Tourette Syndrome families encouraged to attend November 10 workshop in Hackensack

HACKENSACK – Everyone in the New Jersey Tourette Syndrome community is invited to attend an afternoon of presentations on Tourette Syndrome and genetics research from 1 to 5 p.m. Sunday, November 10, at Hackensack University Medical Center’s Hekemian Auditorium, 30 Prospect Avenue in Hackensack.

This landmark event is sponsored by the New Jersey Center for Tourette Syndrome & Associated Disorders (NJCTS) Parent Connection and is being brought to Hackensack through the efforts of Dr. Stephen J. Thompson, Chief of Pediatric Neurology at The Joseph M. Sanzari Children’s Hospital at Hackensack University Medical Center.

The presentations will be part of the NJCTS Parent Connection’s first foray into Bergen and Passaic counties and will include "Keeping an Eye on What’s Important: An Update on Tourette Syndrome” by Dr. Robert A. King of the Yale University Child Study Center and "Tourette Syndrome Genetics Research" by Dr. Gary Heiman of the Rutgers University Cell and DNA Repository. Dr. Heiman’s presence also offers families the chance to participate in a genetics study that is searching for the cause of Tourette Syndrome, as well as a potential cure.

Registration is required and must be sent by e-mail to Dr. Heiman at familystudy@biology.rutgers.edu by Friday, November 1. Please include your name, phone number and how many will attend in your e-mail.

Dr. King, the Medical Director of the Yale Tourette/OCD Clinic at the Yale University Child Study Center, has a longstanding partnership with NJCTS. On October 8, he hosted the organization for a Patient-Centered Medical Education presentation to nearly 120 doctors and residents at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven, Conn. And on November 10, he will discuss how far TS has come in terms of awareness and advocacy in the education and medical arenas. An audience question-and-answer session with Dr. King will follow.

Dr. Gary Heiman, Principal Investigator of the Tourette International Collaborative (TIC) Genetics Group at Rutgers Universit, will present information on Rutgers' ongoing genetics research study -- which includes critical information obtained from the sampling of DNA from New Jersey families and others around the nation and world affected by Tourette Syndrome.

"I'll be speaking about why we think Tourette Syndrome is genetic and describe the importance of the genetics repository and its role in the hope of finding a cause and better treatment for TS," Dr. Heiman said.

More information about this event is available by calling or e-mailing NJCTS Family Outreach Coordinator Leanne Loewenthal at 908-575-7350 or lloewenthal@njcts.org. Interested families also can download a brochure about Rutgers University Cell & DNA Sharing Repository, visit the repository website or obtain more information by visiting www.njcts.org or the NJCTS Facebook page.