Tourette Syndrome

Tourette syndrome is a disorder that is found in the nervous system and is most commonly found in children. Forms of Tourette’s can range from being severe to being mild, causing people to have motor or vocal tics. “Other symptoms such as the expression of socially inappropriate comments or behaviors, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit disorder, self-injuring behavior, depression, and anxiety also appear to be associated with Tourette syndrome” (Tourette syndrome, 1). Tourette’s mainly affects children and teens. It occurs less as you get older. During the late teen years, the severity of Tourette’s decreases. “Some of the suggested risk factors include severe psychological trauma, recurrent daily stresses, extreme emotional excitement, PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder with streptococcal infection), and drug abuse” (Tourette syndrome, 1). Tourette’s can effect someone negatively, due to some of the actions that can occur. People misunderstand people with Tourette’s,

Tourette’s syndrome is a disorder where the affected individual will consistently exhibit “tics”. In the majority of cases these ticks are minor in character, it may just be the urge to blink, or make certain facial gestures. Less than 15% of individuals exhibit coprolalia, which is the unwarranted exclamations of profanities or other socially forbidden remarks. Perhaps those in our generation who are aware of Tourette’s syndrome have learned its symptoms through pop culture, which has glamorized (to some extent) the more severe cases of Tourette’s syndrome in YouTube videos or the animated satire of South Park. Most with Tourette’s syndrome have been diagnosed 5-8 years in childhood and experience the waning of the number and severity of

Many people who have Tourette’s will say that it is difficult to suppress a tic, and

Forrest, my younger brother, was officially diagnosed with Tourette's syndrome when he was fourteen. He was always a little bit different from the rest of our large family; he had endless energy and was constantly making strange faces. Growing up, I noticed him blinking, raising his eyebrows, or moving his jaw. It was not until he hit adolescence that his vocal and motor tics rose to the surface and became increasingly noticeable to his peers. He would make random high pitch yelps, or say one word repeatedly. It was at that time he started to lose friends, was picked on, and laughed at behind his back. Eventually, Forrest realized for himself that he was different, and it began to affect his happy demeanor and diminish his confidence.

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is an inherited tic disorder that usually appears in early childhood and is classified by multiple motor tics and verbal tics. (Mayo 2012) Tics are sudden and repetitive movements, with motor tics being physical muscle movements, and verbal tics being sudden vocalization. Common tics range anywhere from constant eye blinking to throat clearing and grunting. Although the word “involuntary” is usually used to describe tics, this is not completely true, a better word would be “compelling.” It wouldn’t be true to say that people with Tourette’s can’t control their tics, some people can hold the tics back for hours at a time, but this only leads to a bigger outburst when they are finally let go. Tics are comparable to

What patients experience due to this disease are a range of physical and cognitive problems. According to Bonafede (2013), these symptoms may include difficulty with balance, muscle coordination, memory, concentration, vision and speech. Moreover, they may “come and go or become progressively worse,” which will end up hindering the person’s abilities and productivity. Until recently, the major course of therapy only included the use of steroids, due to their immunosuppressive qualities; however, now “several new compounds have been developed and approved,” in hopes to change the course of the disease (Tavazzi, 2014, 833). Current available treatments include steroids and Glatiramer acetate, Natalizumab, and Fingolimod. The first, suppresses the immune system to reduce the inflammatory response, thus avoiding the immune cells from entering the central nervous system. However, long-term use of steroids puts the patient at risk for infection or hypertension; so, during the use of these drugs one must make into account if the benefits outweigh the risk. The latter, is a “synthetic amino acid polymer resembling myelin basic protein,” delivered via injection (Tavazzi, 2014, 833). To be more specific, it is thought to set the immune system so as not to attack the myelin, so as to reduce its scarring and damage to the CNS. It has been shown to be safe and well-tolerated. Some

This disease is life long, even when you feel better treatment is still needed. When you seek help from your doctor medication is prescribed to level your mood, when successful the doctor will discuss long-term approaches. Seeking counseling can help, there’s also psychotherapy, electroconvulsive therapy or transcranial magnetic stimulation. If you want to take a natural approach there’s alternative medicine, the more common ones are Omega 3 Fatty Acids, Magnesium, and St. Johns Wort. There are many ways to get help and seek treatment and the sooner the better before this disease gets

In 2008, the FDA approved tetrabenazine, which is used to help treat chorea. This was the first drug approved to treat symptoms of HD ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). Additionally, the use of antipsychotic drugs are used to help lessen the extremity of involuntary movements and help moderate the individuals temperament ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). In contrast, the use of antipsychotics are not used to help treat dystonia and may actually worsen these symptoms by causing stiffness in movement ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). Many individuals with HD also suffer from depression and may be prescribed fluoxetine, sertraline, or nortriptyline ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research," n.d.). Mood swings and anxiety are controlled with the use of tranquilizers and/or lithium ("Huntington's Disease: Hope Through Research,"

What causes this disease? There is no actual mapped out cause of this disease. It can be congenital and most of the time it is a sudden onset. There are a lot of signs that can let people know that they are starting down that path. A lot of times the actual person doesn’t know its happening though, it usually takes a family member, spouse, or friend to point it out because they see the change first-hand. The disease progresses by the continuous deterioration of the brain tissue. The damaging of the brain tissue breaks down critical centers of the brain that control daily activities. This disease causes memory loss and cannot be regained or new ones be made. It causes them to be a different person and act differently that they would have

Without physical therapy, there would not be as much positivity for Huntington’s patients and would be harder to live with this disease. However, there are other ways to help treat patients with Huntington’s such as using certain medications or drugs to decrease the progress of Huntington’s. Drugs that are used to help treat this disease include tetrabenazine, antipsychotic medication, and benzodiazepines. These medications help to restrain the symptoms of involuntary movements from this disease. The tetrabenazine medication assists in decreasing the amount of dopamine in the body to extend to nerve cells within the brain, since this disease affects a part of the brain. It is widely used to help treat Huntington’s disease since it does help decrease the involuntary movements that the body can have. “Tetrabenazine has side effects of sedation, hypertonia, muscle rigidity, depression, bradykinesia, restlessness, drowsiness and akathisia.” (n.a. Tetrabenazine Side Effects in Detail; n.d.) Benzodiazepine medication is used because it can help relieve irritability, reduce anxiety, muscle relaxer, to treat seizures, and help with memory loss, which are some symptoms of Huntington’s. (Anderson. L., Benzodiazepines: Overview and Use. N.p.; 2014.) This medication is also a class of psychoactive drugs that also helps stop a neurotransmitter known as GABA from reaching the GABA receptor. GABA is a neurotransmitter that affects the central nervous system by restraining nerve transportation to the brain and therefore calms nerve activity. This neurotransmitter being prevented from reaching its receptor would help to decrease nerve activity which would be good for people who have Huntington’s disease because they have trouble controlling movements within the body. Benzodiazepine would be a supplement because it helps reduce the GABA from reaching its receptor.

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder that involves uncontrollable, repetitive movements and/or sounds. Tourette’s is extremely common, having over 200,000 cases every year in America alone. TS is usually found in children between ages six and eighteen and can last a life time. Tourette’s is a devastating disorder that can lead to other disorders if not treated properly. Tourette’s is usually associated with foul language, random aggression and harsh blinking. Since Tourette’s is usually found in children and teenagers, many people with TS experience bullying and isolation. Because of this, some type of therapy is encouraged. There are several clinics and camps for children to help them cope with the disorder.

Tourette Syndrome (TS), first described by Gilles de la Tourette, can be the most debilitating of the tic disorders and is characterized by multiform, frequently changing motor and vocal or phonic tics. There are multiple diagnostic criteria, as defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders IV.

the disease decreases the generation of brain tissue and nerve cells causing difficulty for the brain to communicate with the body and properly function. In the brain Acetylcholine levels begin to drop and with those levels decreasing the functions to learn, concentrate and remember information tend to disappear slowly. The damage is initially in the hippocampus which is the part of your brain that forms memories.

The definition of Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is typically defined by the disorders characteristics. The characteristics of OCD are obsessions and compulsions. Obsessions often manifest from unreasonable beliefs, thoughts, and fears. Compulsions often manifest in the form of ritualistic behaviors. Mayoclinic.org explains that individuals with OCD can have one of the other where the issues of compulsions or obsessions are concerned (Diseases and Conditions). “Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder” written by Gyula Bokor, MD, and Peter D. Anderson further distinguishes OCD by stating that “(OCD) consists of a pervasive pattern of preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and mental and interpersonal control to the degree that flexibility, openness, and efficiency are impaired” (2014, p. 117). There are a number of disorders that are comorbid to OCD, meaning in the presence of one or more disorder. Bokor and Anderson state that often times Tourette’s syndrome and Tic disorders are a frequent comorbidity with OCD (2014, p. 117). Psychotic disorders like schizophrenia has been reported a comorbidity of OCD. Bokor and Anderson state that the mental composition of a patient with OCD can lie in comorbidity with numerous psychiatric disorders as well like panic disorder, social phobia, and posttraumatic stress disorder (2014, p. 118). The National Institute of Mental Health’s website explains that there are a number of treatments for OCD. The two most predominant forms of

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a disorder of the brain that is observed in people who have involuntary movements or vocalizations called tics. Named after Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette who first discovered this disorder, this French neurologist described a noblewoman who exhibited these symptoms in 1885. These tics could range from repetitive movements to inappropriate vocalizations.