Tourette’s syndrome: tics, words, grimaces, as it is recognized

Easy to say tick. There are those who narrow their eyes, those who shrug their shoulders, those who perhaps touch their hair. However, when these movements take on particular characteristics and above all are associated with other conditions, one can also think of Tourette’s syndrome, which must always be recognized by the doctor.

It is characterized by movements that can be as rapid and sudden, or, at times, slow and sustained. These “actions” are also associated with vocalizations of various types, or tics, such as blinking, or more complex. How to recognize it? Here in summary, an identikit of this syndrome.

Young males are most affected

On the front of the disorders, according to experts, they can also be present uncontrolled movements of muscle groups: we therefore range from grimaces of the face or part of the face to sudden “shakes” of the shoulders, to twisting movements of the hands clenched together or that make one think that the person is making an imaginary drawing.

In some cases, you can even tap your fingers on an object for no apparent reason. In some cases there is a tendency to sniff people or, more often, to touch them.

THE vocal tics they can be in the form of grunts, coughs. In some cases, words or the terminal part of words spoken by others are repeated, as in a game, or one gets to say bad words, in what scholars call coprolalia.

It must be said that obviously it is a procession of different symptoms and not always all present, which perhaps manifest themselves at different times in the same person. In the most serious forms, as can be imagined, social life can be affected. On the epidemiology front, the data speak of a variable incidence of the picture, which, however, is not uncommon.

The syndrome mainly affects males with a ratio of three to four to one compared to females and begins before the age of 18, usually around 5-6 years. The intensity of the disorder often increases in later years and peaks in the prepubertal period and early adolescence. Then in many cases there is a decrease in intensity and frequency, or even the disappearance of the tics, but in some the disorder persists into adulthood.

How to behave

The diagnosis, which often comes very late, must always be made by those who are able to recognize the picture which, in some people, is limited to the presence of tics. However, it should be remembered that more often the Tourette’s syndrome it is associated with an obsessive-compulsive disorder: sufferers can be more aggressive or have a real obsession for symmetries with compulsions to touch, to tidy up, to control.

Since, as mentioned, the picture manifests itself above all in the very young, it must be remembered that the control of specialists is fundamental, also to implement the most suitable therapeutic responses on a case by case basis.

The complexity of the disorders that are associated with, and in most cases are part of, Tourette’s syndrome makes their treatment often delicate and complex. But above all it is necessary to identify the picture: Tourette’s syndrome is often ignored or confused with other, more serious disorders. His knowledge generally allows you to live better, to make optimal treatments, to remedy any social difficulties.

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