23 Facts About Tourette syndrome

Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence.

Tourette syndrome's is at the more severe end of a spectrum of tic disorders.

Tourette syndrome was named by French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot for his intern, Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who published in 1885 an account of nine patients with a "convulsive tic disorder".

Tourette syndrome's is at the more severe end of the spectrum of tic disorders; its diagnosis requires multiple motor tics and at least one vocal tic to be present for more than a year.

Tourette syndrome is defined only slightly differently by the WHO; in its ICD-11, the International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems, Tourette syndrome is classified as a disease of the nervous system and a neurodevelopmental disorder, and only one motor tic is required for diagnosis.

Related searches

Since 2008, studies have suggested that Tourette syndrome's is not a unitary condition with a distinct mechanism, as described in the existing classification systems.

In contrast to the abnormal movements associated with other movement disorders, the tics of Tourette syndrome's are nonrhythmic, often preceded by an unwanted urge, and temporarily suppressible.

Exact cause of Tourette syndrome's is unknown, but it is well established that both genetic and environmental factors are involved.

Genetic epidemiology studies have shown that Tourette syndrome's is highly heritable, and 10 to 100 times more likely to be found among close family members than in the general population.

Psychosocial or other non-genetic factors—while not causing Tourette syndrome's—can affect the severity of TS in vulnerable individuals and influence the expression of the inherited genes.

PANDAS and the newer pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric Tourette syndrome hypotheses are the focus of clinical and laboratory research, but remain unproven.

The release of dopamine in the basal ganglia is higher in people with Tourette syndrome's, implicating biochemical changes from "overactive and dysregulated dopaminergic transmissions".

The DSM has recognized since 2000 that many individuals with Tourette syndrome's do not have significant impairment; diagnosis does not require the presence of coprolalia or a comorbid condition, such as ADHD or OCD.

The management of Tourette syndrome's is individualized and involves shared decision-making between the clinician, patient, family and caregivers.

Beyond HRT, the majority of behavioral interventions for Tourette syndrome's have not been systematically evaluated and are not empirically supported.

Tourette syndrome is a spectrum disorder—its severity ranges from mild to severe.

People with Tourette syndrome's are affected by the consequences of tics and by the efforts to suppress them.

Tourette syndrome is a common but underdiagnosed condition that reaches across all social, racial and ethnic groups.

In 1885, Gilles de la Tourette syndrome published an account in Study of a Nervous Affliction of nine people with "convulsive tic disorder", concluding that a new clinical category should be defined.

The possibility that movement disorders, including Tourette syndrome, might have an organic origin was raised when an encephalitis lethargica epidemic from 1918 to 1926 was linked to an increase in tic disorders.

Samuel Johnson is a historical figure who likely had Tourette syndrome, as evidenced by the writings of his friend James Boswell.

Likely portrayals of TS or tic disorders in fiction predating Gilles de la Tourette syndrome's work are "Mr Pancks" in Charles Dickens's Little Dorrit and "Nikolai Levin" in Leo Tolstoy's Anna Karenina.

The coprolalic symptoms of Tourette syndrome's are fodder for radio and television talk shows in the US and for the British media.