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RESEARCHERS STUDY CHILDREN AT RISK FOR TOURETTE SYNDROME

Excerpts from Washington University School of Medicine, Office of Public Affairs by Jim Dryden, posted March 15, 2011

Neuroscientists at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis are using sophisticated imaging, neuropsychological testing and clinical evaluations to study children who may be at risk for Tourette Syndrome (TS) due to the onset of motor and/or vocal tics.

“As many as 20 to 30 percent of children develop tics at some time in their life, and typically, these tics disappear in a few months,” says Kevin J. Black, MD, professor of psychiatry, of neurology, of neurobiology and of radiology. “But for about 3 percent of children, those new tics represent the beginnings of either Tourette Syndrome or a condition known as Chronic Tic Disorder.”

Movies, television shows and other popular media presentations tend to portray people with TS as whooping, shuddering or cursing uncontrollably, but the syndrome often is much more subtle, according to Black. More common tics include head shaking, excessive blinking and repeated sniffing.

When a child develops tics, doctors typically advise parents not to worry since the tics likely will go away, according to Black. But why most tics disappear while others remain is not well understood, so Black and postdoctoral research associate Deanna Greene, PhD, are studying children who recently have developed tics.

“By comparing what we find in those whose tics persist with those whose tics remit, we hope to identify biomarkers that help predict whether recent-onset tics are likely to go away or to persist and develop into Tourette’s,” Black says.

To enroll in the study, children cannot have had tics for more than six months. Because other studies have suggested that certain clinical measures can predict poor long-term outcomes in children with tics, the research team will do clinical testing, IQ testing and measure the child’s manual dexterity and current symptom severity.

The study is supported by grants from the National Institute of Mental Health and the Tourette Syndrome Association.

For more information, call study coordinator Mary Creech at (314) 362-7651, or e-mail MaryC@npg.wustl.edu. Further information about the study can be found at http://www.NewTics.org.

Dr. Kevin Black is available to see new patients for Tourette and other movement disorders only.

View this article in its entirety at http://news.wustl.edu/news/Pages/21688.aspx
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