Tourette's syndrome is a mysterious medical pathology that has puzzled doctors over the past century. People born with this disease suffer from tics and other behavioral problems such as obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention deficit disorder.
Stereotypes
In addition, there is a stereotype that Tourette's syndrome causes people to swear loudly and inappropriately. Although only 10 percent of patients actually experience these verbal urges, many are ostracized and isolated.
University of Florida neuroscience professor Michael Okun has studied Tourette's syndrome for many years and recently published a book on treatment and the general spectrum of behavioral disorders associated with it. It turned out that swearing is not even one of the most common symptoms of this disorder.
The fact is that over the past few years, patients have gained access to many exciting and life-changing treatments. Scientists have reached a stage in the study of this disease, when it becomes more understandable to society, and new treatments are widely publicized.
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Jerking and tics
French scientist Jean-Martin Charcot, the founder of modern clinical neurology, invented the eponym "Tourette's syndrome" in honor of his student Georges Elbert Gills de la Tourette, who in 1885 worked with 9 patients suffering from this ailment.
Researchers have noticed that Tourette's syndrome can affect multiple family members across generations. However, over the years, new knowledge has emerged very slowly. There are still critical gaps in our understanding of the syndrome, and half of all cases remain undetected.
How common is the disorder
It is difficult to know even the exact number of people suffering from this syndrome. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that the syndrome affects one in 362 children, or 0.3 percent. On the other hand, the American Tourette Association says the disease is twice as common - in one in 166 children (0.6 percent).
In some people, Tourette's syndrome is very mild, with symptoms such as non-simultaneous blinking of the eyes or slight twitching of the body. In many cases, motor tics resolve in late adolescence or early adulthood. Many patients can even lead relatively normal lives.
Brain work
Scientists were able to better understand the syndrome after learning more about the brain in general. The normal function of the human brain is dictated by rhythmic vibrations that repeat over and over again, much like a popular song on the radio. These vibrations change and modulate, and are aimed at controlling various human behavior.
If the hesitation "goes badly" it can lead to disabling tics or other behavioral symptoms of Tourette's syndrome.
Important to the development of new treatments for Tourette's is that we can change these fluctuations with rehabilitative therapy, cognitive behavioral intervention therapy, drugs like tetrabenazine, or even deep brain stimulation, which involves the use of a small probe. With its help, electrical impulses enter the brain that destroy the abnormal vibrations responsible for tics.
Research
The genetics of Tourette's syndrome remains poorly understood. Although the disease tends to manifest in families, no DNA has yet been found linking all or even most cases.
At the same time, technology offers new detection and treatment tools. Scientists have recorded tick signals in the human brain and have even developed the first intelligent devices to detect and suppress them.
Some researchers are investigating new generations of drugs that can reduce the side effects that can occur with old-fashioned drugs such as haloperidol, which is traditionally used to treat Tourette. Scientists are also looking for ways to suppress or modulate inappropriate brain signals. One of the solutions is cannabinoid receptors.
The use of marijuana to treat the symptoms of Tourette's syndrome makes some scientific sense. Cannabinoid receptors have been found in many areas of the brain. In fact, the CB1 cannabinoid receptor is abundant in areas of the brain believed to be responsible for Tourette's syndrome.
Living with Tourette's Syndrome
To an outside observer, it might seem that people with Tourette's syndrome outgrow it in adolescence or early adulthood, but in fact, in most cases, this does not happen. Although motor and vocal tics do improve, obsessive-compulsive disorder and behavioral symptoms can persist or even worsen.
If you do not diagnose and correct these behaviors in Tourette's syndrome, it will be difficult for a person to adjust to a normal life, since behavioral signs can affect him more than noticeable motor and vocal tics.
Scientists are constantly trying to find new therapies, but patients and their families can do a lot to improve the patient's condition today. Many changes are often very simple and can be made to patients' lives.
Comprehensive treatment will play a key role here. For example, a social worker can help build an individualized school plan and encourage families to connect to resources that can turn difficult school situations into success stories. A rehab therapist can now help get rid of tics without using medication.
A team of scientists led by Professor Okun has taken care of 10,000 patients with movement disorders at the University of Florida, as well as tens of thousands of others at the South East Regional Tourette Association of the American Center of Excellence. These teams of specialists include neurologists, psychiatrists, rehabilitation specialists, social workers, and scientists from the universities of South Florida, Emory, Alabama, and South Carolina.
Why Try Different Therapies
There are good reasons to try different treatments, even if none of them seem to work. Patients must learn to recognize when therapy is not working and discuss other options with their doctors. The fact is that if brain vibrations are not stopped, they can, in some cases of Tourette's syndrome, lead to injury, and even paralysis. Today, even the most severe cases have a chance to be treated with deep brain stimulation.
While Tourette's syndrome remains a mystery in the public eye, it is important that scientists offer families a wide range of treatments that provide tangible improvements in quality of life. This is definitely something worth talking about.
Anna Pismenna