ADHD may lead to dementia, researchers claim

Adults who exhibit symptoms of ADHD are more than three times as likely to develop dementia in later life, according to a study.

Research, published in the European Journal of Neurology, found a higher risk of dementia with Lewy bodies in those who had experienced symptoms of adult ADHD.

Symptoms of Lewy body dementia (LBD) include cognitive impairment with fluctuating symptoms as well as visual hallucinations and motor problems similar to those seen in individuals with Parkinson's disease.

Angel Golimstok at the Hospital Italiano Buenos Aires, who led the research, told WebMD that this research brings up the question of whether ADHD treatment could prevent the development of further degenerative diseases.

"Our hypothesis is that ADHD could be the clinical result of the first step in these pathway disorders, and after a long time, this problem degenerates to a more severe pathology with structural changes in the brain, as Lewy Body Dementia is," he said.

This comes after the Alzheimer's Research Trust called for more research to be done into understanding the cause of dementia.

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