Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by tics and frequent comorbidities. Although tics often improve during adolescence, recent studies suggest that ...comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) tend to persist. This large prospective follow-up study describes the clinical course of tics and comorbidities during adolescence and the prevalence of coexisting psychopathologies.
The clinical cohort was recruited at the Danish National Tourette Clinic, and data were collected at baseline (n = 314, age range 5-19 years) and at follow-up 6 years later (n = 227) to establish the persistence and severity of tics and comorbidities. During follow-up, the Development and Well-Being Assessment (DAWBA) was used to diagnose coexisting psychopathologies. Repeated measures of severity scores were modeled using mixed effects models.
Tic severity declined yearly (0.8 points, CI: 0.58-1.01, on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale YGTSS) during adolescence; 17.7% of participants above age 16 years had no tics, whereas 59.5% had minimal or mild tics, and 22.8% had moderate or severe tics. Similarly, significant yearly declines in severity of both OCD (0.24, CI: 0.09-0.39, on the Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for Adults Y-BOCS and Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for Children CY-BOCS) and ADHD (0.42, CI: 0.32-0.52, DSM-IV) were recorded. At follow-up, 63.0% of participants had comorbidities or coexistent psychopathologies, whereas 37.0% had pure TS.
Severity of tics, OCD, and ADHD were significantly associated with age and declined during adolescence. However, considerable comorbidities and coexisting psychopathologies persist throughout adolescence and require monitoring by clinicians.
Background and purpose
In 2020, health professionals witnessed a dramatic increase in referrals of young people with rapid onset of severe tic‐like behaviours. We assembled a working group to develop ...criteria for the clinical diagnosis of functional tic‐like behaviours (FTLBs) to help neurologists, pediatricians, psychiatrists, and psychologists recognize and diagnose this condition.
Methods
We used a formal consensus development process, using a multiround, web‐based Delphi survey. The survey was based on an in‐person discussion at the European Society for the Study of Tourette Syndrome (ESSTS) meeting in Lausanne in June 2022. Members of an invited group with extensive clinical experience working with patients with Tourette syndrome and FTLBs discussed potential clinical criteria for diagnosis of FTLBs. An initial set of criteria were developed based on common clinical experiences and review of the literature on FTLBs and revised through iterative discussions, resulting in the survey items for voting.
Results
In total, 24 members of the working group were invited to participate in the Delphi process. We propose that there are three major criteria and two minor criteria to support the clinical diagnosis of FTLBs. A clinically definite diagnosis of FTLBs can be confirmed by the presence of all three major criteria. A clinically probable diagnosis of FTLBs can be confirmed by the presence of two major criteria and one minor criterion.
Conclusions
Distinguishing FTLBs from primary tics is important due to the distinct treatment paths required for these two conditions. A limitation of the ESSTS 2022 criteria is that they lack prospective testing of their sensitivity and specificity.
Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterized by the presence of motor and vocal tics and is often accompanied by comorbid symptoms. We assessed the frequency of the comorbid symptoms obsessive-compulsive ...disorder obsessive-compulsive disorder, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), rage attacks, sleeping disturbances, and depressive symptoms in a Danish clinical cohort of 314 children with TS using validated diagnostic instruments. For the assessment of symptoms of seasonal affective disorder and stuttering, we used a nonvalidated systematic interview. In total, only 10.2% of the children did not have any comorbid symptoms at all. If ADHD and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder were present, the rates of the comorbidities rage, symptoms of seasonal affective disorder, sleep disturbances, and depressive symptoms were significantly higher than if ADHD and/or obsessive-compulsive disorder were absent. The most severe tics were found in the group for which both ADHD and obsessive-compulsive disorder were present. Furthermore, there was a tendency toward more severe tics if other comorbid symptoms were present.
Due to the global increase in the number of patients with Functional Tic-Like Behaviors (FTLB), it has become increasingly important to find reliable differences between this patient group and ...patients with organic tics (OTs), which can be used in differential diagnosis. The purpose of this retrospective study was to critically examine both established and suggested differences between the patient groups. A total of 53 FTLB patients and 200 OT patients were included. Several findings from the current literature were replicated in this study: Compared to patients with OTs, patients with FTLB had significantly more complex tics, were older at symptom onset, were more likely to be female, and were less likely to have family members with tics. Furthermore, the study also revealed new differences between the groups: Patients with FTLB had significantly more family members with a psychiatric disorder, were more likely to have experienced an adverse psychosocial event immediately before symptom onset, and had significantly fewer simple tics. Finally, this study was unable to replicate the previously found differences in comorbidities between patients with OTs and FTLB. These findings could contribute significantly to the understanding of FTLB's etiology and to improve diagnosis, as including the presence of simple tics and comorbidities in the diagnostic criteria might be discussed in future studies.
Tourette syndrome (TS) is often accompanied by other symptoms and syndromes. The two best-known co-morbidities are Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ...(OCD), but also other conditions like rage-attacks, depression, and sleeping disturbances are frequent in persons with TS. Both in clinical cohorts and in population-based cohorts the prevalence of co-morbidities is high. The presence of co-morbid ADHD and/or OCD has an impact on psychosocial, educational, and neuropsychological consequences of TS and it is associated with higher rates of other co-morbid disorders, like rage, anxiety, and conduct disorders. The symptoms of a co-morbid disorder might appear prior to the time that tics reach clinical attention. The TS phenotype probably changes during the course of the disease. The exact aetiology of the co-occurrence of co-morbid disorders and TS is not known, but they probably all are neurotransmitter disorders. European guidelines recommend first-choice pharmacological treatment, but randomised double-blinded trials are needed. Professionals need to be aware of the close relationship between TS and co-morbidities in order to give the patients the right treatment and support.
Tourette syndrome (TS) is characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics, and high-comorbidity rates with other neuropsychiatric disorders. Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit ...hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), major depressive disorder (MDD), and anxiety disorders (AXDs) are among the most prevalent TS comorbidities. To date, studies on TS brain structure and function have been limited in size with efforts mostly fragmented. This leads to low-statistical power, discordant results due to differences in approaches, and hinders the ability to stratify patients according to clinical parameters and investigate comorbidity patterns. Here, we present the scientific premise, perspectives, and key goals that have motivated the establishment of the Enhancing Neuroimaging Genetics through Meta-Analysis for TS (ENIGMA-TS) working group. The ENIGMA-TS working group is an international collaborative effort bringing together a large network of investigators who aim to understand brain structure and function in TS and dissect the underlying neurobiology that leads to observed comorbidity patterns and clinical heterogeneity. Previously collected TS neuroimaging data will be analyzed jointly and integrated with TS genomic data, as well as equivalently large and already existing studies of highly comorbid OCD, ADHD, ASD, MDD, and AXD. Our work highlights the power of collaborative efforts and transdiagnostic approaches, and points to the existence of different TS subtypes. ENIGMA-TS will offer large-scale, high-powered studies that will lead to important insights toward understanding brain structure and function and genetic effects in TS and related disorders, and the identification of biomarkers that could help inform improved clinical practice.
Based on its prevalence, Tourette syndrome cannot be considered a rare condition. However, in this opinion article, we make the claim that it should nonetheless be considered as an orphan or ...neglected disease.
To examine prospectively the association between group A
(GAS) pharyngeal exposures and exacerbations of tics in a large multicenter population of youth with chronic tic disorders (CTD) across ...Europe.
We followed up 715 children with CTD (age 10.7 ± 2.8 years, 76.8% boys), recruited by 16 specialist clinics from 9 countries, and followed up for 16 months on average. Tic, obsessive-compulsive symptom (OCS), and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) severity was assessed during 4-monthly study visits and telephone interviews. GAS exposures were analyzed using 4 possible combinations of measures based on pharyngeal swab and serologic testing. The associations between GAS exposures and tic exacerbations or changes of tic, OC, and ADHD symptom severity were measured, respectively, using multivariate logistic regression plus multiple failure time analyses and mixed effects linear regression.
A total of 405 exacerbations occurred in 308 of 715 (43%) participants. The proportion of exacerbations temporally associated with GAS exposure ranged from 5.5% to 12.9%, depending on GAS exposure definition. We did not detect any significant association of any of the 4 GAS exposure definitions with tic exacerbations (odds ratios ranging between 1.006 and 1.235, all
values >0.3). GAS exposures were associated with longitudinal changes of hyperactivity-impulsivity symptom severity ranging from 17% to 21%, depending on GAS exposure definition.
This study does not support GAS exposures as contributing factors for tic exacerbations in children with CTD. Specific workup or active management of GAS infections is unlikely to help modify the course of tics in CTD and is therefore not recommended.
Cytokines are an important modulator of the immune system and have been found to be altered significantly in many neurological and psychiatric disorders, like obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and ...movement disorders. Also, in pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with group A streptococcal infections (PANDAS), which are characterized by abrupt debut of symptoms of OCD and /or movement disorder symptoms, alterations in the immune system have been suggested. The aim of this paper was to review the current literature on the cytokine profile of pediatric patients with symptoms of OCD and/or movement disorder symptoms. A search of PubMed and Medline was performed with specific keywords to review studies measuring cytokines in pediatric patients with symptoms of OCD and/or movement disorders. Nineteen studies were found, twelve of which included a healthy control group, while four studies had control groups of children with other disorders, primarily neurological or psychiatric. One study compared cytokines measurements to reference intervals, and two studies had a longitudinal design. Many cytokines were found to have significant changes in patients with symptoms of OCD and/or movement disorders compared to both healthy controls and other control groups. Furthermore, differences were found when comparing cytokines in periods of exacerbation with periods of remission of symptoms in study participants. The cytokines that most studies with healthy control groups found to be significantly altered were TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-17. Although the exact role of these cytokines in OCD and movement disorder symptoms remains unclear, the available literature suggests a proinflammatory cytokine profile. This offers interesting perspectives on the pathogenesis of OCD and/or movement disorder symptoms in children, and further research into the implications of cytokines in neuropsychiatric disorders is warranted.
Tourette syndrome (TS) is often accompanied by other symptoms and syndromes. The two best-known co-morbidities are Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder ...(OCD), but also other conditions like rage-attacks, depression, and sleeping disturbances are frequent in persons with TS. Both in clinical cohorts and in population-based cohorts the prevalence of co-morbidities is high. The presence of co-morbid ADHD and/or OCD has an impact on psychosocial, educational, and neuropsychological consequences of TS and it is associated with higher rates of other co-morbid disorders, like rage, anxiety, and conduct disorders. The symptoms of a co-morbid disorder might appear prior to the time that tics reach clinical attention. The TS phenotype probably changes during the course of the disease. The exact aetiology of the co-occurrence of co-morbid disorders and TS is not known, but they probably all are neurotransmitter disorders. European guidelines recommend first-choice pharmacological treatment, but randomised double-blinded trials are needed. Professionals need to be aware of the close relationship between TS and co-morbidities in order to give the patients the right treatment and support.
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