London

PROUD: Pilot study on prevention of low mood & weight problems in young adults with ADHD

Researchers for the study of Comorbid Conditions in ADHD (CoCA) at King’s College London are looking for adolescents and young adults aged between 14 to 30 years, who have a current diagnosis of ADHD and are on stable treatment for ADHD (i.e. medical or non-medical, or no active treatment at all), to take part in a new research study investigating the use of exercise and bright light therapy to improve low mood, weight problems and general health. Participation involves one of the following 10-week interventions as well as five visits to their research centre in south London for a number of physical and mental health assessments.

(1) Exercise programme – to evaluate the effects of exercise
(2) Bright light therapy – to evaluate the effects of bright light
(3) Treatment as usual – to provide a control group with no additional interventions.

Participant requirements:
1. Diagnosis of ADHD
2. Stable treatment as usual
3.Age 14-30 years old
4. No diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder, bipolar disorder, or any other severe psychiatric disorder requiring inpatient treatment
5. No severe medical or neurological condition not allowing bright light therapy or physical exercise
6. No history of epilepsy

Travel arrangements:
They will help make the travel arrangements as convenient as possible and will reimburse all of your travel expenses. They will also provide a reimbursement of £200 for your time and effort, which will be paid in instalments for each of the five appointments attended.

Background Information:

This particular project is one part of a large international & collaborative ADHD research project (launched in April 2016) called “Comorbid Conditions of Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (CoCA)”. The aim of CoCA is to understand how and why ADHD often occurs alongside other physical and mental health problems, including anxiety, depression, substance use disorders and obesity. King’s College London’s Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience (IoPPN) is one of 17 institutions across nine countries to receive funding for this project.

Through CoCA, the researchers hope to raise awareness of ADHD, reduce the stigma associated with ADHD, and empower prevention and therapy approaches as well as providing new tools to prevent ADHD from escalating into additional disorders.

How to get involved:

For further information as well as contact details please click on the following links:

1. PROUD information & consent form

2. PROUD recruitment

3. PROUD Letters of invitation – adults version

4. PROUD recruitment poster

5. News release (12/04/2016): Researchers launch international ADHD project

Research Project at the Institute of Psychiatry, Kings College London

The Departments of Child Psychiatry and Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Science at the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King’s College London, are looking for right-handed male volunteers with ADHD between 18-35 years of age to participate in a research project.

The project is studying areas that may cause difficulties for some people with ADHD, such as attention, timing and decision-making. This is not a treatment trial and participation in this project won’t help you directly. However, they hope that this project will help them better understand these difficulties and develop ways of helping people with ADHD who may have problems in some of these areas. For further details please UKAAN here: https://www.ukaan.org/research-by-ukaan-members.htm

If you have any questions, please contact Dr Clodagh Murphy at the IoPPN: clodagh.m.murphy@kcl.ac.uk,

or call 0207 848 0984.

ADHD – Mind, Brain and Body

The UK Adult ADHD Network (UKAAN) will host its 4^th Congress in September 2014, entitled ADHD – Mind, Brain and Body, in conjunction with ENAA and APSARD. The conference will take place over 3 days, at the Mermaid Conference and Events Centre which is situated between the City and the West End in London. Located on the North Bank of the Thames, it enjoys spectacular views towards the Tate Modern, the Globe theatre and the Millennium Bridge. The theatre will accommodate 600 people, and there will also be opportunities to attend parallel sessions throughout the event.

The conference will bring together internationally recognised experts in the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD across the lifespan and highlight basic science and clinical research that contributes to our current understanding of ADHD as a lifespan disorder. Clinical services for ADHD during the transition years from adolescence to adulthood and for those newly diagnosed as adults are developing rapidly throughout many parts of Europe. The conference will build on this growing expertise by providing a uniquely European perspective that highlights the full range of functional, cognitive and mental health impairments, the impact that ADHD has on adolescent and adult mental health and the contribution to adolescent and adult psychopathology. This meeting will address important clinical and scientific questions relating to ADHD and will be relevant to anyone interested in the mental health of people from the adolescent years through to early, middle and later adult life.

This meeting aims to raise the level of awareness and knowledge among health care professionals about people with ADHD as they grow older; and to provide a better understanding of the causal pathways involved in the persistence of the disorder and the development of important clinical comorbidities. The program will be delivered by prominent opinion leaders, clinical experts and internationally recognised investigators and is designed to cover key topics relevant to the diagnosis and treatment of ADHD during the critical period from adolescence to adulthood. The selection of speakers is particular important so that the audience can hear directly from the most experienced professionals working in this rapidly developing area of clinical psychiatry.

The UK Adult ADHD Network (UKAAN) was established in March 2009 to provide support, education, research and training for mental health professionals working with adults with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). UKAAN was founded by a group of experienced mental health specialists who run clinical services for adults with ADHD within the National Health Service.

More information about the 4th Congress, and registration details are available on UKAAN’s website here.

Close to an Act: how did the Health and Social Care Bill get passed?

AADD-UK has received permission from Mike Birtwistle, Head of MHP Health, to reproduce his analysis as to how the Health and Social Care Bill is now set to become an Act, barring any last-minute dramatic revelations. We asked for Mike’s permission because his analysis helps us to understand how these reforms might impact our access to assessments, diagnosis, and treatment for ADHD, and also helps us to figure out how we can address impacts resulting from these reforms.

Close to an Act: how did the Health and Social Care Bill get passed?

Submitted by Mike Birtwistle on 20-03-2012

It’s all over, bar some (more) shouting. The Health and Social Care Bill is nearly law but, after hundreds of hours of debate, thousands of amendments and countless controversies, what will it actually mean? And how on earth did it ever get passed?

Theoretically the Queen could decline to give Royal Assent to the Bill, as Unite suggested last week. However, barring any constitutional outrages or last minute shocks in the Commons, it will become an Act. And the Health and Social Care Act will represent one of the longest and most complex items of health legislation ever known. That it passed through a hung Parliament, in the teeth of such controversy is no small feat.

For better or worse, the Act will represent one of the most profound pieces of reforming legislation ever (alongside the Attlee reforms of the 1940s and some of the market reforms of the last Conservative Government). I believe all three sets of reforms have problems, but the scope of their impact and ambition is undeniable. Continue reading →

ADHD: Transition from Adolescence to Adulthood

The UK Adult ADHD Network (UKAAN) will hold the 3^rd Congress on the 29^th June 2012. The theme will be ‘Transition of ADHD from Adolescence to Adulthood’. The conference will be located in Central London at Savoy Place, 2 Savoy Place, City of London WC2R 0BL

The congress aims to bring important topics on transition in ADHD to a wider audience. The scientific program will include five main sessions, with a panel and audience discussion

Clinical services for ADHD during the transition years from adolescence to adulthood and for those newly diagnosed as adults are developing rapidly. This meeting will address important clinical and scientific questions relating to ADHD and will be relevant to anyone interested in the mental health of people from the adolescent years through to early, middle and later adult life.

For more information and registration details for this important conference please go to the UKAAN website.

1st International Congress for the European Network Adult ADHD

22nd – 23rd September 2011

Location: Central London