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We present an ancient Greek description written by the philosopher Theophrastus in his classic book 'Characters' comparable with modern attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The arguments are based in one chapter of this book--The Obtuse Man--presenting features of a character closely resembling the modern description of attentiondeficit hyperactivity disorder. In a free comparative exercise, we compared Theophrastus descriptions with modern Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (5th ed.; DSM-5) attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder symptoms. The sentences describing The Obtuse Man written by Theophrastus are similar to several symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and he would probably be currently diagnosed with this disorder as an adult. To our knowledge, this is the oldest description compatible with the current conception of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder in adults in the Western literature. Differently than the moralistic view of ancient Greece regarding those symptoms, the medical attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder conception may be advantageous to patients since it might reduce prejudice and allow individuals to seek treatment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: The consideration of age of onset of impairment as part of the ADHD diagnosis is controversial and has been a revisited issue with the emergence of the new classifications in Psychiatry. The aim of this study is to compare patients with early and late onset of ADHD impairment in terms of neuropsychological and personality characteristics. Adult patients with ADHD (n = 415) were evaluated in the ADHD outpatient program at Hospital de Clínicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil. The diagnostic process for ADHD and comorbidities was based on DSM-IV criteria. The comparison between the two ages of onset groups (before 7; n = 209 or from 7 to 12 years; n = 206) was performed with ANOVA, followed by Stepwise forward regression analyses to restrict the number of comparisons and access the possible effect of multiple confounders. Patients with early onset ADHD present higher scores in novelty seeking in both analyses (respectively P = 0.016 and P = 0.002), but similar cognitive and attention features as compared with the late onset group. These data add to previous evidence that despite a more externalizing profile of early onset ADHD, the overall performance is similar reinforcing the need for awareness and inclusion of the late onset group in DSM-V diagnostic criteria. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]