Stopping Stuttering

Ivanhoe Broadcast News
Friday, August 3, 2007; 12:00 AM

ORANGE, Calif. (Ivanhoe Broadcast News) Relax. Calm down. Take it slow. If you are one of the 3 million Americans who stutter, youre probably tired of hearing those words. Now, experts say stuttering may not be a nervous condition after all. Many believe the brain may be to blame.

If you think stuttering is painful to watch, imagine how it feels! Stuttering has been a part of John Ohmans life since childhood. Reading in class or simply ordering lunch was agonizing for him.

I would order a cheeseburger instead of a hamburger just because it was easier to say, John says.

Gerald Maguire, M.D., a psychiatrist at UCI Medical Center in Orange, Calif., can relate. From age 5 through medical school, stuttering made it tough for him to say his own name.

 When I would get a call or page to one in-patient or nursing unit, rather than return the call and say, This is Doctor Maguire, I would run there, Dr. Maguire says.

Thats all changed now that both men are on a new medication.

Dr. Maguire believes stuttering is partially caused by a defect in the part of the brain that controls the timing of speech. Brain scans of those who stutter show too much dopamine in that area. In studies, the drug pagoclone appears to boost a chemical that blocks dopamine and improves the brains timer.

Not only does it improve the fluency of speech, but it improves the social anxiety of speech, Dr. Maguire says.

The change in John is hard to miss. Its almost a 100 percent turnaround, Johns wife Suzanne says.

Stuttering kept John from pursuing his dream of being a police officer, but now that hes stutter-free, John believes hell have plenty of other options.

I think [the new medicine is] going to be an answer to a lot of prayers, he says.

This article was reported by Ivanhoe.com, which offers Medical Alerts by e-mail every day of the week. To subscribe, click on: http://www.ivanhoe.com/newsalert/

If you would like more information, please contact:

Susan Mancia
UCI Medical Center
Orange, CA
Public Information Officer
smancia@uci.edu