Conditions: ADHD
Keywords: ADHD executive function emotional self-regulation
Allocation: RANDOMIZED | Intervention model: PARALLEL
Enrollment: 3
Healthy volunteers: no

Brief summary:
The investigators are proposing to test a medication derived from our prior studies of the gene SLC9A9. This one gene makes NHE proteins that control how we learn and remember items, which is impaired in ADHD and may cause an inability to plan, prioritize, self-monitor,inhibit, initiate, self-correct, or control one's behavior. The investigators now propose to investigate the therapeutic utility of an NHE inhibitor, amiloride hydrochloride, for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in medication-naïve adults with ADHD.

Detailed description:
Our specific aims and hypotheses are as follows:

Primary Aim: Assess the efficacy and adverse effects of amiloride in medication naive ADHD adults in a placebo controlled study. Hypothesis 1: Amiloride will reduce scores on our primary outcome measure, the Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder Investigator Symptom Rating Scale (AISRS) and on our secondary outcome, the ADHD specific Clinical Global Impressions (CGI) improvement scale. Hypothesis 2: Amiloride will be well tolerated and will have few side effects in adults with ADHD.

Exploratory Aim 2: Assess effects of amiloride on ADHD-associated clinical features. We will also assess, in an exploratory manner, the effect of amiloride on two clinical features that are not well treated by current ADHD medications: deficits in emotional self-regulation (DESR) and executive function deficit (EFD). Hypothesis 3 predicts that amiloride treatment will reduce symptoms of DESR and of EFD.

We will recruit 40 adults who are diagnosed with ADHD in a double blind placebo controlled study. 20 subjects will receive amiloride hydrochloride and 20 subjects will receive placebo for 8 weeks. Participation in the study requires subjects to meet with the physician for a screening visit, baseline visit and 8 additional weekly visits.

Arms:
arm 1: Drug: Subjects will take 5mg qd Amiloride for 2 weeks, 10mg qd Amiloride for 3 weeks, 15 mg qd Amiloride for 3 weeks.

Behavioral: Each week subjects will complete the AISRS, BRIEF-A, and CGI. arm 2: Drug: Subjects will take placebo for 8 weeks Behavioral: Each week subjects will complete questionnaires: AISRS, BRIEF-A, and CGI

Interventions: intervention 1: amiloride intervention 2: Behavioral
Intervention descriptions: intervention 1: Subjects will take either amiloride hydrochloride or placebo for 8 weeks. intervention 2: Each week of the study, subjects will complete the AISRS, BRIEF-A, and CGI to measure symptom improvement

Protocol document: