What is Tourette syndrome?
What are the causes and how common and signs?
Does it have a cure?
What is Tourette Syndrome?
Tourette's syndrome is a condition that affects the nervous system and causes the sufferer to have "tics".
Tics are sudden twitches or movements or sounds that people make repeatedly.
And people with tics can't stop their bodies from doing these things.
For example, a person may continue to "blink" over and over.
Or a person may make a "grunting sound" involuntarily, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Having tics is a bit like having hiccups.
Although you may not want to hiccup, your body does anyway.
Sometimes people can stop themselves from doing some tics for a while but this is difficult.
Eventually a person has to do the tics.
Causes of Tourette's syndrome
Doctors and scientists do not know the exact cause of Tourette's syndrome.
Research indicates that it is a genetic condition.
This means that it is passed from parent to child through genes.
How common is Tourette's syndrome?
Studies of children with diagnosed and undiagnosed TS have estimated that 1 in 162 children has TS.
In the United States, 1 in 360 children between the ages of 6 and 17 is diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome.
This indicates that about half of children with Tourette syndrome go undiagnosed.
Tourette syndrome can affect people of all racial and ethnic groups.
Boys are affected 3 to 5 times more often than girls.
Types of tics in Tourette's syndrome
There are two types of tics, motor and vocal:
Motor Tics
Motor tics are body movements, such as blinking, shrugging shoulders, or shaking the arm.
Vocal Tics
These are sounds a person makes, such as a hum, buzzing, "clearing the throat" or yelling a word or phrase.
Tics in Tourette's syndrome can be simple or complex
Simple tics in Tourette's syndrome
Simple tics involve a few parts of the body, such as closing the eyes or smelling.
Complex tics in Tourette's syndrome
Complex tics usually involve several different parts of the body and can have a pattern.
An example of complex tics is rocking the head while shaking the arm and then jumping up.
Tourette syndrome symptoms
The main symptoms of Tourette's syndrome are tics.
Symptoms usually begin when a child is 5 to 10 years old.
Often the first symptoms are motor tics that occur in the head and neck region.
Tics are usually worse during stressful or exciting times, and tend to improve when a person is calm or focused on an activity.
The types of tics and how often a person has them changes a lot over time.
Although symptoms may come and go and reappear, these conditions are considered chronic.
In most cases, tics decrease during adolescence and early adulthood and sometimes disappear completely.
However, many people with Tourette's syndrome have tics in adulthood, and in some cases the tics can become worse during adulthood.
Tourette's syndrome diagnosis
There is no single test like a blood test to diagnose Tourette's syndrome.
Health professionals look at a person's symptoms to diagnose Tourette's syndrome and other tic disorders.
Tic disorders differ from each other in terms of the type of tics present (motor, vocal, or a combination of both) and how long the symptoms last.
Tourette syndrome can be diagnosed if a person has motor and vocal tics and has had symptoms of a tic for at least a year.
Tourette syndrome treatment
Although there is no cure for Tourette syndrome, there are treatments to help manage the tics caused by Tourette syndrome.
Many people with Tourette's syndrome have tics that do not interfere with their daily lives and therefore do not need any treatment, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, medications and behavioral treatments are available if the tics cause pain or injury, affect school, work or social life, or cause stress.
Educating the community (eg peers, teachers, co-workers) about TS can increase understanding of symptoms, reduce discomfort, and reduce stress in people with TS.
And people with Tourette's syndrome can't help having tics or act out on purpose.
When others understand these facts, people with Tourette syndrome may receive more support, which in turn may help reduce some of the symptoms of tic.
It's common for people with Tourette's syndrome to have other conditions, particularly attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
People with additional conditions will need different treatments based on symptoms.
Sometimes treating these other conditions can help reduce tics.
To develop the right treatment plan, people with tics, parents and health care providers can work together and include teachers, child care providers, coaches, therapists, and other family members.
Medications for Tourette's Syndrome
Medications may be used to reduce severe or disruptive tics that may have led to problems in the past with family, friends, other students, or co-workers.
Medications may also be used to reduce symptoms of related conditions such as ADHD or obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Medicines do not eliminate tics completely.
However, it can help some people with Tourette syndrome in their daily lives.
There is no single drug that is best for all people.
Medicines affect each person differently.
One person may work well with one drug but not another.
When determining the best treatment, your doctor may try different medications and doses, and it may take time to find the best treatment plan.
The doctor will want to find the medication and dose that has the best results and the least side effects.
Doctors often start with small doses and increase them slowly as needed.
As with all medicines, those used to treat tics can have side effects.
Side effects can include weight gain, muscle stiffness, fatigue, insomnia, and social withdrawal.
Side effects should be considered carefully when deciding whether or not to use any medication to treat tics.
In some cases the side effects can be worse than the tics.
Although medications are often used to treat the symptoms of Tourette syndrome, they may not be beneficial for everyone.
Two common reasons why medications should not be used to treat Tourette syndrome are unpleasant side effects and medication failure as expected.
Behavioral therapy for Tourette's syndrome
Behavioral therapy is a treatment that teaches people with Tourette syndrome ways to manage tics.
Behavioral therapy is not a cure for tics.
However it can help reduce the number of tics, the severity of the tics, the effect of the tics, or a combination of all of these.
It is important to understand that although behavioral treatments may help reduce the severity of the tics, this does not mean that the tics are just psychological or that anyone with tics should be able to control them.
Celebrities with Tourette's syndrome
Billie Eilish
Singer Billie Eilish has spoken to her fans about her struggle with Tourette's syndrome since she was a child.
She previously avoided publicizing her diagnosis because she said she didn't want to be singled out for her condition.
David Beckham
David Beckham, one of the most famous English footballers of his generation, suffers from Tourette's syndrome.
Dan Aykroyd
Famous Canadian actor and comedian Dan Aykroyd was diagnosed with Tourette's mild syndrome and Aspergers at a young age.
As a child he would often hear voices and suffer from physical tics such as snoring and nervousness.
Fortunately Aykroyd's symptoms subsided when he was 14 as a result of successful treatments.
Mozart
The famous classical composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart experienced Tourette's syndrome.
And in the documentary, What makes Mozart convulsive?
James McConnell suggests that genius musical compositions were influenced by Tourette's syndrome.
According to McConnell, Mozart showed signs of normal tremors and obsessions, all of which are signs of disorder.