Abstract
Eating simple sugars has been suggested as having adverse behavioral and cognitive effects in children with attention deficit disorder (ADD), but a physiologic mechanism has not been established. To address this issue, metabolic, hormonal, and cognitive responses to a standard oral glucose load (1.75 g/kg) were compared in 17 children with ADD and 11 control children. Baseline and oral glucose-stimulated plasma glucose and insulin levels were similar in both groups, including the nadir glucose level 3-5 h after oral glucose (3.5 ± 0.2 mmol/L in ADD and 3.3 ± 0.2 mmol/L in control children). The late glucose fall stimulated a rise in plasma epinephrine that was nearly 50% lower in ADD than in control children (1212 ± 202 pmol/L versus 2228 ± 436 pmol/L, p < 0.02). Plasma norepinephrine levels were also lower in ADD than in control children, whereas growth hormone and glucagon concentrations did not differ between the groups. Matching test scores were lower and reaction times faster in ADD than in control children before and after oral glucose, and both groups showed a deterioration on the continuous performance test in association with the late fall in glucose and rise in epinephrine. These data suggest that children with ADD have a general impairment of sympathetic activation involving adre-nomedullary as well as well as central catecholamine regulation.
Similar content being viewed by others
Article PDF
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Girardi, N., Shaywitz, S., Shaywitz, B. et al. Blunted Catecholamine Responses after Glucose Ingestion in Children with Attention Deficit Disorder. Pediatr Res 38, 539–542 (1995). https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199510000-00011
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1203/00006450-199510000-00011
This article is cited by
-
Virtual Reality-Based Attention Test Review: The Nesplora Aula
Journal of Pediatric Neuropsychology (2024)
-
Exercise impact on sustained attention of ADHD children, methylphenidate effects
ADHD Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorders (2010)
-
ADHD and nutritional supplements
Current Attention Disorders Reports (2009)