Amen classification

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The Amen classification is a new guideline for classifying psychiatric patients into particular groups of ADHD created by Dr. Daniel Amen of the University of California, Irvine School of Medicine. The Amen classification system defines six different subtypes of ADHD. These subtypes were created using SPECT imaging on patients who were known to have ADHD. Dr. Amen argues that differences seen in the imaging for sufferers of ADHD correspond to the new classification system he has created. Amen has since set up a chain of Amen clinics which use SPECT imaging to test patients for ADHD and according subtype under the Amen system. A comprehensive evaluation costs $3,250 with follow-up scans costing $750.[1] Dr. Amen has also published a line of books on his classification system.[2] Other research has shown that SPECT imaging is unreliable in differentiating between confirmed cases of ADHD and patients who did not, because of this the use of SPECT for ADHD diagnosis has not been accepted by the U.S. medical community. [3] The creators of the Amen classification system intend it to supplant that used by the DSM IV manual of disorders.

The Amen classification consists of the following ADHD subtypes:

Type I - Classic ADD (ADHD)

Type II - Inattentive ADD

Type III - Over-Focused ADD

Type IV - Temporal Lobe ADD

Type V - Limbic ADD

Type VI - "Ring of fire" ADD

note: a patient can have a range from none to all subtypes of ADHD under the Amen system.