The attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the
most frequent neuropsychiatric disorders commonly diagnosed in
children and adolescents. Its worldwide prevalence is of 5.29% and
is defined by persistent symptoms of inattention, hyperactivity and
impulsivity Although ADHD has been established as a disorder acquired during
childhood , longitudinal follow-up studies reported that ADHD symptoms diagnosed during infancy could persist into adulthood with
a margin that exceeds 60%
For this psychiatric disease, methylphenidate (MPH) is the main
psychostimulant drug prescribed to children and adolescents to treat
ADHD . It acts by blocking the dopamine (DA) and noradrenaline
(NA) transporters , although it is suggested that the therapeutic
effect of MPH is mainly due to the DA transporter blockade .
Some studies have evidenced the DA role on the pre-pubertal maturation
stages in different vertebrate species . It is known that
early exposure to MPH could lead to long-lasting alterations in brain
DA pathways and natural reward systems , which are related to
sexual behavior performance . In this sense, impairment of sexual
behavior performance was demonstrated in adult rats treated with
MPH during adolescence , and alterations on hormonal profile
and spermatogenesis were observed shortly after drug
discontinuation.