Søren Dinesen Østergaard from Aarhus University and Aarhus University Hospital has received DKK 2.1 million from the Lundbeck Foundation. Søren Dinesen Østergaard will use the grant to examine the correlation between heredity factors and the environment in relation to the risk of developing ADHD.

2014.05.27 | Anders Corydon Frederiksen

MD Søren Dinesen Østergaard from Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and

ADHD is a psychological disorder which affects approx. five percent of all Danish children. The dominant symptoms of ADHD are hyperactivity, inattention and impulsivity. The disease gives rise to serious problems for the children, their families and society in general.

A new project funded by the Lundbeck Foundation and led by Søren Dinesen Østergaard will examine the background for the development of ADHD.

”The causes of ADHD are virtually undetermined, though previous studies have suggested that both heredity factors and the social environment probably each play a role. My team and I will now investigate whether the development of ADHD can be explained by the interaction between heredity factors and the social environment,” says Søren Dinesen Østergaard.

The research project will be based on both human and animal studies. The human studies are based on data from the Lundbeck Foundation’s initiative for Integrated Psychiatric Research (iPSYCH), while the animal studies are based on a mouse species with features that are distinctly to ADHD, as documented by the Lundbeck Foundation’s research centre MIND from Aarhus University.

”The data basis provides our research group with a completely unique opportunity to examine the correlation between heredity factors and the social environment in the development of ADHD. We clearly expect the results to contribute to a better understanding of the disease and in the long term they will hopefully lead to improved diagnostics and better medical, environmental and therapeutic treatment,” explains Søren Dinesen Østergaard.

The research project will be carried out in collaboration with colleagues from iPSYCH, the Lundbeck Foundation’s research centre MIND, and the Broad Institute of Harvard and MIT.

Further information

MD Søren Dinesen Østergaard
Aarhus University, Department of Clinical Medicine and
Aarhus University Hospital, Risskov - Research Department P
Tel.: +45 6128 2753
Email: soeoes@rm.dk