Turett's syndrome

Turett's syndrome – psychological frustration at which the person makes the involuntary movements or makes involuntary sounds, realizing the actions, but not having an opportunity to control them. The involuntary movements in this case are called tics.

Turett's syndrome it occurs rather often, at 0,05% of the population. Turett's syndrome at children aged from 2 up to 5 years is most often shown, the following peak is the share of teenage age, from 13 to 17-18 years.

Boys get sick with Turett's syndrome three times more often than girls.

Origins of a syndrome of Turett

Doctors consider that the main origin of a syndrome of Turett – genetic predisposition. It is confirmed by the fact that in most cases it, or other neurologic diseases accompanied with tics occur at relatives of the first and second lines of the patient. Turett's syndrome can develop also after reception of some types of medicinal substances, for example, of neuroleptics. Some specialists consider also possible origin of a disease autoimmune processes, but so far proofs of the similar theory do not exist.

Clinical picture of a syndrome of Turett

As a rule, the first signs of a syndrome of Turett at children at early age, after two and up to five years are shown. Parents pay attention to strangenesses in behavior: twitchings, the persuasive, repeating movements. It can be grimacing, winking, twitching, cottons hands, jumping, frequent blinking, even blows in a face and a body. Sometimes Turett's syndrome proves as the repeating pronouncing various sounds: groans, rumbling, gurgle, repeated repetitions of the same words and phrases, an echolalia – repetition for someone phrases, at advanced age can appear an eschrolalia – bawling out of curses. The person realizes at the same time the actions, and estimates them as abnormal, but cannot control.

Usually patients with Turett's syndrome feel approach of a tic, and can sometimes postpone it, but not suppress completely. Similar uncontrollable actions forced to assume in the Middle Ages that in the person the demon as patients often describe an attack as something that induces them to commission of strange actions violently, in addition to their will was installed.

Turett's syndrome can wavy proceed when the aggravation periods with frequent attacks of tics are replaced by the zatikhaniye periods, in other cases of display of a disease are constant. Dependence on age is noted, in most cases the disease ceases after the puberty period, and can only occasionally, prove during the periods of emotional instability tics and that, as a rule, weak. Thus, Turett's syndrome occurs at children several times more often than at adults.

At Turett's syndrome does not suffer intellectual and mental development of the child, there is only a psychological problem in communication with peers when, understanding the difference from others and without being able to overcome it, the child begins to feel defective, becomes isolated and suffers from a depression. For the rest such children differ in nothing from peers, and are capable as well as all others, to try to obtain great success that is confirmed by the fact of existence of a syndrome of Turett at many celebrated personalities.

Diagnosis of a syndrome of Turett

The diagnosis of a syndrome of Turett is made on the basis of a characteristic clinical picture after a year of observation of the patient. At the first request for medical care to patients with similar symptoms surely conduct neurologic examination to exclude organic lesion of a brain, for example, owing to tumoral process. At Turett's syndrome, as a rule, it is not possible to reveal any deviations, only in small percent of cases deviations in striate bodies of a brain are defined.

Treatment of a syndrome of Turett

In spite of the fact that symptoms of a disease are known since ancient times when they were treated as obsession by demons and as a disease Turett's syndrome was described in 1885, attempts of its treatment began only at the end of the 20th century.

Specific treatment of a syndrome of Turett does not exist. In most cases reception of pharmacological drugs is undesirable, especially long time as they have side effects, from which harm much more, than therapeutic effect. Usually drug treatment of a syndrome of Turett it is applied during an acute state, to muting of symptoms. Antipsychotic means and sedative (soothing) drugs are for this purpose used.

The main method of treatment of a syndrome of Turett at children is the psychotherapy directed to that the child did not feel defective and learned to treat the disease adequately, without putting the life into dependence on it. Such therapy, despite the seeming secondariness, is very important as at children who treat a disease more simply and are able, despite it, to adjust communication with peers and to lead usual life, disease symptoms pass much more often with age. Besides, the psychotherapy trains the child of an opportunity to muffle disease symptoms, redirecting pathological activity to more appropriate bed.

Even more often at treatment of a syndrome of Turett resort to game methods: to specially developed games, an animaloterapiya (medical communication with animals), a skazkoterapiya, art therapies also we designate. Such methods help social adaptation of the child and prevent emergence of secondary psychological problems. The good effect is rendered by moderate sports activities, and also playing musical instruments, especially wind.

Attempts of treatment of a syndrome of Turett by surgical methods, and also by direct electric impact on structures of a brain were made. In some cases they were effective, but however did not find broad application as the risk of damage of the vital centers of a brain is too high.