Tourrette Syndrome

By Megan Norvalls

Introduction

• Who discovered it?– Georges Gilles de la Turette in the

late 1800’s – He was a researcher who studied the

disorder.•The fist case was discovered in 1825.•The majority of people diagnosed are men.•Tourette’s is a neurobiological disorder.

Diagnosis• Tourette’s Syndrome is a neurobiological disorder

in which the patient repeats the same motion multiple time without knowing. These are referred to as “tics.” Tics are involuntary spasms of the muscle that are repeated over and over. The most common gender to inherit this disorder are men. In fact, about 18% of all children show symptoms of Tourette’s Syndrome. There is no definite cause , but evidence points to abnormal metabolism and a brain chemical called dopamine.

Diagnosis• “The current diagnostic criteria, as defined by the Diagnostic and

Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV are as follows:1. Both multiple motor and one or more vocal tics have been present at

some time during the illness, although not necessarily concurrently.

2. The tics occur many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly every day or intermittently throughout a period of more than 1 year, and during this period there was never a tic-free period of more than 3 consecutive months.

3. The disturbance causes marked distress or significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning.

4. The onset is before age 18.

5. The disturbance is not due to the direct physiological effects of a substance (e.g. stimulants) or a general medical condition (e.g. Huntington's disease or postviral encephalitis).” ("Tourette Syndrome Guide to Diagnosis." Tourette Syndrome Association TSA Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2010. <http://www.tsa-usa.org/Medical/guidetodiagnosis

Trasmission• Studies have shown that TS or

Tourette’s Syndrome is inherited as a dominate gene.

• It is also proven that the sex of the child determines how severe the disorder will be.

This girl has Tourette’s Syndrome

T representing TS

The child would have a 50% chance of getting TS

Signs and symptoms • These are some ways to tell if a

person has TS..Tics of the face or arms including

nose scrunching, grimaces, and eye blinking.

More rare are vocal tics. These are usually socially inappropriate words such as swear words or racial names.

Tourette’s Syndrome is also not uncommon in patients who have other disorders such as OCD and ADHD

Treatment• Before a medication can be given, a

patient must be carefully evaluated in order to be given the proper meds.

• There is also a therapeutic option but lack of research prevents it from being pursued.

Reference list• "Tourette Syndrome Guide to

Diagnosis." Tourette Syndrome Association TSA Home Page. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 May 2010. <http://www.tsa-usa.org/Medical/guidetodiagnosis