Tourette Syndrome
A nervous system disorder involving repetitive movements or unwanted sounds.
Tourette syndrome starts in childhood.
It involves uncontrollable repetitive movements or unwanted sounds (tics), such as repeatedly blinking the eyes, shrugging shoulders, or blurting out offensive words.
Treatment may include medication or psychological therapies.
Cluster Number:
Wiki Number: PW217
Diagnosis: Tourette Syndrome
US Patients: 1% of school children and adolescents
World Patients:
Sex Ratio:
Age Onset: Ages 5-7; increases to ages 8-12; then decreases for 2/3 dramatically, can have adult onset or adult recurrence from childhood
Brain Area: dysfunction in neural circuits around the basal ganglia, combines genetic and environmental factors; poor brain circuit connections
Symptoms: Motor tics and vocal tics with blinking, coughing, throat-clearing, sniffing, facial movements. Nearby muscles “urge” first for 90%
Progression: corprolalia (obscene, inappropriate or derogatory remarks) occurs in 10%,; obscene gestures may be “muscular tics” for a few
Causes: Heritable 10X-100X;forceps delivery, paternal age, pregnancy stress, tobacco, caffeine, alcohol or pot during pregnancy, premature
Medications: None
Therapies:
Youtube Video: How Tourette’s Syndrome Impacts My Life
Amazon or Library Book: Coping with Tourette Syndrome
Click the book to link or order from Amazon.
Support Group: tourette.org; 888-486-8738 (Tourette Association)
4 CURRENT ARTICLES
FROM PUBMED
The world-wide medical research
reports chosen for each diagnosis
Clicking each title opens the
PubMed article’s summary-abstract.
- Integrating behavioral interventions for Tourette's syndrome: Current status and prospectiveby Xiao-Man Chen on March 20, 2025
In the evolving landscape of Tourette's syndrome (TS) treatment, behavioral therapies have emerged as essential to address the comorbid psychological issues, as well as motor and vocal tics. This editorial comments on the study by Wang et al, which showed that cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) combined with habit reversal training significantly improved anxiety and tic severity in children with TS. We highlight the current status and future perspectives of behavioral interventions such as CBT,...
- Correction: Treatment failure in persistent tic disorders: an expert clinicians' consensus-based definitionby Davide Martino on March 20, 2025
No abstract
- Maternal autoimmune diseases and the risk of tics and Tourette's disorder in offspring: insights from Taiwan's real-world databy Yi-Feng Lee on March 19, 2025
CONCLUSION: Maternal autoimmune diseases appeared to be associated with tics and Tourette's disorder in offspring, especially in mothers with the abovementioned diseases. Further research is warranted to investigate the possible pathogenetic mechanisms of these associations.
- The journey to a functional tics diagnosis and experiences of post diagnostic support: perspectives from adolescents and their parentsby Olivia Burn on March 17, 2025
CONCLUSIONS: The findings emphasise the importance of psychoeducation encompassing FTs and young peoples' holistic needs, support to develop personalised strategies for management of FTs and interacting additional needs, alongside an increased public and professional understanding of FTs to aid stigma reduction.