Tourette gene found?

[faith]

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/362/20/1901 Edited May 20, 2010 by faith

[NJDADDY]

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/362/20/1901

 

 

I read about that study with great interest.

 

They found a family where the dad and all eight of his kids (all with TS) had a small genetic defect which caused them not to have enough histamine in their body. The researchers beleive that low histamine levels may be a cause of TS. Among other things, histamine is very important for healthy brain function and neurotransmission.

 

I was in touch with one of the authors of the article and he said that, as soon as they can, they will begin testing Histamine 3 receptor antagonists on adults with TS. These drugs are in late stage development and only affect histamine levels in the brain. It should be interesting to see what happens.

 

If one wanted to raise histamine levels themselves, they could (very carefully) supplement with the amino acid l-histidine, which converts into histamine. It would have to be done carefully, though, as histidine raises histamine all over the body, not just the brain. It's something I'm looking at for my son, that is, possibly supplementing with a tiny dose of histidine and slowly increasing it, watching for any side effects and co-supplementing with zinc as it can be depleted by too much histamine. There are other severe side effects from too high levels of brain histamine, so it's not something to be toyed with.

[Chemar]

there were some other threads here, and on our PANDAS forum on this with detailed discussion

 

where it is interesting in many respects, one does still need to note that many people with TS also seem to have multiple allergies and find their tics reduced when they take an anti-histamine like Benedryl specifically

 

this study was one family with TS and there were around 700 if I recall non related TS patients in the control group, NONE of whom showed this gene mutation. So to suggest this is "the" Tourette gene is extrapolating way too much IMHO

 

I'll try to find the thread on PANDAS where laurensmom found a lot of additional info that explains the possible significance of this better, but honestly, I think you should be very very cautious about that kind of treatment until you actually have baseline levels etc. The scales could tip too far

Edited June 3, 2010 by Chemar

[faith]

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/abstract/362/20/1901

 

 

I read about that study with great interest.

 

They found a family where the dad and all eight of his kids (all with TS) had a small genetic defect which caused them not to have enough histamine in their body. The researchers beleive that low histamine levels may be a cause of TS. Among other things, histamine is very important for healthy brain function and neurotransmission.

 

I was in touch with one of the authors of the article and he said that, as soon as they can, they will begin testing Histamine 3 receptor antagonists on adults with TS. These drugs are in late stage development and only affect histamine levels in the brain. It should be interesting to see what happens.

 

If one wanted to raise histamine levels themselves, they could (very carefully) supplement with the amino acid l-histidine, which converts into histamine. It would have to be done carefully, though, as histidine raises histamine all over the body, not just the brain. It's something I'm looking at for my son, that is, possibly supplementing with a tiny dose of histidine and slowly increasing it, watching for any side effects and co-supplementing with zinc as it can be depleted by too much histamine. There are other severe side effects from too high levels of brain histamine, so it's not something to be toyed with.

 

 

Am I understanding correctly that it is suggested here that it is LOW histamine (or not enough) that could trigger the response of tourettes?

 

only wondering because we hve talked alot here about HIGH histamine being a problem (as in response to allergies)......so kind of confusing. If anyone can ellaborate on this, I'd be interested. What is it about the not enough histamine that would cause tics?

[Fixit]

there were some other threads here, and on our PANDAS forum on this with detailed discussion

 

where it is interesting in many respects, one does still need to note that many people with TS also seem to have multiple allergies and find their tics reduced when they take an anti-histamine like Benedryl specifically

 

this study was one family with TS and there were around 700 if I recall non related TS patients in the control group, NONE of whom showed this gene mutation. So to suggest this is "the" Tourette gene is extrapolating way too much IMHO

 

I agree....and this may be the cause of ts for them but infection is the cause for someone else...or might just add to their allergies and have nothing to do with their ts....

though alot/most/all of these kids have allergies...it might just kick researchers in the behind, to look outside the comfy box, especially at autoimmune issues!!!!

[sweetpotato]

there were some other threads here, and on our PANDAS forum on this with detailed discussion

 

where it is interesting in many respects, one does still need to note that many people with TS also seem to have multiple allergies and find their tics reduced when they take an anti-histamine like Benedryl specifically

 

this study was one family with TS and there were around 700 if I recall non related TS patients in the control group, NONE of whom showed this gene mutation. So to suggest this is "the" Tourette gene is extrapolating way too much IMHO

 

I'll try to find the thread on PANDAS where laurensmom found a lot of additional info that explains the possible significance of this better, but honestly, I think you should be very very cautious about that kind of treatment until you actually have baseline levels etc. The scales could tip too far