The Efficacy of Acupuncture on Tic Disorders in Children: A Retrospective and Propensity Score-Matched Study

Background : Acupuncture has been considered as a complementary or alternative therapy for children with tic disorders (TD), but its efficacy remains largely unknown. This study retrospectively examined the efficacy of acupuncture treatment for TD in children over the course of 12 weeks.Methods: Data were collected from Traditional Chinese Medicine clinics in a public pediatric hospital in Shanghai between June 2020 and March 2021. A total of 250 patients with TD were included in the study, with 122 patients exposed to acupuncture therapy combined with conventional treatment (observation group), and 128 patients exposed to conventional treatment alone (control group). Propensity score matching analyses were used to balance baseline characteristics, resulting in 78 matched patients for each group. Reductions in the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale (YGTSS) total score were analyzed in the two groups after 12 weeks of treatment.Results: The two groups reached equilibrium in terms of baseline demographic characteristics and YGTSS total score after the propensity score matching (P > 0.05). Compared to the control group, the reduction in the YGTSS total score after 12 weeks of treatment was greater for the observation group (OR = 2.94, 95% CI: 1.03, 8.39, P = 0.04), and this association was stronger for patients who had significant vocal tics (β = 0.29, 95% CI: 0.88, 2.68, P = 0.001). The clinical efficacy for the observation group was significantly better than the control group.Conclusions: We provided preliminary evidence supporting the therapeutic effect of acupuncture for TD in children. Hence, our findings indicate that acupuncture could be an adjuvant treatment efficacious for TD in children, especially for vocal tics.

Awareness of Tourette Syndrome in Malaysia

In Malaysia not many parents, including teachers, are aware and have any knowledge about Tourette Syndrome. Tourette Syndrome is a disorder due to neurological factors characterized by repeated, stereotyped, unintentional movements and vocalizations called tics. In Malaysia, a few Tourette Syndrome students have been identified as not going to school because they are bullied due to their motor and vocal tics. So, in Malaysia we still don’t have any special teaching and learning modules as an inclusive program for the Tourette Syndrome students. The awareness and understanding about Tourette Syndrome among Malaysian citizens are also lacking, therefore a module to create awareness among parents, teachers and public should be developed. Until today, nothing has been looked into the matter of Tourette Syndrome by any of the Malaysian government departments. This makes the students with Tourette Syndrome not getting proper education and some are not even going to school. So, with the help of Ministry of Women, Family and Community Development and Ministry of Education the total number of students in Malaysia with Tourette Syndrome must be identified.

Cognitive Tic-Like Phenomena in Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome

Coprolalia and echophenomena repeated in the patients’ mind (CTPh—cognitive tic-like phenomena) have been rarely recognized as part of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) symptomatology and their assignment to tics, OCD or other psychopathologies has not been settled. The aim of the paper was to assess the incidence and clinical associations of CTPh in GTS, and to establish if CTPh belong to the tic spectrum. We performed a prospective, one-registration study on a cohort of 227 consecutive patients with GTS. CTPh were diagnosed during the interview and defined as brief, sudden, involuntary thoughts that had corresponding complex vocal tics. CTPh occurred at some point in the lives of 34 (15.0%) patients. The median age at onset of CTPh was 14.5 years (IQR: 10.5–17.5). CTPh were found more frequently in adults, with the most frequent onset in adolescence (44.1%). Four mental phenomena resembling tics were recognized: echolalia (n = 17), coprolalia (n = 16), palilalia (n = 13) and repeating of words in the mind (n = 7). The older the age of patients, the more severe tics, and anxiety disorder significantly correlated with CTPh. CTPh may be considered as a part of tic spectrum with a substantial impact of anxiety disorder. CTPh are a late and age-related symptom of GTS.

Sounding a Crip Aesthetic: Transforming the Sonic in Samuel Beckett’s Not I

This article analyzes a recent production of Samuel Beckett’s play Not I performed by Jess Thom, a neurodiverse performer most well known by the moniker Touretteshero. Not I is a monologue of twisting and fragmented text revered for the physical, vocal, and emotional challenge it presents to performers and audiences alike. This article takes up the aesthetic, material, and sonic changes made to the play in the Touretteshero production, which serve to reimagine and reconstruct the “sonic profile” of the work. Together, these changes enact a crip aesthetic that illuminates the often-hidden exclusionary structures that permeate theatrical practice. Specifically, this article describes the material changes made to the production in the service of increased accessibility for performer and audience, how Thom’s vocal tics interact with Beckett’s already fragmented text, and how the production’s integration of sign language interpretation extends how we conceptualize sound. Through this analysis, Thom’s performance emerges as a revolutionary contribution to contemporary disability arts that reimagines the value of disability and the possibilities for sound in performance.

Cognitive tics in Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

BACKGROUND Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is characterized by motor and vocal tics. Cognitive tics (CTs) have been rarely recognized as part of GTS symptomatology and their prevalence and associates have not been systematically investigated. OBJECTIVES The aim of the study was to assess the incidence and clinical associations of CTs in a group of patients with GTS. METHODS We examined 227 consecutive GTS patients aged 5–50 years old (78.4% males). The median duration of GTS was 4 years (IQR: 3–7) in children and 18 years (IQR: 12–23) in adults. The patients were evaluated for GTS and comorbid mental disorders according to the DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5. CTs were defined as brief, sudden, recurring involuntary thoughts, analogous to typically recognized complex vocal tics and diagnosed during the interview. Correlations between CTs and clinical variables were evaluated in two analyses, lifetime and current. Children and adult groups were compared. RESULTS Lifetime CTs were reported by 48 patients (21.1%), in 33 of the cases at the time of evaluation. The median age at onset of CTs was 13.5 years (IQR 9.3–16). Five mental phenomena were evaluated: echolalia (n = 17), coprolalia (n = 16), palilalia (n = 13), counting (n = 11), repeating of words in mind (n = 7). In the multivariable analysis of lifetime CTs, tic severity (p = 0.025) and significant social skill problems (p = 0.050) demonstrated correlation, while for current CTs only tic severity (p = 0.028) and anxiety disorder (p = 0.028) remained significant. In logistic regression model for age groups, in children only age was a factor significantly associated with lifetime CTs (p = 0.033), whereas in adults there were no statistically significant associations with lifetime CTs. For current CTs, none of the variables reached statistical significance in children, while only anxiety disorder was a predictor of current CTs in adults (p = 0.018). CONCLUSIONS CTs are a part of tic spectrum with a substantial impact of comorbid psychiatric disorders. CTs are a late and age-related symptom of GTS.

Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a common, multifaceted neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics. Although numerous neuroanatomical and neurophysiological particularities have been documented, there is no general concept or overarching theory to explain the pathophysiology of Tourette syndrome. Given the premonitory urges that precede tics and the altered sensorimotor processing in Tourette syndrome, the “Theory of Event Coding” (TEC) seems to be an attractive framework. TEC assumes that perceptions and actions are bound together and encoded using the same neural code to form so-called “event files.” Depending on the strength of the binding between perception and action, partial repetition of features of an event file can lead to increasing cost because existing event files need to be reconfigured. This is referred to as “partial repetition costs”, which appear to be increased in Tourette patients. This indicates stronger binding within “event files” in Tourette.

Late-Life Tourette Syndrome Is a Cause of Unexpected Cursing in the Elderly

Tourette syndrome is a tic disorder with onset in childhood. By contrast, we report a new Tourette syndrome with onset in late life. We use statistics to support our contention that this behavioral disorder is a hitherto unrecognized variety of Tourette syndrome. There are three tic disorders distinguished by the types of tics present (motor, vocal/ phonic, or both) and by the length of time that the tics have been present. Individuals with chronic tic disorder have either motor tics or vocal tics which have been present for more than 1 year.

Challenging perspectives on Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome – evidence for a disorder of purposeful actions

Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) is a multi-faceted neuropsychiatric developmental disorder with onset in childhood or adolescence. It is characterised by multiple motor and vocal tics that can cause considerable problems including social stigmatisation, low self-esteem and secondary comorbidity, particularly depression.

Movement Disorders 1: Tourette’s Syndrome, Essential Tremor, and Parkinson’s Disease (DRAFT)

The video in this chapter explores movement disorders, and focuses on Tourette’s Syndrome, Essential tremor, and Parkinson’s Disease. It outlines the characteristics of each, such as motor and vocal tics in Tourette’s Syndrome, postural or kinetic tremor in Essential tremor, and the four hallmark features of Parkinson’s Disease (bradykinesia, resting tremor, cogwheel rigidity, and postural instability).