Unaltered Dopamine Transporter Availability in Adult Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

OBJECTIVE: 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. METHOD: Single photon emission computed tomography and [¹²³I]2β-carbomethoxy-3β-(4-iodophenyl)tropane ([¹²³I]β-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. RESULTS: Striatal [¹²³I]β-CIT binding did not differ significantly between the ADHD and comparison subjects. CONCLUSIONS: The findings suggest that a hypothesized dysregulation of dopamine function in ADHD does not entail altered dopamine transporter levels.