Tourette Syndrome
Hayden Anderson
What is it?
Tourette Syndrome is a neurological movement disorder that is inherited. It affects between 100,000 to 200,000 people in the United States. About 1 million Americans may have very mild symptoms of TS. A person with TS makes involuntary and repeated body movements, called "tics." The tics are not always present, but may worsen with fatigue or stress.
More details
How does a person get it?
What's going wrong?
Can we treat it?
Most patients do not need medication because their symptoms are so mild. Those who do need the medication will only dull the symptoms and not completely rid them. Often times the side effects of medication can outweigh the original problem. TS drugs are dopamine antagonists, meaning they block receptors so dopamine cannot bind to its usual spot on the nerve cells in the brain. Thus, dopamine can not pass on its signal and assert its action on the brain. Tics may be caused by dopamine receptors that are overly sensitive to dopamine in certain areas of the brain.
How does it effect the life of the patient and their family?
Additional Information
- Most cases start with eye blinking
- There are vocal and motor tics
- TS is found evenly among races
- TS doesn't affect IQ
- TS doesn't have a full cure
Bibliography
"Neuroscience for Kids - Tourette Syndrome." Neuroscience for Kids - Tourette Syndrome. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
"Tourette Syndrome." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. Ed. Joseph. The Nemours Foundation, 01 July 2014. Web. 16 Feb. 2016.
Digital image. Royal Queen Seeds. N.p., n.d. Web. <http://www.royalqueenseeds.com/img/cms/Blog/tourrete.png>.
"Ten Common Questions About Tourette's Syndrome." Therapy Twins. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. <http://therapytwins.com/ten-common-questions-about-tourettes-syndrome/>.
"Brittany Fichter." Brittany Fichter. N.p., n.d. Web. 16 Feb. 2016. <http://brittanyfichterwrites.com/spotting-tourettes-in-the-classroom/>.