Family History Of Tics Research Articles

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome: clinical and family study of 50 cases.

Fifty patients with Tourette syndrome were evaluated; data included family history, clinical characteristics, response to haloperidol, and side effects during haloperidol therapy. Sixteen patients had a family history of Tourette syndrome, and another 16 had a family history of tics. Twenty-four families had more than 2 members with Tourette syndrome or tics. There was no preponderance of families with a Jewish, Eastern European background in this sample. Thirty-four patients had obsessive-compulsive behavior. Among the 50 patients there was a high frequency of sleep disturbance, learning disability, self-destructive behavior, inappropriate sexual activity, and antisocial behavior. Family history was significantly related to the occurrence of sleep disturbance, obsessive-compulsive behavior, haloperidol response, and the frequency of side effects caused by haloperidol. The precise mode of genetic transmission in familial Tourette syndrome remains to be determined.

Multiple tic syndrome (Giles de la Tourette's syndrome).

Biological and psychosocial features influence the outcome of haloperidol treatment of multiple tic syndrome. Responders to haloperidol who have a family history of tics may suffer from a genetic and metabolic disorder, whereas nonresponders, who are inclined to perinatal abnormalities and have a later onset of tics, have an acquired disorder. Behavioral disturbances and psychosocial adaptation may influence or be influenced by drug usage. The hypothesis of uric acid metabolic abnormality was not supported but dopaminergic and/or γ-hydroxybutyrate neural systems may be implicated.

Birth, developmental, and family histories and demographic information in Tourette's syndrome.

Demographic information, including sexual, religious, social and ethnic background, and marital status, as well as birth, developmental, and family history, was collected for 34 patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, and compared with the findings in six studies and four reviews. Males outnumbered females at all ages in a ratio of three or four to one. Sixty-seven per cent had an East European Jewish background. More females were married than males. There was no relationship between Tourette's syndrome and mother's age at birth, history of abortions, birth history, birth order, family history of tics and mental illness, and social class. In 60 per cent of the cases, one of the parents had paranoid or dominant characteristics, higher than might be expected. Childhood developmental abnormalities were found in 51.8 per cent of the patients and 35.3 per cent were left-handed. These findings suggested a relationship between Tourette's syndrome and early central nervous system difficulty. The median age of onset was 6.5 years with a range of 3 to 13 years, duration of illness was 12.6 years with a range of 3.5 to 54 years, and duration between onset of symptoms and the diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome was 9.0 years with a range of 0.2 to 54 years. Early and correct diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome is important to minimize the harmful effects on patients of delayed chemotherapy which is now available.