Tourette Syndrome Association of the New York Hudson Valley


	STUDY 1 We are following up via email from two previous inquiries we sent in April and May, 2009 regarding advertising for volunteer subjects. Our study is one of the largest NIH funded projects in brain chemistry imaging conducted at the nation’s number 1 healthcare facility, Johns Hopkins Hospital. This study is dedicated to Tourette Syndrome (TS) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The Principal Investigator, Dr. Dean F. Wong of Johns Hopkins University, is examining the brain chemistry of patients diagnosed with TS and/or OCD. We are currently seeking affected patient subjects as well as healthy volunteers. We are interested to know if it would be possible to advertise through your organization, either via periodic newsletters or through email distribution. The research study will take place in Baltimore, Maryland with Dr. Wong and his team being willing and able to provide the available resources for transportation, lodging, meals and reimbursement to subject volunteers from all 50 United States and Puerto Rico, for time spent in study participation. Please find the attachments including a memo that briefly describes our study with referenced published journal articles as well as the advertisement we would like to circulate. The study advertisement flyer has been approved by the Johns Hopkins Institutional Review Board (JHM IRB) as well as by Sue Jacobs and Heather Cowely of the National Tourette Syndrome Association (TSA). In addition to the contacts mentioned in the attachments, interested persons may also direct return correspondence to: (1) Dr. Vanessa Harvey, vharvey2@jhmi.edu, 410-955-0255, and (2) William Willis, wwillis4@jhmi.edu, 410-955-0210 Thank you very much for your time and consideration. Please feel free to contact us with any questions or concerns. If you would like to be dropped from receiving this email in the future, please indicate this to one of the contacts mentioned above or by return email. Sincerely, Rebecca Mellinger-Pilgrim Administrative Assistant Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions JHOC Bldg. - Room 3245 601 North Caroline Street Baltimore, MD 21287-0807 Telephone: 410-955-8433 FAX: 410-955-0696 e-mail: sectdfwong@jhmi.edu ****************************************************** STUDY 2 Behavior Therapy for Adults and Adolescents with Chronic Tic Disorders Yale Child Study Center is recruiting subjects for a study of behavior therapy for tics. The purpose of this study is to evaluate whether a form of behavior therapy called Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) is helpful for reducing tics. CBIT will be compared to Psychoeducational Supportive therapy (PST) and participants of this study will be randomly assigned (like the flip of a coin) to receive CBIT or PST. Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) therapy consists of eight one-hour long treatment sessions scheduled over ten weeks. During this treatment, participants with learn to monitor their tics and will practice simple behavioral response that may make the tics less frequent or bothersome. For example, someone who has a leg movement tic, may be asked to practice placing the feet flat on floor and pushing downward. Psychoeducational supportive therapy (PST) will also consist of eight one-hour long sessions scheduled over ten weeks. This treatment involves stress management, problem-solving, and learning strategies for coping with negative emotions. To be eligible for the study participants must • be 16 years of age or older • have Tourette Syndrome or Chronic Tic Disorder • be medication free or on a stable dose of medication All adults or adolescents and their parents who are involved in the study will be asked to fill out rating scales, questionnaires, and answer questions about symptoms and behavior relevant to this project. CBIT and PST are free. Subjects will be offered $25 each assessment visit, and compensated for parking costs on therapy visits. Participation in this study is voluntary. If you do not want to participate, it will not affect any future treatment in the Yale Child Study Center. If you are interested in the project,** please contact Dr. Denis Sukhodolsky at (203) 785-6446 or Joseph McGuire at (203) 785-5805. We will describe the project in more detail and help you determine whether the program is fitting for you. * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * STUDY 3 Elizabeth Sadock is a research assistant at Massachusetts General Hospital. My lab is currently working on a Family Genetic Study of TS, OCD and ADHD. We are enrolling families to participate in our study and we believe that support groups might be a good place to find families who are willing to contribute. More information can be found on our website at www.TS-ADHD-OCD.org. We would like to encourage you share this information with your group. If anybody wishes to participate, they may contact us privately and all information will be kept confidential.