Unaltered Dopamine Transporter Availability in Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Abstract
The authors examined whether patients with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) have altered striatal dopamine transporter levels, which may explain psychostimulant effects in this disorder. Single photon emission computed tomography and [(123)I]2beta-carbomethoxy-3beta-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([(123)I]beta-CIT) were used to assess dopamine transporter availability in nine adult patients with ADHD (eight of whom were stimulant naive) and nine age- and gender-matched healthy comparison subjects. Striatal [(123)I]beta-CIT binding did not differ significantly between the ADHD and comparison subjects. The findings suggest that a hypothesized dysregulation of dopamine function in ADHD does not entail altered dopamine transporter levels.