Tourette's Syndrome Case Study

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Though Tourette's Disorder is fairly uncommon, affecting 1 in every 360 individuals - especially male - between the ages of 6 and 17, it is still considered a disorder that affects the lives of many children and adults around the globe (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2016). Tourette's Syndrome was coined by French Neurologist Dr. Georges Gilles de la Tourette, who identified the tic syndrome in an elderly commoner. However, it is now prevalent that Tourette's Syndrome is most commonly discovered first in adolescents, and in less severe cases functioning appears to gradually progress as the teen transitions into adulthood (National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [NIH], 2012). According to the Tourette Association …show more content…
The disorder is said to originate (before Gilles de la Tourette documentation) from individuals in South Africa and Costa Rica, who began the passing of the Tourette's susceptibility gene that is still genetically infused throughout family lineage today (Leckman, 2002). Tourette's often begins as a case of Hyperkinetic Disorder (ADHD) or Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD), and evolves into the tic disorder as the adolescents approach adulthood, peaking most severely around the early twenties. As Tourette's Syndrome progresses, there is a heightened reactivity of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis, which is responsible for feedback to stress, and can cause reactions such as tics. If an individual is born with a low birth weight and ischaemic parenchymal brain lesions - when blood flow to the brain is insufficient - they can be more susceptible to tics (Leckman, 2002). These tics are influenced by involuntary sensory urges that can be heightened with strong bursts of emotion due to increased levels of norepinephrine (adrenaline). Tics can cause both cognitive and socio cultural trauma, depending on the level of severity and comorbid occurrences of other disorders such as Attention Deficit Disorder (ADD), depression, anxiety, and autistic influences. Approximately only 37% of
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