Transcript Tourette`s Syndrome

Tourette’s
Syndrome
by Martha
Coming Up...
• What is Tourette’s Syndrome?
• What are the symptoms?
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Disorders Associated with TS
General Facts/Characteristics of TS
How is it treated?
Personal Story
Review Points
Bibliography
What is Tourette’s Syndrome?
• an inherited neurological disorder
• named after Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette,
a French neurologist who described the
condition first in 1885
• characterized by involuntary movements and
uncontrollable vocal sounds called tics
• there is no known cause
What are the symptoms?
• Facial tics (excessive blinking, grimacing, etc.)
• Other motor tics (head jerking, body twisting, etc.)
• Continually clearing throat, coughing, sniff, shout,
etc.
• Involuntarily shouting inappropriate things
(caprotalia)
• Constantly repeat other’s words (echolalia)
• Excessively touching others
• severe cases involve lip or cheek biting and
banging their head against hard objects
Disorders Associated with TS are:
• anti-social behavior
• sleep disorders
• hyperactivity
• Obsessive Compulsive Disorder
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Learning Disabilities
General Facts/Characteristics of TS
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symptoms generally appear before age 18
found in all racial groups
3 to 4 times more common in males
an estimated 200,000 Americans have it
about 1 in 200 people show symptoms
there is no cure
the cause is unknown
General Facts/Characteristics (cont.)
• symptoms generally reduce in late teens or
early twenties
• as symptoms decrease, depression, mood
swings, and anti-social behavior may
increase
• someone with TS has a 50% chance of
giving it to their child
• life-long illness
How is it treated?
• there is no cure, but the following drugs
reduce the tics:
haloperidol
pimozide
tardive dyskinesia
clonide
fluphenazine
clonazepam
Personal Story
Cally Cason from Portland, Oregon started
showing the symptoms for Tourette’s Syndrome
around the age of three, but his parents dismissed
his behavior and thought it was just a way to get
attention. His mom talked to his pediatrician about
his behavior, but he said it was just a nervous tic
that he would outgrow. One night, his father heard
him grunting upstairs in his room and he called his
neighbor because she and her sons had Tourette’s
Syndrome, and for a long time she thought Cally
might have it. Finally, his parents took him to a
neurologist and it was confirmed that he had
Tourette’s Syndrome. Cally is now 15 and he is a
track star at his high school.
Current Research...
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders
and Stroke (NINDS)
• National Institute of Mental Health
• National Center for Research Resources
• National Institute of Child Health and
Human Development
Summary of Tourette’s Syndrome:
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inherited neurological disorder
symptoms include tics
3 to 4 times more common in men
symptoms generally appear before age 18
an estimated 200,000 Americans have it
no cure, but there is treatment for symptoms
life-long illness
symptoms normally reduce as patients mature
the cause is unknown
BIBLIOGRAPHY
• http://www.elibrary.com/s/il/school/getdoc.c
gi?id=133006632...
• http://www.ninds.nin.gov/healinfo/disorder/
tourette/tourette.html
• http://www.members.tripod.com/adm/popup
/roadmap.shtml