FREE ESSAY ON TOURETTE'S SYNDROME

TOURETTE'S SYNDROME

What Makes Them Tic?
Tourette's syndrome is a neurological disorder, which involves involuntary body movements
or Tics. There are two types of Tics, motor/physical and vocal. This paper will cover
many aspects of Tourette's syndrome; including the history of the disease, the discovered
of the disease, the genetics involved with the disorder, the diagnosis of the disease,
and the effects of the disease on families. 
George Gils de la Tourette's a French doctor and biologist discovered Tourette's syndrome
in 1885 (Landau 21). He was observing patients with unexplained repetitive movements and
could not find any preexisting condition that would cause these symptoms. After extensive
research he concluded that this disorder had not been documented before, so he named it
Tourette's syndrome, after himself. 
Tourette's syndrome is a neurological disorder; it is inherited from a parent's dominant
gene, causing different symptoms among different family members. It is not known on which
chromosome the disease is located. There is a 50% chance that one will pass this trait on
to his/her offspring with each pregnancy (Shimberg 64). There is no prenatal testing that
can be done before a child is born to determine if the child has the disease. Unlike
other genetic disorders or disease Tourette's is not in the blood. Therefore testing will
not give any indication of whether or not a child will develop Tourette's. Cases of the
disease show males are burden with the disease three to four times more often then
females. There is a 15% chance that the disorder will evolve during childhood. Both motor
and vocal tics become less frequent with age but unfortunately will never 
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disappear. The U.S. Medical Survey estimates that 100,000 people have full blown
Tourette's syndrome, and there are up to 300,0000 have minor undiagnosed cases.
Tourette's Syndrome causes an individual to lose control of body movement resulting in
repetitive actions and verbalizations. These involuntary movements are called tics. There
are two kinds of tics, motor/physical and vocal. Motor tics can be simple or complex in
appearance. Simple motor tics are abrupt, sudden, and brief movements, occurring in a
single or isolated manner. Examples of simple motor tics include eye blinking, head
jerking, shoulder shrugging and facial grimacing. Complex tics are distinct, coordinated
patterns of sequential movements. Examples of complex tics include such acts as touching
the nose, touching other people, smelling objects, jumping, copropraxia (obscene
gestures), and echopraxia (mimicking movements preformed by others), head shaking
associated with shoulder shrugging, and repetitive kicking of the legs (Shimber 25).
Complex physical tics among Tourette's patients are uncommon and only found among a small
population. Motor tics usually recur in the same part of the body, and multiple regions
of the body can be involved. The expressions of the tics are not necessarily identical
from occurrence to occurrence, even within the same body part. Tics often recede from one
part of the body and evolve elsewhere. Vocal or phonic tics are caused by air moving
through the mouth, nose, or throat. Vocal tics can be subdivided into simple and complex.
Simple vocal tics include sounds, groans, grunting, hissing, gurgling, gasping, belching,
screaming, snorting, shouting, puffing and other mouth noises. Complex vocal tics consist
of uttering words or phrases out of context and coprolalia (vocalizing socially
unacceptable words).
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There are several associated behaviors in addition to the tics that Tourette's patients
suffer from. One of the most common disorders is Attention Deficit Disorder with or
without Hyperactivity (ADD or ADHD). Symptoms of ADD may include: difficulty with
concentration, falling to finish what is started, not listening, and often acting before
thinking (Shimberg 74). Tourette's patients may also suffer from obsession and or exhibit
sleeping disorders. Obsession consists of repetitive unwanted or bothersome thoughts.
Those patients that suffer from sleeping disorders may frequently walk or talk in his/her
sleep.
A typical case of Tourette's syndrome is hard to define because the symptoms fall within
a wild spectrum from mild to sever. Observing symptoms and evaluating one who exhibits
characteristics of Tourette's syndrome is the only way to make a diagnosis. Since, this
is a neurological disorder there are no x rays, scans, blood or neurological test that
can be preformed to determine if this is the condition that one is suffering from
(Comings 542). The onset of this disease is generally before the age of eighteen; this
fact helps to narrow down the diagnosis of the disorder. 
Tourette's is a manageable disease for the patient and family, and patients can usually
live a fairly normal life. Unlike other genetic diseases like Muscular Dystrophy, and
Cystic Fibrosis, which can leave a patient fully dependent on others to care for them,
the Tourette's Syndrome patients are able to support and care for themselves. This
disorder does not affect a person's intelligence or ability to learn at all. A person
with Tourette's syndrome can have some control of their tics. They can hold in their tics
and go into a bathroom or other private place to release them. 
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The majority of tourette's patients are not dramatically disables by their tics and they
do not require medicine. For those who have sever tics, that interfere with the way that
they function are given medications to help control the symptoms. The medications that
are used to treat Tourette's syndrome are categorized as antiphsychotics, strong
medications. The ones most commonly used to treat the disorder are Haloperidol,
Clonidine, Pimozide as well as Ritalin for hyperactive patients. There can be serious
risks and side effects with these medications. The most important severe reaction to
these medications is a condition called Tardive Dyskensia, which in its self causes
involuntary muscle jerking and stiffness. These medications may also cause drowsiness and
sedation. Two minor side effects are dry mouth and sensitivity to sunlight. Patients must
be closely monitored while taking these medications. Since they may make people prone to
seizures and affect their heart. Side effects from this medication can occur at any time
while on the drug, even years after starting on the drug. It is very important that the
patient has the correct diagnosis before beginning any of these medications. It can cause
serious problems for the patient if they are taking these medicines and they don't have a
neurological disorder. Psychotherapy is another treatment that allows patients to be
taught substitutions for his/her tics.