Understanding Tourette Syndrome (TS): Causes, Symptoms, and Management

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Tourette Syndrome (TS)

by Alike Medical Team ∙ Updated on June 13, 2023

Additional names

This group contains additional names: - Tourette's syndrome - Tics

General

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder manifested by motor and vocal tics with onset during childhood. A tic is a sudden, repetitive, motor movement or vocalization involving discrete muscle groups. TS is thought to result from a complex interaction between social and environmental factors and multiple genetic abnormalities. Most patients with TS also have comorbid problems such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

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Signs & symptoms

Symptoms can vary from one person to another and may also change over time. One of the most characteristic features of tics is the presence of premonitory feelings or sensations, which are relieved by the execution of the tic. The tics in TS can be categorized as motor or phonic (vocal), and as either simple or complex. * Motor tics – Simple motor tics include eye blinking, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, and head jerking. Complex motor tics involve sequences of coordinated movements, such as bizarre gait, kicking, jumping, bending or twisting your body, scratching, copropraxia (obscene gestures), and echopraxia (mimicking of gestures). * Phonic tics – Simple phonic tics include grunting, barking, moaning, throat clearing, sniffing, hollering, and other noises. Complex phonic tics include coprolalia (obscene words), echolalia (repetition of words), and palilalia (repetition of a phrase or word with increasing rapidity)

Diagnosis

The diagnosis of TS is based on the clinical features of the disease, particularly the presence of multiple motor and at least one phonic tics. There is no diagnostic laboratory test. Patients diagnosed with TS must also be assessed for other conditions commonly present with TS, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Treatment

Treatment for TS and related conditions may include: * watchful waiting * psychological therapy including behavioral therapy * oral medications * botox injections

Note

☝ We provide information on prescription and over-the-counter medicines, diagnosis, procedures and lab tests. This material is provided for educational purposes only and is not medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

National Institutes of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ MedlinePluse ∙ Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

☝ All information has been reviewed by certified physicians from Alike

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