Does hair zinc predict amphetamine improvement of ADD/hyperactivity?

Int J Neurosci. 1990 Jan;50(1-2):103-7. doi: 10.3109/00207459008987161.

Abstract

In 18 boys with ADHD (ages 6-12) in a balanced crossover design, parent and teacher hyperactivity rating differences between one month of dextroamphetamine and one month of placebo correlated significantly (p less than .05, 2 tailed) on Pearson's r with baseline hair zinc levels and nonsignificantly with 24-hour urinary zinc excretion. The signs of the correlations were such that a higher baseline zinc predicted a better placebo-controlled response to amphetamine. Patient baseline urinary zinc was significantly (p less than .02) lower than 7 normal controls. These findings are compatible with the possibility that some ADHD children may be mildly deficient in zinc and constitute poorer stimulant responders. Correlations of zinc levels with 24-hour urinary MHPG were in the expected direction but nonsignificantly by 2-tailed test.

MeSH terms

  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / drug therapy*
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / metabolism
  • Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / psychology
  • Catecholamines / urine
  • Child
  • Dextroamphetamine / therapeutic use*
  • Hair / chemistry*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol / urine
  • Prognosis
  • Zinc / analysis*
  • Zinc / urine

Substances

  • Catecholamines
  • Methoxyhydroxyphenylglycol
  • Zinc
  • Dextroamphetamine