Table of Contents
- Overview
- Symptoms
- Treatment
- Prevention
Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a disorder of the nervous system that causes a person to make repeated and uncontrolled (involuntary) rapid movements and sounds (vocalizations) called tics. The disorder is commonly called Tourette syndrome.
See also:
Chronic motor tic disorder Facial tics Transient tic disorder
Alternative Names
Tourette syndrome
Causes, incidence, and risk factors
Tourette syndrome is named for Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who first described this disorder in 1885. There is strong evidence that Tourette syndrome is passed down through families, although the gene has not yet been found.
The syndrome may be linked to problems in certain areas of the brain, and the chemical substances (dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine) that help nerve cells talk to one another.
Tourette syndrome can be either severe or mild. About 10% of Americans have a mild tic disorder, but far fewer have more severe forms of Tourette syndrome. Many people with very mild tics may not be aware of them and never seek medical help.
Tourette syndrome is four times as likely to occur in boys as in girls.
Review Date: 03/30/2010
Reviewed By: David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of
General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington
School of Medicine; Luc Jasmin, MD, PhD, Department of Neurosurgery
at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, and Department of
Anatomy at UCSF, San Francisco, CA. Review provided by VeriMed
Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical
Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.
A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)
