Quest for the elusive genetic basis of Tourette syndrome
- Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX (United States)
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a fairly common neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by the presence of chronic motor and vocal tics that typically have an onset in childhood. The tics usually wax and wane and can even be suppressed. The diagnostic criteria, according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., include (i) the presence of motor and one or more vocal tics at some time during the illness, although not necessarily concurrently; (ii) occurrence of tics throughout a period of > 1 year, with no tic-free period of > 3 consecutive mo; (iii) marked distress or significant impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning; (iv) onset at <18 years of age; and (v) lack of identifiable environmental causes or other contributing medical conditions. Family studies indicate that the tics are not necessarily disabling, but can vary greatly in severity, with the vast majority being mild. The breadth of phenotypic manifestations considered for diagnosis is a subject of debate and controversy, and, consequently, frequency estimates can range from 1/100 to 1/10,000. One school of thought restricts the diagnosis to that described by Gilles de la Tourette in 1885 and does not include any associated psychopathologies. An intermediate school considers only chronic motor and vocal tics and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) within the phenotypic spectrum. A third school of thought suggests that the phenotypic boundaries of TS are broad and include attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, OCD, panic disorder, conduct disorder, depression, dyslexia, stuttering, mania, obesity, and alcoholism, in addition to motor and vocal tics. The phenotypic definition of TS continues to evolve and is an important consideration for genetic approaches to the dissection of the syndrome. 14 refs.
- OSTI ID:
- 508213
- Journal Information:
- American Journal of Human Genetics, Vol. 59, Issue 5; Other Information: PBD: Nov 1996
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Genome scan for linkage to Gilles de la Tourette syndrome
Polygenic inheritance of Tourette syndrome, stuttering, attention deficit hyperactivity, conduct, and oppositional defiant disorder: The additive and subtractive effect of the three dopaminergic genes - DRD2, D{beta}H, and DAT1