ADHD is very common in today’s society. This affliction has symptoms such as impulsiveness, hyperactivity, and inattentiveness among others. If a child goes undiagnosed, this disorder often gets wrongfully diagnosed as a disability of learning, or problems with mood or behavioral disorders. A child needs to receive a proper diagnose through a series of tests. ADHD must be confirmed so the child can lead a more normal life.
If ADHD goes undiagnosed, the person will most likely suffer as he becomes an adult. Many times it is difficult to diagnose because the person my exhibit only one of the symptoms. ADHD may stay hidden and cause problems that people will blame on other causes. I have a list of symptoms that are common in people with ADHD. Many times symptoms get confused and the disorder doesn’t get properly diagnosed. If the person exhibits several symptoms, the individual maybe diagnosed as having ADHD. The list includes:
- Can’t pay attention
- Won’t follow instructions
- Has trouble organizing
- Forgetful
- Hard to stay quiet
- Will not listen
- Doesn’t like any work that requires consistent mental effort
- Distracts easily
- Can’t stay still for instance he fidgets or squirms
- Acts impulsively
Causes of ADHD
We don’t exactly know how ADHD develops. Genes may play into the development. The environment may have something to do with it. Drinking or smoking while pregnant seems to be prevalent in mothers who have children with ADHD. The disorder seems to begin when the child is young. The pathways of neurotransmitters might somehow malfunction which may be a cause of ADHD. One theory involves Dopamine receptors. One good study shows subjects with ADHD have fluctuations of
Dopamine’s gene (DRD4). Additional studies show adults who have ADHD have dopamine systems that are “sluggish”. This explains why stimulants help ADHD patients such as Ritalin or Adderall.
ADHD treatment with nootropics
Most people don’t want to treat children or themselves with stimulants for ADHD. Most stimulant drugs are addictive and unhealthy which can cause many side effects. We are not contradicting doctor’s advice. We are just suggesting alternatives.
- Piracetam- Studies have documented treatment for ADHD with this nootropic. It showed 80 children who had been diagnosed with ADHD and treated them. 2 groups treated using Piracetam and one group was the control with no drug treatment. The results show the subjects who consumed the largest amount of the drug saw the best improvements. The improvement was 60% in that group. This shows Piracetam helps greatly with symptoms of ADHD.
It isn’t understood why more studies haven’t been conducted on how nootropics affect ADHD. There are stronger supplements than Piracetam, but no one has conducted any further testing. Noopept and Pramiracetam may prove to be helpful but there have been no studies to verify this thought. Sulbutiamine is another nootropic that has been shown to have an effect on D2 and D1 Dopamine receptors. There are definitely some experiments that need to be conducted on these supplements so people with ADHD can be helped. Not enough funding may be a big reason why there haven’t been sufficient studies. It seems like these nootropic drugs could possibly offer promising help for people afflicted with ADHD.
