Did you know that there is a Biological Stuttering Clinic on the campus of University California at Irvine?

In my 4th year of medical school, I was invited to the University California at Irvine in Orange County California by Dr. Gerald Maguire. Dr. Maguire (has also stuttered since childhood) was the former Program Director of the psychiatry resident program at UCI for many years. He has been a guest on CNN and other news programs . He is one of the leading international experts on stuttering. Dr. Maguire through his research has demonstrated that people who stutter has an excess of dopamine in their brain compare to people who do not stutter. Dopamine is a brain chemical (neurotransmitter). Dopamine is produce by an area of the brain called the substantia nigra (pars compacta portion) which is located in the midbrain (which is one of the components of the brain stem--the other two components being the pons and the medulla oblangata). Dopamine plays on important role in the functioning of the basal ganglia (located in the subcortical region of the brain and consists of: substantia nigra, subthalamus nuclei, the striatum--caudate/putamen, and the globus pallidus which all help in the initiation of movement)which connects to the cerebral cortex and thalamus. When the levels of dopamine is deficient people can end up with Parkinsons disease and when it is in excess disease like Huntington disease can be manifested.

Well, through his research Dr. Maguire has also established that an excess of dopamine in the brain is one of many factors that trigger the stuttering mechanisms; to this end he has used certain anti-dopaminergic drugs ( such as olanzapine (zyprexa), geodon (ziprasidone), abilify (aripiprazole) in his Biological Stuttering Clinic (on the UCI campus) to decrease the levels of dopamine in people who stutter. Many stutters have visited his clinic from all over the USA for treatment and the results are usually quite promising. I have witnessed several people who stutter came to his clinic for therapy and the results demonstrated a dramatic improvement in their stuttering. These anti-dopaminergic drugs have less side effects than the traditionally potent ones (like halopiridol).

Dr. Maguire is currently the lead researcher working on a drug called pagoclone to treat stuttering and it could be the first FDA drug approve to treat stuttering! Feel free to check out addition information on this study at: www.stutteringstudy.com