Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder is one of the most common problems among children today. At first, the problem wasn't linked to the human genome, but after extensive research, the disorder was targeted there. The next step was finding which gene was the key contributor to the disorder. Since there are about 35 thousand genes in the human genome, a new problem had risen. Therefore, the targeting of which gene(s) proved to be a difficult task. UCLA scientists were among the first people to narrow down which area the gene was located in. With this, a giant step has been taken in the understanding of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, better known as ADHD. .
ADHD is a very common disease in children and it seems to be on the rise. This disorder affects about 10 percent of the youth today. It is way more prevalent in boys than it is in girls. About three times as many boys have ADHD than girls do. Most of the symptoms are present when it comes to schoolwork. The child lacks good attention skills and therefore the child's education seems hindered. The disorder also causes the child to be quite hyper. This also has contributes to poor schoolwork. The process is not good with ADHD. There is a lack of attention and the tendency to be hyper, which is a viscous cycle in some cases. There are some medications that are out to help the situation. However, no real solution has arrived. Scientists have discovered that the disorder is about 70 to 80 percent genetic and the rest is a result of the surroundings of the individual. This is good to know because with the rise of genetic science, this disorder could be solved within the next decade or so. .
The region in which the gene lies is in the sixteenth chromosome. Scientists estimate that about 30 percent of ADHD lies within this region. The region is also being looked at in the cause of autism, which is another common disorder.