UK participants needed to help discover genes behind stammering

More than 1,500 adults and children from the UK are being recruited by researchers at UCL, as part of an international study aiming to discover the genes that cause stammering. The UK arm of the study will be overseen by researchers at UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, and aims to provide greater insight into why some people are more likely to develop a stammer, also known as stuttering, in a bid to develop new treatments that target the cause rather than just the symptoms. As well as experts from the UK, research teams from New Zealand, Australia, the US and the Netherlands are also seeking people aged five and older who stammer or have a history of stammering for the Genetics of Stuttering Study - making it the largest study of its kind. Stammering, which causes frequent and significant problems with normal fluency and flow of speech, affects one in 100 adults. It typically emerges in children between two and four years of age after they have begun to speak. Associate Professor Frederique Liegeois (UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health) said study participants would contribute to a global effort to better understand the genetics behind stammering. She said: "Learning more about the genetic basis will help us identify who may be more likely to develop stammering.