A Genetic Study of Tourette Syndrome, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder,
and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
The goal of the Family Genetic Study is to uncover the genetic and non-genetic factors important in the development of Tourette Syndrome (TS), Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). The main purpose of this work is to collect information about behavioral patterns that are shared in common by these disorders. We will also look at whether those behavioral patterns are passed on from generation to generation. This study is funded by the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stoke (NINDS) at the NIH and will be ongoing until 2010.
We are currently looking for families in which at least one of the children is diagnosed with one of the following:
- TS alone
- ADHD alone
- OCD alone
- TS and ADHD
- TS and OCD
- ADHD and OCD
- or TS, ADHD and OCD
This study involves the entire family. We will include the affected child, both of his or her parents, and any siblings over the age of six.
The study will require one or two visits to either the family’s home or to MGH, whichever works better for the family. If the family agrees to participate, we will collect information using:
- Interviews
- Questionnaires
- Cognitive (thinking, memory) tests
- Sensory tasks, such as looking at or feeling items, hearing sounds, smelling scents, and tasting foods
We also ask each family member for either a blood sample or a cheek swab sample. The purpose of taking these samples is to allow us to study each person’s DNA compared with the DNA of their family members and with other subjects in the study. This way, we can look at specific segments of DNA, or genes, to see if they appear more often in individuals with TS, ADHD, OCD and related conditions.
Principal Investigator: David Pauls, Ph.D.
Project Director: Cornelia Illmann, Ph.D.
Phone: 617-726-0891 or 1-800-471-2730
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