Tourette's Syndrome
Common Name: Tourette's, TS, GTS, Tourette's disorder.
Age of Onset: Before the individual is 21.
Common in both male and female
Duration: lifetime
Cause: Tourette's is often associated with obsessive-compulsive symptomatology, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and other behavioral problems, although these are not part of the current diagnostic criteria. The cause is unknown, but it is well established that genetic and environmental factors of involved. No one gene has been linked to tourette's.
Symptoms: Motor tics can be so simple as forceful eye blinking or so severe as bending over and touching the ground. Vocal tics are normally unintelligible sounds, such as sniffing, grunting or throat clearing, but they can also be intense, such as uttering whole phrases. Other complex phenomena include coprolalia, copropaxia, echolalia, echopraxia, and palilalia.
Prognosis: Since there is no cure for Tourette's, the condition in many individuals improves in the late teens and early 20s. Some may become symptom-free or no longer need medication for tic suppression. Although the disorder is generally lifelong and chronic, it is not a degenerative condition. Individuals with Tourette's have a normal life expectancy. Although tic symptoms tend to decrease with age, it is possible that neurobehavioral disorders such as depression, panic attacks, mood swings, and antisocial behaviors can develop.
Treatment Options: Individuals with life-disrupting symptoms can often takes several drugs that affect the chemistry of the brain: Haldol, Catapres, Orap, Prolixin, Anafranil, and Prozac. These medications have side effects that can be life-disrupting themselves. Family counseling and psychotherapy can help the individuals cope with this disease and deal with the social stigma associated with Tourette's.
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