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A preliminary study of the frequency of anti-basal ganglia antibodies and streptococcal infection in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder

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Abstract

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is often present in patients with post-streptococcal neuropsychiatric disorders such as Sydenham’s chorea and PANDAS, in which anti-basal ganglia antibodies (ABGA) have been frequently found. Our study investigates the hypothesis that pharyngeal group A β-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS) infections and serum ABGA are more frequent in children with ADHD non-comorbid (nc-ADHD) with obsessive-compulsive disorder or tics than in controls. We compared 22 children with nc-ADHD (DSM-IV-TR) and 22 healthy controls matched by age, gender and season of sample collection, for the frequency of recent GABHS infection and the presence of ABGA. Eleven out of 22 children (51%) with nc-ADHD showed evidence of GABHS infection compared to three out of 22 (14%) controls (P = 0.007). We found positive ABGA in one ADHD subject (4%) and in one control (4%). This preliminary study indicates that frequency of ABGA in children with nc-ADHD does not differ from that in matched controls, despite the fact that our ADHD patients had had more recent GABHS infections than the controls. This suggests that ABGA do not have a role in the pathogenesis of nc-ADHD.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Public Health Research Fund (FIS), Institute of Health Carlos III, Ministry of Health, Spain; and by the Research Plan of the University of Navarra (PIUNA).

We thank Begoña Fernandez for laboratory technical support and David Burdon for English proofreading.

Conflict of interest statement

None of the authors have a conflict of interest, financial or otherwise, directly or indirectly related to this work.

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Author notes

  1. Pablo Villoslada

    Present address: Department of Neuroscience, Institut d’Investigacions Biomedicas August Pi I Sunyer (IDIBAPS), Hospital Clinic, Barcelona, Spain

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Pediatric Neurology Unit, Department of Paediatrics, University Hospital, University of Navarra, Av. Pio XII, 36, 31080, Pamplona, Spain

    Rocio Sanchez-Carpintero, Sergio Aguilera Albesa, Nerea Crespo & Juan Narbona

  2. Neuroimmunology Laboratory, Centre for Applied Medical Research (CIMA), University of Navarra, Pamplona, Spain

    Pablo Villoslada

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  1. Rocio Sanchez-Carpintero
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Correspondence to Rocio Sanchez-Carpintero.

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Sanchez-Carpintero, R., Albesa, S.A., Crespo, N. et al. A preliminary study of the frequency of anti-basal ganglia antibodies and streptococcal infection in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder. J Neurol 256, 1103–1108 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-009-5076-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00415-009-5076-8

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