Understanding Chronic Tics: Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Tics are abrupt, uncontrollable twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. DSM-5 includes three tic disorders: Tourette’s disorder, persistent motor or vocal tic disorder and Provisional tic disorder. The disorders differ from each other in terms of the type and the duration of the tics.

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Additional names

This group contains additional names:
- Chronic Motor or Vocal Tic Disorder

Signs & symptoms

Simple Motor tics include head and neck jerks, shoulder shrugs, eye blinks and facial grimaces. Simple vocal tics can be almost any sound or noise, common ones are sniffing, throat clearing, grunting, and squeaking. There are also complex motor tics which are more purposeful-appearing and of a longer nature. complex vocal tics are longer, more orchestrated patterns of speech.

Diagnosis

Diagnosis criteria for Tourette Syndrome include having two or more motor tics and at least one vocal, although they might not always happen at the same time. The tics last at least one year, started before age 18 years and occur most of the days, many times a day. Also, the symptoms cannot be explained by any other medical condition, drugs or medicine.
Diagnosis criteria for motor or vocal tic disorder include having one or more motor tics or vocal tics. The tics last at least one year, started before age 18 years and occur most of the days, many times a day. Also, the symptoms cannot be explained by any other medical condition, drugs, medicine or Tourette syndrome.
Diagnosis criteria for Provisional Tic Disorder include having one or more motor tics or vocal tics. The tics started before age 18 years and have been present for less than 12 months in a row. Also, the symptoms cannot be explained by any other medical condition, drugs, medicine, Tourette syndrome or persistent motor or vocal tic disorder.

Treatment

In many cases, tics go away without any treatment. It is important to guide the parents not to comment on the child's tics. If it interferes with the child's life, cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) is recommended, medication (Dopamine antagonists, Botox injection, Stimulants, Central adrenergic inhibitor, Antidepressants, Antiseizure medications) or both.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

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Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital