forward (LOCF) analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) and mixed-effects model repeated measures (MMRM) analysis, and correlations between score changes in CAARS-Inv:SV total and functional outcomes were assessed using Spearman's rank correlation coefficient (r) at weeks 10 and 24. The secondary objective was addressed using MMRM.Results: At baseline, patients generally had moderately severe or worse ADHD symptoms (based on CAARS-Inv:SV total scores) and impaired functional outcomes (based on Adult ADHD Quality-of-Life [AAQoL], Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version [BRIEF-A], Sheehan Disability Scale [SDS], and 36-item Short-Form Health Survey [SF-36] scores). These baseline characteristics were comparable in the atomoxetine and placebo groups. For atomoxetine versus placebo, statistically significant improvements were detected in AAQoL total and subscores at weeks 10 and 24, and in BRIEF-A Self-Report scores at week 10, but not in BRIEF-A Informant Report or SDS scores at week 10 (no BRIEF-A or SDS data were available at week 24), and not in SF-36 at weeks 10 or 24. All functional improvements were gradual. During treatment with atomoxetine, there were moderate correlations between reductions in CAARS-Inv:SV total scores and increases in AAQoL total and subscores at weeks 10 and 24 (r range -0.58 to -0.39; n = 394-545), and also with reductions in BRIEF-A Self-Report at week 10 (r = 0.49; n = 256). With placebo, moderate correlations were also found between reductions in CAARS-Inv:SV total scores and increases in AAQoL total and subscores at weeks 10 and 24 (r range -0.56 to -0.28; n = 321-542), and with reductions in BRIEF-A Self-Report at week 10 (r = 0.49; n = 271). However, correlations between changes in CAARS-Inv:SV and BRIEF-A Informant at week 10 were low for atomoxetine-treated patients (r = 0.25; n = 65), moderate with placebo (r = 0.42; n = 72), and there were low/no correlations between changes in CAARS-Inv:SV and functional outcome rating scales that are not specific to ADHD; that is, for atomoxetine-treated patients, SDS total r = 0.19 (n = 32 at week 10) and SF-36 r range - 0.20 to -0.01 (n = 51 at week 10, n = 183 at week 24).Conclusions: Atomoxetine-treated adult patients experienced improvements in functional outcomes (AAQoL and BRIEF-A Self-Report) that correlated with reductions in ADHD symptoms. Although atomoxetine improved both the ADHD symptoms and functional outcomes, the correlation between symptoms and functional outcomes was low to moderate, suggesting that they measure overlapping but different aspects of the disorder. Hence, clinicians should assess not just ADHD symptoms, but also the functional impairments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary caregivers experience consequences from being in close contact to a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study used the Involvement Evaluation Questionnaire to explore the level of consequences of 104 caregivers involved with adults with High Functioning ASD (HF-ASD) and compared these with the consequences reported by caregivers of patients suffering from depression and schizophrenia. Caregivers involved with adults with an HF-ASD experience overall consequences comparable to those involved with patients with depression or schizophrenia. Worrying was the most reported consequence. More tension was experienced by the caregivers of ASD patients, especially by spouses. More care and attention for spouses of adults with an HF-ASD appears to be needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigated processing of emotion words in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) using reaction times and event-related potentials (ERP). Adults with (n = 21) and without (n = 20) ASD performed a lexical decision task on emotion and neutral words while their brain activity was recorded. Both groups showed faster responses to emotion words compared to neutral, suggesting intact early processing of emotion in ASD. In the ERPs, the control group showed a typical late positive component (LPC) at 400-600 ms for emotion words compared to neutral, while the ASD group showed no LPC. The between-group difference in LPC amplitude was significant, suggesting that emotion words were processed differently by individuals with ASD, although their behavioral performance was similar to that of typical individuals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Highlights: [•] Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy (MBCT) suggests enacting comparable neurophysiological effects related to attention and self-regulation as pharmacological treatments for ADHD. [•] Enhanced error-positivity (Pe) amplitudes indexing error saliency/awareness were associated with ameliorated inattention symptoms. [•] Increased NoGo-P3 amplitude reflecting greater inhibitory control correlated with attenuated hyperactivity/impulsivity symptomatology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and borderline personality disorder (BPD) are frequently comorbid. To contribute to a better understanding of the associations regularly found between ADHD and BPD, on the one hand, and the developmental pathways for these disorders, on the other hand, latent class analyses (LCA) were undertaken to identify classes differing in profiles of childhood symptoms of ADHD and adult symptoms of ADHD and BPD. Diagnostic interviews with 103 female outpatients meeting the criteria for ADHD and/or BPD were used to assess current DSM-IV symptoms; childhood symptoms of ADHD were assessed in parent interviews. The latent classes were examined in relation to the DSM-IV conceptualizations of ADHD and BPD. And relations between childhood and adult classes were examined to hypothesize about developmental trajectories. LCA revealed an optimal solution with four distinct symptom profiles: only ADHD symptoms; BPD symptoms and only ADHD symptoms of hyperactivity; BPD symptoms and ADHD symptoms of inattention and hyperactivity; BPD symptoms and ADHD symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and impulsivity. All patients with BPD had some ADHD symptoms in both adulthood and childhood. Hyperactivity was least discriminative of adult classes. Adult hyperactivity was not always preceded by childhood hyperactivity; some cases of comorbid ADHD and BPD symptoms were not preceded by significant childhood ADHD symptoms; and some cases of predominantly BPD symptoms could be traced back to combined symptoms of ADHD in childhood. The results underline the importance of taking ADHD diagnoses into account with BPD. ADHD classification subtypes may not be permanent over time, and different developmental pathways to adult ADHD and BPD should therefore be investigated. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This study examined whether cognitive measures of response inhibition derived from the AX-CPT are able to differentiate between adult attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), borderline personality disorder (BPD), and healthy controls (HC). Current DSM-IV-TR symptoms of ADHD and BPD were assessed by structured diagnostic interviews, and parent developmental interviews were used to assess childhood ADHD symptoms. Patients (14 ADHD, 12 BPD, 7 ADHD and BPD, and 37 HC) performed the AX-CPT. Seventy percent of AX-CPT trials were target (AX) trials, creating a bias to respond with a target response to X probes in the nontarget (AY, BX, BY) trials. On BX trials, context, i.e. the non-‘A’ letter, must be used to inhibit this prepotent response tendency. On AY trials context actually causes individuals to false alarm. The effects of ADHD and BPD on AX-CPT outcome were tested using two-way ANOVA. BPD was associated with higher percentage of errors across the task and more errors and slower responses on BX trials, whereas ADHD was associated with slower responses on AY trials. The findings suggest response inhibition problems to be present in both ADHD and BPD, and patients with BPD to be particularly impaired due to poor context processing. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]