New research
Deep brain stimulationDeep brain stimulation is a new therapy for patients with Tourette syndrome. Since 1999, more than 100 patients have undergone DBS to attempt to deter the symptosms of Tourette syndrome. Clinical trials are still undergoing. (14)
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The genetics of tourette'sIn a prior phase of this research, the TSA (Tourette Syndrome Association) completed two linkage studies which point to a region in the genome that might contain a susceptibility gene for Tourette's. In the current phase of research, additional mapping is planned to further pinpoint the location of this gene, and new families are being collected in order to replicate the prior finding. (16)
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Stuttering &TicsTo establish any relationship, researchers looked at tics in people with TS, and people who stutter, and have found that tics are present in both groups. They also found that some people with TS had impaired speech in tasks like reading, that were similar to those that were seen in people who stutter. About 50% of the TS group had impaired fluency of speech and about 50% of the group of people who stuttered showed tics, which shows that there were crossovers of the disorders symptoms in some of the participants. (18)
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Kendall Lee, M.D., describes deep brain stimulation surgery, and how it is is performed with patients who remain awake, so doctors can get feed-back from patients. (20)
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In 2010, Yale researchers showed that a family with nine members suffering from Tourette’s carried a mutation in a gene called HDC, that disrupts the production of histamine. The new work demonstrates that this mutation causes the disorder. (21)
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