Symptoms of Tourette Syndrome

There are many types of common diseases, and we need good methods to treat them. Different people have different choices of methods for disease treatment. If you want to treat your disease well, you need to choose the correct treatment method to improve the disease. So what are the manifestations of tics? Many people are not clear about this type of disease and don’t know what method to choose.

Many people are not very clear about the symptoms of tics, so before treating this type of disease, it is necessary to have a good understanding of this issue so that the treatment of tics can proceed smoothly without any other problems.

Symptoms of tics:

The clinical features of this disease are mainly characterized by progressive development of multiple motor tics and vocal tics. The first symptom is usually a simple motor tic, most commonly a twitching of the facial muscles, which is intermittent. In a few patients, the first symptom is a simple vocal tic. As the disease progresses, the number of tics increases, gradually affecting the shoulders, neck, limbs or trunk. The manifestations also develop from simple tics to complex tics, and from single motor tics or vocal tics to both, and the frequency of occurrence also increases. About 30% of them exhibited coprolalia or obscene behavior. Most patients experience tics every day, while a few patients have intermittent tics, but the intervals between attacks do not exceed 2 months. The course of the disease persists for more than one year, which has a great impact on the patient's social function.

Different treatment strategies and methods are selected according to the severity. For those whose tic symptoms seriously affect their daily life and learning, drug treatment is the main method combined with psychotherapy. If the patient's illness is caused by psychological factors, the psychological factors should be actively eliminated.

1. Medication

(1) The efficacy of fluphenazine is 60% to 90%. Take 1 to 2 times a day, and observe for 3 to 7 days. If the side effects are not obvious, increase the dosage. During the dosage increase process, the dosage should be adjusted according to the therapeutic effect and side effects. The main side effects of the drugs are sedation and extrapyramidal side effects.

(2) The efficacy of tadalafil is 76% to 87%. It is characterized by fewer extrapyramidal side effects and is suitable for patients over 7 years old. 2 to 3 times a day. Common side effects include drowsiness, fatigue, dizziness, gastrointestinal discomfort, excitement, insomnia, etc.

(3) Clonidine can improve tic symptoms, with an efficacy of 50% to 86%. This drug can also improve symptoms of attention deficit and hyperactivity, and is the first choice for those with comorbid ADHD or those who develop tic symptoms due to the use of central nervous system stimulants to treat ADHD. Currently, the main domestic products are transdermal patches. Side effects include drowsiness, hypotension, dizziness, dry mouth, etc.

(4) Risperidone: Reports have confirmed that risperidone is effective in treating this disease. The main side effects of the drugs are sedation and extrapyramidal side effects.

2. Psychotherapy

The main ones include psychological support therapy, cognitive therapy and behavioral therapy. The purpose of psychological support and cognitive therapy is to adjust the family system, enable patients and their families to understand the nature of the disease and the reasons for symptom fluctuations, eliminate adverse factors in the school and family environment that may contribute to the generation or maintenance of symptoms, reduce the anxiety and depression secondary to tic symptoms, and improve the patient's social function. There is evidence to support that behavioral therapies such as habit reversal training are effective in correcting tic symptoms.

Through the above introduction, what are the manifestations of tics? It has many aspects. When treating it, you can choose the above treatment methods. However, it takes some time to treat this type of disease, so patients also need to actively cooperate during the treatment process.