Hey, just found an interesting article referring to the clinical trials. It appears to be with adults. Not sure exactly and I have to dash away. Someone else needs the phone line.
Neurology Now: Volume 1(2) Summer 2005 pp 41,46
Unraveling the Mystery of Tourette Syndrome
[DEPARTMENTS: Clinical Trial Watch]
http://www.neurologynow.com/pt/re/ne...856144!8091!-1
Quote:
Dr. Hallett and Alicja Lerner, M.D., Ph.D., an NIH senior investigator, are currently seeking more volunteers like Reawood to participate in a series of imaging studies designed to learn more about GABA receptors in the brain. According to Dr. Hallett, previous research established that GABA receptors play a role in the tics that are the hallmark symptom of Tourette syndrome.
GABA is a neurotransmitter, or chemical messenger, whose natural function is to inhibit the activity of neurons, or nerve cells, to which it binds. Research suggests that GABA controls fear and anxiety that are experienced when neurons are overexcited. This may explain why anti-anxiety drugs such as Valium and Librium, which are benzodiazepines, bind to the same nerve cell receptors as GABA and enhance the calming effect of GABA. Drs. Hallet and Lerner are currently investigating the GABA benzodiazepine receptor. They hope to learn not only where GABA is in the brain but exactly what it is doing, Dr. Hallett says.
The two researchers are using two types of brain imaging studies - functional magnetic resonance imaging or fMRI and positron emission tomography commonly called PET. Functional MRI allows researchers to observe brain tissue and track brain activity when the subject responds to questions or images. Both MRI and PET imaging allow the researchers to record brain activity of tics while the volunteer is awake and PET studies can also be done while the volunteer is sleeping. These very high-tech brain-imaging techniques allow the researchers to determine the density of the GABA receptors and to learn ways in which GABA works to metabolize brain chemicals.
In the short term these studies help researchers and people with Tourette syndrome learn more about the physiology of the disorder. But the long-term goal - the brass ring in research - is development of a new therapy that could be tailored to target GABA receptors. We are looking for a specific abnormality in the receptors - or perhaps a loss of GABA receptors - that would explain tics, Dr. Hallett said.
|