Tourette Syndrome
Tourette syndrome is named for Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who first described this disorder in 1885. There is strong evidence that Tourette syndrome is passed down through families, although the gene has not yet been found.
The syndrome may be linked to problems in certain areas of the brain, and the chemical substances (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) that help nerve cells talk to one another.
Tourette syndrome can be either severe or mild. About 10% of Americans have a mild tic disorder, but far fewer have more severe forms of Tourette syndrome. Many people with very mild tics may not be aware of them and never seek medical help.
Tourette syndrome is four times as likely to occur in boys as in girl.
The condition tends to affect around three times more men than women. It is caused by problems in the development of the Central Nervous System (the brain and spinal cord) and often becomes apparent around the age of 7 years old although it is common for the symptoms to manifest themselves in early teenage years as well.
There are two main symptoms of Tourettes Syndrome. These are
Physical Tics
This is where the patient of Tourettes suffers from either or a combination of the following symptoms – facial twitches, blinking, hand and foot movements.
Vocal Tics
The Tourettes Syndrome patient suffers from making involuntary noises or sometimes words.
These symptoms caused by Tourettes tend to appear around the age of 7-10 although they sometimes appear in older children. The symptoms tend to be quite mild although that doesn’t stop them from being quite embarrassing and often the patient can suffer from bullying from other children.
In most cases, the symptoms from Tourettes Syndrome become a lot less as time goes by. However, in a few cases, the symptoms get worse as the patient becomes older. Sometimes, the physical or vocal tics can interfere with the patients life to a great deal.
It has been noted that stressful situations can make the symptoms of Tourettes Syndrome a lot worse. Also, it is important to know that the symptom where the sufferer involuntarily keeps saying obscene words, is despite popular belief quite rare.
Many patients say that the tics are not totally out of their control (involuntary), but that “things just would not feel right” if they did not do them. This is what makes Tourette syndrome different from obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) — people with OCD feel as though they have to do the behaviors.
Many people with the disorder can suppress the tic for periods of time, but find that when it is allowed to occur after that time, it’s more dramatic for a few minutes.
Exams and Tests
There are no lab tests to diagnose Tourette syndrome. However, a health care provider should do an examination to rule out other causes of these symptoms.
To be diagnosed with Tourette syndrome, a person must:
- Have had many motor tics and one or more vocal tics at some time, although not necessarily at the same time
- Have tics that occur many times a day, nearly every day or on and off, for a period of more than 1 year; during this period, there must not be a tic-free period of more than 3 months in a row
- Have started the tics before age 1
- Have no other brain problem that could be a likely cause of the symptoms
Treatment
Many patients with Tourette syndrome have very minor symptoms. In this case, they are not treated, because the side effects of the medications would be worse than the symptoms of the condition.
Doctors have prescribed medicines called antipsychotics to treat Tourette syndrome. These medicines can help control or reduce tics, but they have side effects such as movement disorders and cognitive dulling. Anti-epileptic medications are also used sometimes.
A blood pressure medicine called clonidine has been shown to help control tics. Another drug commonly used is tetrabenazine, but this drug is also linked to movement disorders as well as depression. Many other treatments have been tried with little or no improvement.
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