What is Tourette syndrome? How does it affect individuals? What are the characteristics and symptoms of this neurological disorder? Discover the answers to these questions and more in our comprehensive guide.

Understanding Tourette Syndrome: An Overview

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder that manifests through sudden, uncontrolled, and repetitive movements or vocal sounds known as tics. This condition is part of a broader group of disorders affecting the developing nervous system, called tic disorders. TS is characterized by a complex interplay of motor and vocal tics, which can vary in type, frequency, location, and severity over time.

Onset and Progression of Tourette Syndrome

The first symptoms of Tourette Syndrome typically appear between the ages of 5 and 10 years, often in the form of head and neck movements. These tics may progress to involve the muscles of the torso, arms, and legs. Motor tics generally precede the development of vocal tics. Tourette Syndrome affects more boys than girls, and the worst tic symptoms usually occur during the early teenage years. However, the condition often improves in late adolescence and early adulthood, with tics becoming more manageable. In some cases, tics may persist or even worsen in adulthood, but Tourette Syndrome is not a degenerative condition, and individuals with TS have a normal life expectancy.

Classification of Tics: Simple and Complex

Individuals with Tourette Syndrome can experience both simple and complex tics. Simple tics are sudden, brief, and repetitive movements involving a few muscle groups, such as eye blinking, facial grimacing, shoulder shrugging, or head/shoulder jerking. These are more common than complex tics. Complex tics, on the other hand, are distinct, coordinated patterns of movement involving several muscle groups in different parts of the body. Examples of complex motor tics include sniffing or touching objects, hopping, jumping, bending, or twisting. Complex vocal tics may include repeating one’s own words or phrases, repeating others’ words or phrases (echolalia), or using vulgar, obscene, or swear words (coprolalia).

Tic Triggers and Management

Tics in individuals with Tourette Syndrome can be influenced by various factors. Excitement, anxiety, and certain physical experiences, such as tight collars, can trigger or worsen tics. Hearing someone else make a similar sound can also trigger a vocal tic. Tics typically diminish during light sleep and disappear completely during deep sleep. While tics are unwanted and involuntary, some people with Tourette Syndrome can learn to suppress or manage their tics to minimize their impact on daily functioning. However, this suppression can lead to a substantial buildup of tension, ultimately requiring the tic to be expressed.

Co-occurring Conditions and Challenges

Many individuals with Tourette Syndrome also experience additional neurobehavioral problems, such as Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Behaviors (OCD/OCB), anxiety, and learning disabilities. These co-occurring conditions can often cause more impairment than the tics themselves and may continue into adulthood, even as the tics become more manageable.

Coping with Tourette Syndrome: Strategies and Support

Individuals with Tourette Syndrome and their families often face unique challenges in managing the condition. However, there are various strategies and resources available to help cope with the symptoms and associated difficulties. These may include behavioral therapy, medication, educational support, and access to a multidisciplinary healthcare team. With the right support and coping mechanisms, many individuals with Tourette Syndrome can lead fulfilling and successful lives.

Advancements in Tourette Syndrome Research and Treatment

The field of Tourette Syndrome research is continuously evolving, with ongoing efforts to better understand the underlying causes, develop more effective treatments, and improve the quality of life for those affected by the condition. Researchers are exploring various avenues, such as genetic factors, neurological mechanisms, and the development of new therapeutic approaches. As our knowledge of Tourette Syndrome expands, the prospects for improving outcomes for individuals with this neurological disorder continue to grow.

Tourette Syndrome | National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke

What is Tourette syndrome?

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder that may cause sudden unwanted and uncontrolled rapid and repeated movements or vocal sounds called tics. TS is one of a group of disorders of the developing nervous system called tic disorders.

The motor (involving body movement) or vocal (involving sounds you make) tics of TS come and go over time, varying in type, frequency, location, and severity. If you have tics, you cannot stop your body from having them. The first symptoms usually occur between the ages of 5 and 10 years, generally in the head and neck area. These may progress to include the muscles in your torso, arms, and legs. Motor tics generally occur before the development of vocal tics. 

Tourette syndrome affects more boys than girls. Most people with TS experience their worst tic symptoms in their early teens, but tics typically lessen and become controlled by the late teens to early 20s. For some people, TS can be a chronic condition with symptoms that last into adulthood. In some cases, tics may worsen in adulthood. TS is not a degenerative condition (one that continues to get worse) and individuals with TS have a normal life expectancy.

Classification of tics and symptoms

If you have TS, you may experience simple or complex motor tics. They may range from very mild to severe, although most cases are mild.

Simple tics are sudden, brief, repetitive movements that involve a few muscle groups. They are more common than complex tics. Simple tics often precede complex tics.

Simple motor tics include:

• Eye blinking and other eye movements
• Facial grimacing
• Shoulder shrugging
• Head or shoulder jerking

Simple vocal tics include:

• Repetitive throat clearing
• Sniffing
• Barking
• Grunting

Complex tics are distinct, coordinated patterns of movement involving several muscle groups in different parts of the body.

Complex motor tics might include facial grimacing combined with a head twist and a shoulder shrug. Other complex motor tics may appear purposeful, including:

• Sniffing or touching an object
• Hopping
• Jumping
• Bending
• Twisting

Complex vocal tics may include:

• Repeating one’s own words or phrases
• Repeating others’ words or phrases (echolalia)
• Using vulgar, obscene, or swear words (coprolalia)

Some of the most dramatic and disabling tics may include motor movements that result in self-harm such as punching yourself in the face or vocal tics such as echolalia or swearing. Some tics are preceded by an urge or sensation in the affected muscle group (premonitory urge). You may feel like you have to complete a tic in a certain way or a certain number of times to relieve the urge or decrease the sensation.

Tic triggers

Your tics may worsen with excitement or anxiety and get better during calm, focused activities. Certain physical experiences can trigger or worsen tics; for example, tight collars may trigger neck tics. Hearing another person sniff or clear the throat may trigger similar sounds. Tics do not go away during light sleep but are often significantly diminished; they go away completely in deep sleep. 

Although the symptoms of TS are unwanted and unintentional (involuntary), some people can suppress or otherwise manage their tics to minimize their impact on functioning. However, people with TS often report a substantial buildup in tension when suppressing their tics to the point where they feel that the tic must be expressed (against their will). Tics in response to an environmental trigger can appear to be voluntary or purposeful but are not.

Disorders associated with TS

Like many other individuals with TS, you may experience additional co-occurring neurobehavioral problems (how the brain affects emotion, behavior, and learning) that often cause more impairment than the tics themselves.  Although most people with TS experience a significant decline in motor and vocal tics in late adolescence and early adulthood, the associated neurobehavioral conditions may continue into adulthood.

The most common co-occurring conditions include:

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)—People with TS may have problems with concentration, hyperactivity, and impulsivity.
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Behaviors (OCD/OCB)—Unwanted thoughts, ideas, or sensations (obsessions) may make someone with TS feel the need to perform behaviors repeatedly or in a certain way (compulsions). Repetitive behaviors can include handwashing, checking things, and cleaning, and can significantly interfere with daily life.
• Anxiety—People with TS, along with others, may have a fear, uneasiness, or apprehension about a situation or event that may have an uncertain ending.
• Learning disabilities—Problems with reading, writing, and arithmetic that are not related to intelligence are seen in some individuals with TS.
• Behavioral or conduct issues—Common issues include aggression, anger management problems, and problems adjusting emotionally and socially.
• Problems falling or staying asleep—Sleep disturbances may include difficulty falling and staying asleep and excessive daytime sleepiness.
• Social skills deficits and social functioning difficulties—People may have trouble with social skills and with maintaining social relationships.
• Sensory processing issues—Some people with TS have difficulty organizing and responding to sensory information related to touch, taste, smells, sounds, or movement.

Educational Settings

Although students with TS often function well in the regular classroom, ADHD, learning disabilities, obsessive-compulsive symptoms, and frequent tics can greatly interfere with academic performance or social adjustment. After a comprehensive assessment, students should have access to an educational setting that meets their individual needs. Students may require tutoring, smaller or special classes, private study areas, exams outside the regular classroom, other individual performance accommodations, and in some cases special schools.

Who is more likely to get Tourette syndrome?

Most cases of TS involve the interaction of multiple gene variations and environmental factors.   

Although the cause of TS is unknown, current research points to abnormalities in:

• Certain brain regions, including the basal ganglia, frontal lobes, and cortex
• Circuits that connect these regions
• Neurotransmitters (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) responsible for communication between nerve cells (neurons)

TS Inheritance

Changes (mutations) in one or more genes have been shown to be involved with TS. A small number of people with TS have mutations involving the SLITRK1 gene, which affects how neurons grow and connect with one another. Abnormalities in the NRXN1 and CNTN6 genes, which also regulate the normal formation of these nerve connections, also may play a role in TS.  Scientists continue to look for other genes involved with TS. Although there may be a few genes with substantial effects, it is also possible that many genes with smaller effects and environmental factors may play a role in the development of TS. 

It is important to understand that genetic tendency may not necessarily result in TS; instead, it may express itself as a milder tic disorder or as obsessive-compulsive behaviors. It is also possible that children who inherit the gene abnormality will not develop any TS symptoms.

Genetic studies also suggest that some forms of ADHD and OCD are genetically related to TS, but there is less evidence for a genetic relationship between TS and other neurobehavioral problems that commonly co-occur with TS.

Gender also plays an important role in TS gene expression. At-risk males are more likely to have tics and at-risk females are more likely to have obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Genetic counseling of people with TS should include a full review of all potentially hereditary conditions in the family.

How is Tourette syndrome diagnosed and treated?

Diagnosing TS

To diagnose TS, a doctor will ask if you have:

• Presence of both motor and vocal tics that occur several times a day, every day or intermittently for at least 1 year
• Onset of tics before age 18
• Tics not caused by medications, other substances, or medical conditions

Common tics are often diagnosed by a primary care provider, pediatrician, or mental healthcare specialist. Atypical symptoms (different from classical symptoms) or atypical presentations (for example, symptoms that begin in adulthood) may require additional expertise for diagnosis.

There are no blood, laboratory, or imaging tests needed for diagnosis. In rare cases, neuroimaging studies, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) or computerized tomography (CT), electroencephalogram (EEG) studies, or certain blood tests may be used to rule out other conditions that might be confused with TS.  

It may take some time to receive a formal diagnosis of TS. Families and physicians unfamiliar with the disorder might think mild and even moderate tic symptoms may be insignificant, a part of a developmental phase, or the result of another condition. For example, some parents may think that eye blinking is related to vision problems or that sniffing is related to seasonal allergies.

Treating TS

Currently, there is no cure for TS but treatments are available to help manage some symptoms. 

If tic symptoms are mild and do not cause impairment, you may not need treatment. If symptoms interfere with daily functioning, there are effective medications and other treatments. Some medications may have or cause side effects and should be carefully managed by your physician or healthcare provider.

Medications:

• Medications that block dopamine (drugs that may be used to treat psychotic and non-psychotic disorders) are the most consistently useful medications to suppress tics (for example, haloperidol and pimozide).
• Alpha-adrenergic agonists such as clonidine and guanfacine are used primarily for hypertension (high blood pressure) but are also used to treat tics. 
• Stimulant medications such as methylphenidate and dextroamphetamine can lessen ADHD symptoms in people with TS without causing tics to become more severe. Some studies show the short-term use of these drugs can help children with TS who also have ADHD.
• Antidepressants, specifically, serotonin reuptake inhibitors (clomipramine, fluoxetine, fluvoxamine, paroxetine, and sertraline) can help some people control symptoms of depression, OCD, and anxiety.

Unfortunately, there is no one medication that is helpful to all people with TS, nor does any medication completely eliminate symptoms. 

Other therapies and treatments can include:

• Behavioral treatments such as awareness training and competing response training can be used to reduce tics. A recent National Institutes of Health-funded, multi-center randomized control trial called Cognitive Behavioral Intervention for Tics (CBIT) showed that training to voluntarily move in response to a premonitory urge can reduce tic symptoms.  Other behavioral therapies, such as biofeedback or supportive therapy, have not been shown to reduce tic symptoms. However, supportive therapy can help a person with TS better cope with the disorder and deal with the secondary social and emotional problems that can occur.
• Psychotherapy can help individuals cope with the disorder and deal with accompanying problems or conditions, including ADHD, depression, anxiety, and OCD.

What are the latest updates on Tourette syndrome?

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) and other components of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—such as the National Institute of Mental Health, the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institute on Drug Abuse, and the National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders—support research relevant to TS, either at NIH laboratories or through grants to major research institutions across the country.  

Another component of the Department of Health and Human Services, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), funds professional education programs as well as TS research.

Knowledge about TS comes from studies across numerous medical and scientific disciplines, including genetics, neuroimaging, neuropathology, clinical trials (medication and non-medication), epidemiology, neurophysiology, neuroimmunology, and descriptive/diagnostic clinical science.

• Genetic studies—Currently, NIH-funded scientists are conducting a variety of large-scale genetic studies involving TS. Understanding the genetics of TS genes may strengthen clinical diagnosis, improve genetic counseling, lead toward a better understanding of its causes, and provide clues for more effective therapies.
• Neurostimulation—NINDS-funded research is testing the effectiveness and safety of deep brain stimulation (DBS) for treating tics and co-occurring conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive behaviors, in individuals with TS who do not respond well to medications and behavioral therapy. DBS uses a surgically implanted, battery-operated medical device to deliver electrical stimulation to specific areas in the brain that control movement, which blocks the abnormal nerve signals that cause symptoms.
• Neuroimaging studies—Advances in imaging technology and an increase in trained scientists have led to an increasing use of novel and powerful techniques to identify brain regions, circuitry, and neurochemical factors important in TS and related conditions, such as ADHD and OCD.
• Neuropathology (the study of nervous system diseases)—There has been an increase in the number and quality of donated brains from people with TS available for research. This increase, coupled with advances in neuropathological techniques, has led to initial findings with implications for neuroimaging studies and animal models of TS.
• Clinical trials—Several clinical trials in TS recently have been completed or currently are underway. These include studies of stimulant treatment of ADHD in TS and behavioral treatments for reducing tic severity in children and adults. Smaller trials of novel approaches to treatment such as dopamine agonists and glutamatergic medications also show promise. Neurostimulation treatments mentioned above such as DBS and noninvasive transcranial magnetic stimulation in children and adults are also ongoing.
• Epidemiology and clinical science—Careful epidemiological studies (those that track the pattern or incidence of a disease) now estimate the prevalence of TS to be substantially higher than previously thought, with a wider range of severity. Also, clinical studies are providing new findings regarding TS and co-existing conditions. These include subtyping studies of TS and OCD, an examination of the link between ADHD and learning problems in children with TS, and a new appreciation of sensory tics. One of the most important and controversial areas of TS science involves the relationship between TS and autoimmune brain injury associated with group A beta-hemolytic streptococcal infections or other infectious processes. There are many epidemiological and clinical investigations currently underway in this area.

You may find more information about research on TS by using NIH RePORTER, a searchable database of current and past research projects supported by NIH and other federal agencies. RePORTER also includes links to publications and resources from these projects. 

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Learn About Clinical Trials

Clinical trials are studies that allow us to learn more about disorders and improve care. They can help connect patients with new and upcoming treatment options.

How can I or my loved one help improve care for people with Tourette syndrome?

Consider participating in a clinical trial so clinicians and scientists can learn more about TS. Clinical research uses human volunteers to help researchers learn more about a disorder and perhaps find better ways to safely detect, treat, or prevent disease.

All types of volunteers are needed—those who are healthy or may have an illness or disease—of all different ages, sexes, races, and ethnicities to ensure that study results apply to as many people as possible, and that treatments will be safe and effective for everyone who will use them.

For information about participating in clinical research visit NIH Clinical Research Trials and You. Learn about clinical trials currently looking for people with TS at Clinicaltrials.gov, a searchable database of current and past federal and private clinical trials.

Where can I find more information about Tourette syndrome?

Information may be available from the following resources:

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC)

Child Neurology Foundation
Phone: 888-417-3435

Tourette Association of America
Phone: 888-486-8738

Learn about related topics

• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Learning Disabilities

What is Tourette Syndrome? | CDC

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a condition of the nervous system. TS causes people to have “tics”.

Tics are sudden twitches, movements, or sounds that people do repeatedly. People who have tics cannot stop their body from doing these things. For example, a person might keep blinking over and over. Or, a person might make a grunting sound unwillingly.

Having tics is a little bit like having hiccups. Even though you might not want to hiccup, your body does it anyway. Sometimes people can stop themselves from doing a certain tic for a while, but it’s hard. Eventually the person has to do the tic. Depending on the type of tics a person has, and how long the tics last, a person might be diagnosed with Tourette syndrome or another type of tic disorder.

Types of Tics

There are two types of tics—motor and vocal.

Motor Tics

Motor tics are movements of the body. Examples of motor tics include blinking, shrugging the shoulders, or jerking an arm.

Vocal Tics

Vocal tics are sounds that a person makes with his or her voice. Examples of vocal tics include humming, clearing the throat, or yelling out a word or phrase.

Tics can be either simple or complex:

Simple Tics

Simple tics involve just a few parts of the body. Examples of simple tics include squinting the eyes or sniffing.

Complex Tics

Complex tics usually involve several different parts of the body and can have a pattern. An example of a complex tic is bobbing the head while jerking an arm, and then jumping up.

Symptoms of Tourette syndrome

The main symptoms of TS are tics. A person can have tics ranging from simple, temporary tics lasting a few weeks or months, to having many complex tics that are long-lasting. Symptoms of TS usually begin when a child is 5 to 10 years of age. The first symptoms often are motor tics that occur in the head and neck area.

The types of tics and how often a person has tics changes a lot over time. Even though the symptoms might appear, disappear, and reappear, these conditions are considered chronic.

In most cases, tics decrease during adolescence and early adulthood, and sometimes disappear entirely. However, many people with TS experience tics into adulthood and, in some cases, tics can become worse during adulthood. ¹

Although the media often portray people with TS as involuntarily shouting out swear words (called coprolalia) or constantly repeating the words of other people (called echolalia), these symptoms are rare, and are not required for a diagnosis of TS.

Diagnosing Tourette syndrome

There is no single test, like a blood test, to diagnose TS. Health professionals look at the person’s symptoms to diagnose TS and other tic disorders. The tic disorders differ from each other in terms of the type of tic present (motor or vocal, or combination of the both), and how long the symptoms have lasted. TS can be diagnosed if a person has both motor and vocal tics, and has had tic symptoms for at least a year.

Learn more about how TS and other tic disorders are diagnosed »

Tool Kit for Families: Living with Tourette & Tic Disorders

Treatment for Tourette syndrome

Although there is no cure for TS, there are treatments available to help manage the tics. Many people with TS have tics that do not get in the way of their daily life and, therefore, do not need any treatment. However, medication and behavioral treatments are available if tics cause pain or injury; interfere with school, work, or social life; or cause stress.

Learn more about treatments »

Other Concerns and Conditions

Meet two families and hear about their experiences living with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder and Tourette Syndrome

Watch the video »

TS often occurs with other conditions. Most children diagnosed with TS also have been diagnosed with at least one additional mental, behavioral, or developmental disorder such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, or obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). It is important to find out if a person with TS has any other conditions, and treat those conditions properly.

Learn more about other concerns and conditions »

Risk Factors and Causes

Doctors and scientists do not know the exact cause of TS. Research suggests that it is an inherited genetic condition. That means it is passed on from parent to child through genes.

Learn more about risk factors and causes »

More Information

• Data and Statistics on Tourette Syndrome
• Tourette Association of America
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke -Tourette Syndrome
• American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Facts for Families – Tic Disorders

References

1. American Psychiatric Association. Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders, fifth edition, text revision. Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association, 2022.
2. Bloch, MH, Leckman, JF. Clinical course of Tourette Syndrome. J Psychosom Res. 2009; 67(6): 497-501.
3. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence of diagnosed Tourette Syndrome in persons aged 6-17 years – United States, 2007. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2009; 58(21): 581-5.
4. Bitsko, RH, Holbrook, JR, Visser, SN, Mink, JW, Zinner, SH, Ghandour, RM, Blumberg, SJ (2014).  A National Profile of Tourette Syndrome, 2011-2012.  J Dev Behav Pediatr 35(5), 317-322.

Tourette’s syndrome – what kind of disease is it

Contents of the article

1. Factors that provoke Tourette’s syndrome
2. How Tourette’s Syndrome Manifests
3. Disease stages
4. Diagnostic features
5. How is Tourette’s syndrome treated in Moscow
6. Traditional medicine
7. Tourette Syndrome FAQ

Tourette’s syndrome is a genetic disease that is most often passed from fathers to sons, it is much less common in women. At the same time, women whose fathers suffered from this ailment are strongly prone to obsessive-compulsive disorder.

in a tenth of cases, Tourette’s syndrome is also accompanied by coprolalia – this is a painful craving for obscene language, a desire to use swear words when it is inappropriate. Coprolalia is not a symptom of this syndrome exclusively, because such a problem occurs in schizophrenia and in some manic states.

It cannot be said that the disease itself is very rare – it occurs from 1 to 10 times per 2000 people, most often the diagnosis is made in childhood.

Factors provoking Tourette syndrome

Although the disease is genetic, some factors provoke it more actively. Therefore, we single out such causes of Tourette’s syndrome:

• serious infections;
• poisoning with toxins;
• mental injury;
• severe and repetitive stress;
• use of psychotropic substances (including misuse of prescribed drugs).

How does Tourette syndrome manifest itself

Symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome include:

• various involuntary tics. Twitching is observed on the neck, face, in the shoulder area;
• chaotic and frequent movements of the tongue, lips. Moreover, this may be accompanied by shouting out different words, sounds;
• repetition of individual movements several times, repetition of syllables, words or sounds.

The list shows that the manifestations of the disease are motor (associated with movements) and vocal (associated with sounds). Everything related to movement most often manifests itself from 2 to 8 years old, and vocal “bursts” are also characteristic of younger children.

Any tics in this disease are not controlled. These signs of Tourette’s syndrome exist as if by themselves – the patient is unable to cope with them. At the same time, in a stressful situation, such reactions become aggravated, become more pronounced, vivid and frequent. In conditions of complete rest and relaxation, tics are much less disturbing.

Disease stages

The syndrome has four stages. They are determined depending on how often tics occur. If not more than once a minute – we are talking about the first stage. Moreover, the patient often feels that the problem is approaching, and can somehow disguise it. The second stage is 2 to 4 ticks per minute. This gives a strong tension on the psyche, it is overexcited.

Further, the process goes on increasing: in the third stage, 5 or more ticks per minute are observed, and the fourth is characterized by very frequent ticks. In the latter case, serious mental disorders are not uncommon, since the central nervous system is in constant tension.

How does Tourette syndrome progress, is there a treatment

It is impossible to completely cure the disease with the help of specific programs, but often it can disappear on its own. For example, this happens during puberty. If Tourette’s syndrome persists with age, it often overlaps with various mental disorders such as panic attacks. This syndrome does not carry life-threatening consequences, however, it worsens the patient’s quality of life – if only for the reason that the sick person feels uncomfortable, cannot communicate with others like an ordinary person.

Treatment of Tourette’s syndrome involves smoothing out severe symptoms, improving the patient’s quality of life.

Diagnostic features

Diagnosis of Tourette’s syndrome consists in a set of measures:

• interview of the patient, his visual examination;
• CT scan of the brain;
• MRI. The choice of a specific research method is made by the doctor.

The problem of this nature is dealt with by psychiatrists, and the syndrome itself belongs to psychiatric diseases according to ICD-10.

Important! Parents will not be able to determine for themselves what kind of syndrome a child has. The fact is that there are very dangerous conditions that disguise themselves as tics, so visually they look the same as Tourette’s syndrome. But only a professional can verify this. If during the examination the specialist suspects a deviation, he may prescribe a number of additional examinations and analyzes (according to the situation). In this case, it is necessary to go through all the procedures and make sure the diagnosis is accurate.

How is Tourette’s syndrome treated in Moscow

All methods that are used in the treatment of such diseases can be divided into drug and non-drug. The former involve taking sedatives, rarely tranquilizers. If they are prescribed, then in short courses and only after the doctor finds out that this is necessary.

Non-drug treatments for Tourette’s syndrome:

• relaxing massage – manual and hardware;
• reflexology. The option is chosen depending on the situation. Such therapy is carried out with the help of hands, special needles, electrical impulses. The point is to act on certain points of the body, which will help to relax, stabilize the nervous system;
• aromatherapy. It aims to rest, calm, relax. After consultation with a doctor, aromatherapy is also available at home – this is a simple and often effective method;
• therapeutic sleep (electrosleep). Thanks to current pulses through special devices, such a dream normalizes the functioning of the brain and central nervous system. It usually lasts from 30 minutes to 2 hours;
• psychotherapy. It helps a person get rid of anxiety, complex conditions, psychological trauma, and also teaches you to accept your condition.

An important point in the treatment of Tourette’s syndrome is the right environment at home, among close friends. A person with such a deviation should receive support, care, he must be protected from ridicule and inadequate reactions to tics.

Traditional medicine

With such an ailment, you can use folk remedies that are aimed at stabilizing the condition, maintaining calm. These are teas and tinctures from herbs such as mint, chamomile, lemon balm. You can use any soothing fees if there is no allergy to the components. However, you should not rely on their healing properties – it’s just easy support for the condition in addition to the main treatment (be sure to consult with your doctor).

Tourette’s syndrome: questions and answers

Frequently asked questions are answered by:

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Why is the syndrome so called?

Chudinskaya Galina Nikolaevna

Neurologist, member of the Association of Interdisciplinary Medicine

It takes its name from Gilles de la Tourette. This physician published a major report on 9 patients with this syndrome in 1885.

Who is more likely to suffer from Tourette’s syndrome?

Chudinskaya Galina Nikolaevna

Neurologist, member of the Association of Interdisciplinary Medicine

Symptoms of Tourette’s syndrome are more common in men – 3-4 times more often than in women (according to various sources). Also, the syndrome is more inherent in children – half of the patients get rid of it by the age of 18 (spontaneously).

How dangerous is Tourette syndrome?

Chudinskaya Galina Nikolaevna

Neurologist, member of the Association of Interdisciplinary Medicine

There is no direct danger to the life and health of the patient or others. It all comes down to the fact that because of the awkwardness and difficulty in communication, the sick person begins to withdraw into himself, to avoid people. Psychotherapy and competent treatment help to resolve this issue. Pr

Tics and Tourette syndrome

Science

Tourette’s syndrome – a disease of the nervous system, characterized by the presence of motor and psycho-emotional disorders.

Movement disorders are manifested by the presence of complex tics – involuntary fast, irregular movements or vocalizations. Tourette syndrome includes both motor (eg, eye blinking, shrugging, touching objects, head tilting back) and vocal (eg, coughing, whistling, repeating words) tics.

An important difference between tics and other movement disorders is the ability to temporarily suppress it, although this is accompanied by an increase in internal tension. In addition, tics may be preceded by a feeling of an overwhelming urge to move, which may give the impression that it is voluntary.

Tics are aggravated by anxiety, agitation, lack of sleep, stress and decrease by strenuous activities that are exciting for a person.

As a rule, tics begin in childhood, are most pronounced during adolescence, and then decrease. In about 1/3 of patients with the onset of adulthood, tics may completely disappear, however, in another 1/3 of cases, the severity of tics may not decrease even in adulthood.

In addition to tics, patients are also concerned about psycho-emotional disorders. It can be an obsessive-compulsive syndrome, a syndrome of impaired attention and hyperactivity, irritability, anxiety, etc. Sometimes such disorders can disable more than the tics themselves.

I have tics, does that mean I have Tourette’s?
No. Not all people with tics have Tourette’s syndrome. These can be either motor or vocal tics outside of Tourette’s syndrome, or other conditions in which tics are only one of the manifestations.

In order to determine the cause of tics, a specialist consultation is necessary. He will be able to suggest whether your symptoms are really a manifestation of a particular disease and, if necessary, prescribe additional diagnostic procedures.

What are the treatment options?
It is impossible to completely cure the disease. But there is a therapy that can improve the psycho-emotional state and reduce movement disorders. The severity of tics in this disease, as well as how much they interfere with daily life, varies greatly from case to case. Therefore, therapy is always individual. With mild manifestations of the disease, psychotherapy is recommended, drug treatment is prescribed only with a greater severity of symptoms.