Gene Expressions Associated with Neurotransmitter Metabolism in Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Objective: To investigate the expression levels of genes (SLC6A3, SLC6A4, SLC1A2, SLC18A2, MAOA, COMT, GLYAT, GRM5, DRD4, TPH1, and ADRA2C) associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) by pre and post-treatment with methylphenidate to see if they may serve as biomarkers in the etiopathogenesis of diseases. Materials and Methods : Thirty-five ADHD-diagnosed children and 38 healthy controls were included and divided three groups as control, pre-treatment and post-treatment group. After the isolation of mRNA from peripheral blood samples of participants, qPCR was performed using cDNA obtained from mRNA via reverse transcription method. Result: Elevated SLC6A3 and decreased SLC6A4, SLC1A2, SLC18A2, ADRA2C, MAOA, COMT, GLYAT, DRD4 and TPH1 genes' expression levels of childiren with ADHD were detected (p