Thursday, January 22, 1998

Possibility of stuttering gene is under study

BY REX BOWMAN
Times-Dispatch Staff Writer

HOLLINS — Is stuttering the result of childhood trauma or emotional problems, or do some people have a "stuttering gene" that predisposes them to difficulties with speech?

That's the question the National Institutes of Health is trying to answer with the help of the Hollins Communications Research Institute.

The nonprofit institute, born in a Hollins College laboratory and headed by one of the private school's psychology professors, has helped more than 4,000 people conquer stuttering problems since 1973, and now the NIH wants the institute to use its massive database to help federal researchers determine if a stuttering gene exists.

The institute has agreed to find up to 500 former clients who also have relatives who stutter, said Catherine Wolhberg, assistant director of the Hollins institute. With the clients' permission, the NIH hopes to examine the DNA of the 500 client-relative pairs in search of a genetic cause of stuttering.

Psychological and emotional problems are commonly thought to cause stuttering.

"We've always felt that it was a genetic problem," Wolhberg said. "Ninety percent of the people who come to us have relatives who stutter."

Though no previous study has attempted to show a link between genes and stuttering, researchers have long been intrigued by several factors indicating a link exists. Identical twins frequently both stutter, for example, and in some cases several members of the same family stutter.

"While inheritance can not explain all the aspects of stuttering, finding these genes will show us what some of these causes are," said NIH researcher Dr. Dennis Drayna. "Understanding these causes will allow us to make better therapies for stuttering."

The Hollins institute will receive about $24,000 a year for helping the NIH, Wolhberg said, just enough money to cover the cost of participating in the project. Wolhberg said tracking down the 500 pairs of and persuading them to take part in the project will take three years.

If researchers find a link between genes and stuttering, Drayna said, another two to four years will be needed to find the exact gene or genes themselves.