What is Tourette Syndrome?
Tourette Syndrome (also known as TS or Tourette's) is a NEUROLOGICAL disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics. It is named after Georges Gilles de la Tourette, a French physician who made the first clinical description of the condition.
Tics are involuntary, sudden body movements and uncontrollable vocal sounds. These outbursts are neither intentional nor purposeful. Most common tics include:
- eye blinking
- facial grimacing, nose & mouth twitching
- head jerking
- shoulder shrugging
- repeated throat clearing or sniffing
- grunts or noises
Complex tics may include:
- repeated utterances of certain words/phrases
- arm thrusting, kicking movements
- jumping, skipping, bending-over
- touching other people
- and many others.
In a minority of cases, the vocalizations can include socially inappropriate words and phrases- a condition called coprolalia. Others symptoms may include echolalia (repeating another's last words), palilalia (repeating one's own last words), echokinesis (repeating other's movements.)
The range of tics is very broad, and may differ from person to person. Some symptoms are often so complex that friends, family members, teachers and employers may find it hard to believe that these movements and vocalizations are involuntary.
To most Filipinos, these involuntary movements called tics are commonly mistaken as "MANNERISMS." Whenever we see someone who has tics, we immediately speculate about the unusual things that we see, and often end up with unfair judgements like:
- These "mannerisms" are JUST PSYCHOLOGICAL.
- These "mannerisms" can be controlled. All it needs is determination, just like quitting smoking.
- "Nakasanayan" o "nakalakhan lang 'yan."
- "This person was probably not raised well- napipigilan naman 'yan pag bata pa…"
- This person is suffering from mental illness.
- These tics are contagious, or nakakahawa.
- People with TS can't function as normal people
The statements above are NOT true. The following are important facts on TS:
- TS is a neurological disorder, a physiological condition, NOT a nervous or psychological disorder. TS is not in the mind- It's in the brain. Tics are NOT mannerisms.
- Tics can be suppressed for a certain period of time, but they are NOT totally controllable. For example, when a person wants to sneeze, he may somehow prevent himself from doing so, but the "urge" and irritation is still there. It can be a struggle for a person with TS to control his tics.
- Tics are NOT nervous habits. These should never be referred to as "bad habits" that were simply not outgrown
- TS is NOT contagious; it is NOT a degenerative condition.
- There are people with TS from ALL walks of life. There are lawyers, teachers, musicians, athletes, soldiers, and even surgeons who have TS. Famous people with TS include Samuel Johnson (wrote the first English dictionary), Major League's Jim Eisenreich, and NBA player Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf (formerly Chris Jackson.) It is even believed that music genius Mozart had the condition.
There is currently an ongoing research on TS. It is believed that an abnormal metabolism of brain chemicals called dopamine and serotonin are involved with the disorder. TS is genetically transmitted; parents with TS have a 50% chance of passing the gene on to their children. Girls with the gene have a 70% chance of displaying symptoms, boys with the gene have a 99% chance of displaying symptoms.
No, there is currently no cure for TS. However, there are medications available to help control the symptoms specially when they interfere with one's daily functioning, or when tics are so severe that they start to inflict pain on themselves. A person seeking diagnosis or medication should consult a neurologist.
Tourette Syndrome
What are Tics?
What causes Tourette Syndrome?
Is there a cure?
