Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Sdr.

    * Introduction
    * Signs and symptoms
    * Causes
    * Diagnosis
    * Treatment
Tourette syndrome is a relatively rare neurological disorder characterized by repetitive movements, called tics and involuntary stereotyped. They may be accompanied by coprolalie (pathological tendency to use swear words, scatology or sexual nature) and ecolalie (automatic repetition of words heard from others).

French neurologist named Syndrome who first described in 1855, Gilles de Tourette.

Onset of symptoms occurs from 2 -15 years (mean 7 years), through simple facial tics, neck, limbs, and then, after a certain period of time, which is associated complex tics occur first. With an effort of will and concentration, sometimes these patients can control their tics, or delay them until they find a place that may occur without disturbing. But most tics eventually occurs, it is the nature of the disease.

Incidence of Tourette syndrome is 3 -4 times higher in men than in women. The number of patients is difficult to estimate, because people who have mild tics are not aware of the disease.

In general, Tourette's disorder evolves by episodes of remission followed by periods of deterioration. In children, they are less marked than in adults. Although it is a chronic, with symptoms lasting a lifetime, most patients with this syndrome, the most serious symptoms in adolescence, followed by improvements to continue in adulthood.

Although there is no cure for Tourette syndrome, affected individuals have a normal life, and some do not require treatment if they are not annoying tics. In fact, some children outgrow the disease after adolescence.