----------------------------------------------------------------
Treating Tourette Syndrome
----------------------------------------------------------------

!!!THURSDAY, Dec. 19 (HealthScoutNews) -- The drug mecamylamine,
which blocks nicotine receptors in the brain, seems to relieve mood
instability and depression in adolescents and children with Tourette
Syndrome.
So says a preliminary study in the latest issue of Depression and
Anxiety.
The national randomized study by University of South Florida College
of Medicine researchers included 50 children and adolescents with
Tourette Syndrome and at least one of several mood disorders,
including depression, attention-deficit disorder, oppositional
defiance disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder and hypomania.
Of the 50 study participants, 38 completed the eight-week trial -- 21
taking a placebo pill and 17 receiving mecamylamine, a drug
originally used to treat hypertension.
The study found the greatest mecamylamine-related improvements in the
behavioral and emotional symptoms of four Tourette's patients who
also had major depression. They had significant decreases in sudden
mood changes, irritability, inattention, anxiety, restlessness,
impulsiveness and demanding attention.
The study participants with Tourette's and depression who received
the placebo showed no improvement.
The researchers recently began a controlled study of mecamylamine in
children and adolescents with bipolar disorder, also called manic
depression.

----------------------------------------------------------------
Tourette's In Hollywood
----------------------------------------------------------------

!!!Williams travels to 'Big White' for Artisan comedy
By Zorianna Kit
LOS ANGELES (The Hollywood Reporter) --- Robin Williams has come
aboard to star in Artisan Pictures' comedy "The Big White," to be
directed by British helmer Mike Mylod.
No start date has been set as Artisan is looking for a
production/distribution partner for the project.
"White," written by Collin Friesen, is set in Alaska and follows a
hapless travel agent whose wife suffers from psychosomatic Tourette's
syndrome. Convinced that a warmer climate might cure her ailment, he
hatches a scheme to cash in on a million-dollar life insurance policy
by stealing a corpse and pretending that it is his long-missing
brother.
Producing "White" are Michael Birnbaum of Empire Pictures,
Christopher Eberts and Chris Roberts of Ascendant Pictures and David
Faigenblum.
Williams is repped by CAA and MBST Management.


!!!Actor gives voice -- and body -- to vile Gollum
Susan Wloszczyna USA TODAY
NEW YORK -- Andy Serkis thought he had a three-week voice-over stint.
But the actor's pivotal part as Gollum in The Lord of the Rings
trilogy ballooned into four years of grueling labor in confining
skintight suits that isn't over yet.
Gollum, the hobbit-turned-tortured-creature after being corrupted by
the evil ring that Frodo the hero hobbit (Elijah Wood) now carries,
briefly slithered on screen in last year's The Fellowship of the
Ring. But in The Two Towers, which opens today, he crawls out of the
dark and into a major subplot as guide to Frodo and Sam
Serkis, 38, a British character actor (Mike Leigh's Topsy-Turvy),
says he often approaches roles physically. After Rings master Peter
Jackson saw tapes of his recording sessions in which he acted out
Gollum's reptilian crawls, the director decided to use motion-capture
technology to trap that performance on film. In other words, an
emoting human lurks under the digital skin and bones.
Says Serkis: ''He wanted Gollum to be the most fully integrated
digital character ever, actor-led as opposed to being led by
animation with a voice dropped in.'' Yes, he's far-far from Jar Jar.
First, Serkis invented a strangulated rasp of a voice for Gollum, who
craves the ring like a drug addict. ''He carries his pain in his
throat. I wanted it to be like a Tourette's muscle-memory thing.''
Serkis also had to suggest the vengeful Gollum's suppressed alter
ego, Smeagol, who speaks in high-pitched nasal tones. ''When Frodo
shows Gollum mercy, Smeagol is like an abused child. He's been outed
and finds the courage to speak.''
Each scene with Gollum, Frodo and Sam was shot three times. First,
Serkis wore a light greenish Lycra suit (''like a tie-dyed downhill
skier'') to match his character's skin and performed opposite Wood
and Astin.
And don't think those naughty hobbits didn't tease Serkis about his
offbeat attire. ''It was nothing but mockery from them for two
years,'' he says with a laugh.
Another version was done with Serkis speaking off-camera while the
other actors reacted to an empty space where an animated Gollum would
be inserted. Finally, Serkis donned a motion-capture outfit covered
with dots that act as coordinates for cameras to follow.
''Every movement you see is pretty much what I've done,'' he says.
Gollum's froggy visage even echoes his features.
Some might think Gollum is just another jabbering sidekick, like
Harry Potter's elf pal, Dobby. But Jackson and New Line Cinema, the
studio behind the Rings series, are pushing for an acting Oscar for
Serkis, a first for an effect.
''The Elephant Man had John Hurt buried under rubber,'' Jackson says
of a nominated performance from 1980. ''Whether it is foam latex for
John Hurt or a skin of pixels for Andy Serkis, the actor still drives
the performance.''
Serkis has yet to do the motion capture for The Return of the King,
which is due next December.
But the final episode probably will contain a bonus: flashbacks that
reveal Gollum before he became Gollum.
Which means, Serkis says, ''I get to show my own face.''

----------------------------------------------------------------
Tourette's in Politics
----------------------------------------------------------------

!!!This is an article that they used the term Tourette in an odd
way. Here is the clip, you can click on the link if you would like
to read the whole story.
… The idea that Lott took the occasion of an old timer's birthday
to
introduce a new policy initiative to bring back segregation -- a
Democrat policy -- is ludicrous. Lott is a fine fellow; he just has
some sort of liberal-Tourette's syndrome that makes him spout
Democrat ideas at random. A few years ago, Lott practically wanted to
give the adulterous Air Force pilot Kelly Flinn a silver star for her
service. Remember that?
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/021220/51/2wgtu.html

----------------------------------------------------------------
Clinical Trials for TS
----------------------------------------------------------------

!!!Clinical Trials, recruiting patients.
http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/ct/gui/c/a2r/action/SearchAction/screen/
OpeningScreen?Term=Tourette


----------------------------------------------------------------
Credits
----------------------------------------------------------------

For more information on Tourette Syndrome you may visit my site at:
http://paul.tourette.info we are always adding and updating files.

Thank you,

Paul Marshall
Tourette – Updates Moderator

Comments or Questions:
Paul@...

Permission is granted for posting this message in other groups and
forums when including everything from the credits lines in your post
for our service at Tourette – Updates.
----------------------------------------------------------------
End
----------------------------------------------------------------