Tourettes Syndrome

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Tourettes Syndrome

• By Rachael Quick, period 6
• 3/1/07

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Who Suffers?

• All social, racial, and ethnic groups are equally
  affected.
• Males are affected 3 to 4 times more often than
  females.
• It mainly occurs in the 9-11 age group in up to
  10 of children.
• It is more common in children with autism or
  Asperger syndrome.

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Symptoms

• The symptoms for Tourettes Syndrome can be
  separated into motor, vocal, and behavioral
  manifestations
• The symptoms can also be experienced as mild,
  moderate, or severe
• Motor tics (involuntary, sudden, movement or
  sound) in a variety of forms can appear. Tics
  become worse with anxiety, anger, excitement, or
  fatigue. They are either simple or complex
• Simple tics involve just one muscle group (i.e. a
  blink, a shoulder shrug, etc.)
• Complex tics use more muscles. The face or body
  may contort, or the person may touch someone
  else, jump, sniff, or make an obscene gesture.
• There may also be vocal tics. These can also be
  simple or complex
• Simple vocal tics can include grunting, barking,
  yelping, or throat clearing.
• Complex vocal tics are when the person repeats
  theirs or someone elses words, talk to
  themselves, or say obscene words or phrases.
  Obscenities only occur in about 10 of TS
  patients.
• TS normally onsets at age 7, and most patients
  tics decrease considerably or even disappear with
  adulthood. They may also decrease with the
  understanding of the disorder by the individual
  and their family and friends.
• TS is not degenerative or life threatening all
  people with TS can expect to live a normal life
  span.

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The Genes That Cause TS

• Scientists know that there is more than one gene
  that plays a role in contributing to TS, but they
  dont know all of the genes.
• Some scientists believe that different genes
  cause TS in different individuals.
• One of the genes that contributes to TS is a
  genetic inversion on chromosome 13. This means
  that a gene had broken off, inverted itself, and
  then reattached itself to the chromosome. This
  gene is called SLITRK1.
• Other than the SLITRK1 gene, scientists have yet
  to discover which genes cause TS.
• Scientists think that some environmental factors
  play a big role in TS. While they do not cause
  it, they can affect the disorders severity. Some
  affected individuals experience a seasonal change
  in their tics, for example. For many individuals
  with TS, their symptoms are worse during allergy
  season.
• Stress, weather, temperature, illness factors, or
  any psychosocial stressors can influence the
  severity of TS.

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Hereditary Pattern

• A person with TS has a 50 chance of passing it
  to one of their children.
• Someone can have the genes for the disorder, but
  not show any symptoms.
• Females that inherit the disorder have a 70
  chance of showing symptoms, while males have a
  99 chance.
• There is no way to accurately make a Punnett
  Square for TS, since scientists arent even sure
  what all the causes and all the genes that
  contribute to it are. Scientists just dont know
  enough, and even if they did, most now believe
  that different cases of TS are caused by
  different genes and factors.

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Medical Treatment and Genetic Testing

• There is not medication to cure TS (there
  probably wont be for a very long time), but
  there are medications to suppress tics and make
  life more manageable. Better education of the
  disorder, however, always helps.
• Mild symptoms do not usually require medication.
• Moderate severe symptoms can be treated with
  medication and supported by counseling and/or
  behavior therapy.
• Comorbid symptoms should be treated and accessed
  individually.
• There are currently no genetic tests to determine
  whether an individual has the disease or is a
  carrier of it.

Just being educated about the disorder can help a
number of patients increasingly. http//www.ixsoft
.de/Web_store/Images/256/0596500076.jpg
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Real Life Story

• Linda developed tics at a very young age. She
  started showing symptoms at just age 2. By age 10
  she had developed a squeak that became so loud
  she had to be taken to the doctor. The doctor
  told them it was a tic. Instead of living in
  embarrassment and humiliation, he tells all her
  friends about it and tells them to ignore any
  squeaks they may hear. She has a father that will
  squeak along with her. They squeak their
  favorite songs! her mother says. She does not
  take any medications because she believes it
  dulls her brain. Basically, she handles the
  situation very maturely.
• I do not see this as an affliction - just a
  nuisance.

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References

• http//en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tourette_syndromeCau
  ses
• http//www.healthatoz.com/healthatoz/Atoz/common/s
  tandard/transform.jsp?requestURI/healthatoz/Atoz/
  ency/tourette_syndrome.jsp
• http//www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/tourette/detail
  _tourette.htm
• http//www.tourettes-disorder.com/therapy/treatmen
  t.html
• http//www.tsa-usa.org/Medical/glossary.html
• http//www.tourette-syndrome.com/tourette-syndrome
  -life-stories.htm5

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The End