Genetic Linkage Analysis in Developmental Stuttering: Gene Mapping in Extended Kindreds and Candidate Gene Analyses
Data Collection
Communication Disorders+6
+ Language Disorders
+ Nervous System Diseases
Summary
Study start date: October 1, 1996
Actual date on which the first participant was enrolled.Genetic studies in developmental stuttering are important for their potential in ultimately determining pathophysiological basis of this disorder. This study will combine two approaches to examine genetic aspects of stuttering, linkage in families, and candidate gene analysis. Linkage studies will be completed using adult individuals who are diagnosed as persons who stutter and those who can be judged as never having stuttered from one or more families with large numbers of affected individuals within several generations. Candidate gene analyses will also be carried out in adults who stutter to determine if the frequency of polymorphisms for certain neurotransmitter receptors and enzymes differ from control populations. In addition, given the heterogeneity of the population of adults who stutter, other phenotypic probes such as motor skills, language skills, neuropsychological abilities and psychological responses to stuttering will also be assessed in order to identify subgroups in which the phenotype expression of the gene may differ.
Protocol
This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.500 patients to be enrolled
Total number of participants that the clinical trial aims to recruit.Eligibility
Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria: person's general health condition or prior treatments.Any sex
Biological sex of participants that are eligible to enroll.Healthy volunteers not allowed
If individuals who are healthy and do not have the condition being studied can participate.Conditions
Pathology
Criteria
INCLUSION CRITERIA: Subjects must be over the age of 5 and under the age of 90. Subjects must be in general good health, without evidence of chronic medical illness. Onset of stuttering in affected individuals must have occurred in childhood (between 3 and 10 years of age), unrelated to psychological or neurological trauma. Subjects will not be tested for the presence of HIV antibodies. Persons with positive HIV antibodies will not be excluded, unless they are taking medication which may change their performance on tasks used for phenotypic assignment. Subjects will be screened for history of psychiatric illness, such as depression, anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorders according to DSM-IV criteria. A history of these disorders will not disqualify any subject from participation, but will be noted as a variable in phenotypic assignment.
Study Centers
These are the hospitals, clinics, or research facilities where the trial is being conducted. You can find the location closest to you and its status.This study has 1 location
National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD)
Bethesda, United StatesOpen National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders (NIDCD) in Google Maps