tourette sydnrome
..., and/or sentences (Bruun 3-5). The expression of tics covers a wide spectrum, but a majority of cases are categorized as mild (Questions 1). Vocal Tics may interfere with the smooth flow of speech. These are very socially distressing, especially in a class room or work place. A very socially distressing part of vocal tics is coprolalia is an obscene, aggressive, or otherwise socially unacceptable words or phrases. This is the most known part of tourette syndrome but, only a minority of tourette patients actually experience coprolalia, 5-40% depending on the study. (Bruun 6-7). The cause of tourettes has not been established but research suggests that the disorder comes from the abnormal activity of at least one brain chemical called dopamine. There may also be an abnormal activity for dopamine’s or other chemical’s receptor (Questions 2). Tourettes in now known as a genetic disorder that can affect 1 in every 2,500 people. When one parent is a carrier or has tourette’s syndrome then their child has a 50/50 chance that they will receive genetic vulnerability. Not everyone who inherits genetic vulnerability will express symptoms of tourettes syndrome, although for females they have a 75 % chance of expressions of symptoms but males have a 99% chance(Bruun7-8). Only 10 % of children who inherit the gene will have symptoms severe enough to require medical attention. There are in fact some people who have tourette’s that did not require it genetically, this is known as sporadic tourette syndrome (Questions 4). Sporadic TS is about 10-15%, and it is thought that in prenatal or early childhood there was some stressor that caused them to have tourettes (Bruun 7-9). There is hope for children with tourette’s many people experience an improvement in their late teens or early twenties. For most people they get better not worse as they mature. There is a bout one-third of patients that experience remission of tic symptoms in adulthood (Questions 4). Along with tics a lot of tourette patients also experience a variety of behavioral and psychological difficulties. The first is obsessions and compulsions; it seems to be another expression of the tourette syndrome gene. There are a high percentage of patients that have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Obsessions are the thoughts, images, or impulses that intrude the consciousness, they are involuntary and distressful. Compulsions are the actual behaviors carried out in response to the obsessions. OC behaviors include rituals of counting, checking things over and over, and washing or cleaning excessively (Bruun 6) Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is another highly common behavioral difficulty that is associated with tourette syndrome. About 50 percent of all tourette’s patients have ADHD, which are problems with attention span, concentration, distractibility, impulsivity and motoric hyperactivity (Bruun 6). Many children show symptoms of ADHD before tourette’s symptoms appear (Questions 3). When diagnosing tourettes there is a problem with it being diagnosed as attention deficity hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), there is also a danger when treating tourette syndrome with a stimulate that is used for ADHD, because it can worsen the degree of the tic. Over half of t...