Tourette Syndrome

Alternative names

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

Definition

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, also called simply Tourette syndrome, is a disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics that begins before age 18.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Tourette syndrome, first described by Georges Gilles de la Tourette in 1885, is a complex condition that arises during childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by repeated and involuntary body movements (tics). A tic is a sudden, rapid, stereotyped motor movement or vocalization. Tics can include eye blinking, repeated throat clearing or sniffing, arm thrusting, kicking movements, shoulder shrugging or jumping.

The prevalence of Tourette syndrome is estimated at 2% of the general population. This may be a conservative estimate, since many people with very mild tics may be unaware of them and never seek medical attention. Tourette syndrome is four times as likely to occur in boys as in girls.

Though a gene for Tourette syndrome has not yet been identified, there is strong evidence that it is an inherited disorder transmitted through one or more genes. It is an autosomal dominant trait.

Famous people with Tourette syndrome include Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (formerly Chris Jackson), Jim Eisenreich, and Mozart.

Symptoms

The most common initial symptom is a facial tic - other tics may follow. Contrary to popular belief, use of socially inappropriate words or phrases (coprolalia) occurs in only a minority of patients. Tics may occur many times a day, but they tend to improve or worsen at different times. The nature of the tics may vary and change with time.

Many patients explain that the tics are not totally involuntary, but that "things just would not feel right" if they did not do them. In this respect Tourette syndrome differs from obsessive-compulsive disorder, in which patients are compelled to do the behaviors out of fear of impending doom.

Signs and tests

There are no specific lab tests to confirm a diagnosis of Tourette syndrome. However, a thorough examination by a qualified physician should be performed to rule out other causes of these symptoms.

Diagnostic Criteria:

• Both multiple motor and one or more vocal tics have been present at some time during the illness, although not necessarily at the same time.
  
• Tics occur many times a day, nearly every day or intermittently, throughout a period of more than 1 year. During this period there must not be a tic-free period of more than 3 consecutive months.