Although Tourette is probably not due solely to problems in the brain dopamine system, If we could understand more about how this system works in Tourette and how it is effected by drugs like clonidine (catapres), we may learn enough to predict who will respond to a particular medication. It is hard to study the brain. Nature has it well protected and it is structurally very complex. We are working on a way to study the brain dopamine system by looking at the levels of certain neurochemicals in the blood and urine. One approach is to give a medication called debrisoquin, which blocks the production of those chemicals in the rest of the body, so that the levels of those chemicals present in the blood after debrisoquin come mostly from the brain dopamine system. We are now in the process of refining this method, and using it before and after treatment with medications like haldol and clonidine. If we are successful we will be able to study-this important system without having to rely on other methods like spinal taps. James F. Leckman, M.D., Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics Yale University Child Study Center, New Haven, CT Award: $13,600 Tourette Association of America, Inc. – Research Grant Award 1984