Samuele Cortese, MD, PhD: Precision Medicine Possible in ADHD

One of the biggest issues in psychiatry is many of the medications commonly prescribed do not work on everyone.

This principle is true for depression, anxiety, and attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

However, as researchers continue to learn more about different diseases and treatments, precision medicine could be on the way to cut down on some of the trial and error of prescribing psychiatric medicines.

Recently, in an article posted in the New England Journal of Medicine, Samuele Cortese, MD, PhD, Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Southampton, examined the safety and efficacy of medications currently being used to treat ADHD.

Cortese said in an interview with HCPLive® the review might be a step toward precision medicine because it will give clinicians a better idea of why a certain medication will work with a certain patient.

For ADHD, precision medicine might be particularly important as many patients are diagnosed at a very young age. In addition, in his review Cortese found the overall prevalence of ADHD medication use was significantly lower than the estimated prevalence of ADHD between 2001-2015.

Cortese said a better understanding of the medicine’s used in the disease space will have a major impact on treating patients.