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Gilles de la Tourette syndrome - Treatment

Alternative Names

Tourette syndrome

Treatment:

Many patients with Tourette syndrome who have very minor symptoms are not treated, because the side effects of the medications may be worse than the symptoms of Tourette syndrome.

Drugs used to treat tics include:

  • Antiseizure medications
  • Blood pressure medicine called clonidine
  • Botulinum toxin injections (can control some motor tics)
  • Dopamine blockers, such as fluphenazine, haloperidol, pimozide and risperidone (can help control or reduce tics, but they have side effects)

Deep brain stimulation has shown promise for treating both the main symptoms of Tourette syndrome and the obsessive-compulsive behaviors.

Support Groups:

Tourette Syndrome Association - www.tsa-usa.org

Expectations (prognosis):

Symptoms usually peak during the teenage years and then improve in early adulthood. Although 1 in 4 patients may be symptom-free for a few years, only 8% of symptoms go away without returning.

Patients usually have normal intelligence and live a normal-length life.

Complications:

Conditions that may occur in people who have Tourette syndrome include:

These conditions need to be diagnosed and treated.

Calling your health care provider:

Make an appointment with your health care provider if you have tics that are severe or persistent, or if they interfere with your daily life.

  • Reviewed last on: 2/5/2011
  • David C. Dugdale, III, MD, Professor of Medicine, Division of General Medicine, Department of Medicine, University of Washington School of Medicine. Joseph V. Campellone, MD, Division of Neurology, Cooper University Hospital, Camden, NJ. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Gleason MM, Boris NW, Dalton R. Habit and tic disorders. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 23.

Jankovic J, Lang AE. Movement disorders: diagnosis and assessment. In: Bradley WG, Daroff RB, Fenichel GM, Jankovic J, eds. Neurology in Clinical Practice. 5th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Butterworth-Heinemann Elsevier; 2008:chap 23.

Lang A. Other movement disorders. In: Goldman L, Ausiello D, eds. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 434.

Kurlan R. Clinical practice Tourette's Syndrome. N Engl J Med. 2010;363(24):2332-2338.

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