(NAPSA)—ADHD is the most. commonly diagnosed behavioral disorder in children and is the fastest growing psychiatric disorder in adults. Since 1990, the total numberof children diagnosed with Attention Deficit Disorder has risen from 900,000 to 5.5 million and the use of the stimulant Ritalin has increased 700 percent. With no biological test to date, ADHD is currently diagnosed according to a set of psychiatric behavioralcrite- ria, but this criteria is open to interpretation. A new biological test for ADHD looks to offer more accurate diagnosi: The lack of a clear-cut biological screening(test) for ADHD has sparkeda vigorous public debate. Fortunately, a biological diagnostic, Altropane, is currently being developed by Boston Life Sciences. This radio-imaging agent wasrecently foundto be successful in identifying people who had already been diagnosed with ADHD. It is able to measure the levels of Dopamine Transporters in the brain which are signifi- cantly higher in people with ADHD. “Trials have successfully demon- strated Altropane as an objective biological base to diagnose ADHD,” said Mare Lanser, MD,Chief Scientific Officer of Boston Life Sciences, developers of Altropane. “Ourtests clearly indicate that there is a biochemical abnormality in individu- als with symptoms of ADHD that Altropanecan detect and measure.” This diagnostic is currently in clinicaltrials.
