No evidence for association between a functional promoter variant of the Norepinephrine Transporter gene SLC6A2 and ADHD in a family-based sample.

Noradrenergic neurotransmission influences executive functions, attentional performance, and general alertness, involving neuronal networks affected in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The norepinephrine transporter facilitates the reuptake of norepinephrine and dopamine in the prefrontal cortex and represents the main target of atomoxetine, an effective drug in the treatment of ADHD. Due to its influence on catecholaminergic signaling, variants of the coding gene (SLC6A2) have been widely investigated in ADHD. Several previous studies report an association between single nucleotide polymorphisms located in SLC6A2 and ADHD; however, the findings are inconsistent. The variant A-3081T (rs28386840) has been shown to have major influence on the expression levels of SLC6A2 due to sequence alteration at a repressor binding site, with the T-allele being associated with ADHD. We tested this potential association of A-3081T in a German family-based ADHD sample of 235 children from 162 families, which has a power >99% based on the previously reported odds ratios. There was no evidence for an overtransmission of the risk allele T (transmission rate: 48.5%, P = 0.55). We conclude that A-3081T is not a major risk variant in our ADHD sample, though SLC6A2 remains an interesting candidate gene in ADHD, especially for the inattentive subtype.

Health campaign channels: tradeoffs among reach, specificity, and impact.

PIP: Stanford University's Five-City Multifactor Risk Reduction Project (FCP) was a 14-year trial of community-wide cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk reduction through integrated programs of community organization and mass media health promotion. The project was launched in 1978 in 5 central California cities, including Monterey, Salinas, Modesto, and San Luis Obispo. TV public service announcements (PSAs), TV shows, booklets, printed tip sheets with brief health suggestions on 7 topics, and newspaper coverage were the types of mass media approaches used in the FCP. These strategies are compared with regard to reach, specificity, and impact for a 5-year study period from 1979/80. Reach is measured as the number of messages intervention community residents remembered, specificity was assessed by examining whether the campaign differentially reached people who were already knowledgeable and practicing cardiovascular disease risk reduction, and impact is defined as the amount of knowledge gained during the course of the campaign. Reach was highest for tip sheets, while specificity was highest for booklets followed by TV programs. Newspaper messages had the most impact, followed by booklets and TV PSAs, tip sheets, and TV programs. Communication channels varied according to reach, specificity, and impact, with each criterion being distinct. No channel was optimal for all 3 of the outcome measures.^ieng