Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

Alternative names:

Tourette's

Definition:

A rare disorder characterized by repetitive muscle movements and vocal outbursts.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

Gilles de Tourette's syndrome is a rare but disruptive condition. It involves multiple tics (small, repetitive muscle movements), usually facial tics with grimacing and blinking. Tics may also occur in the shoulders and arms. This is usually accompanied by loud vocalizations, which may include grunts or noises, or uncontrollable (compulsive) use of obscenities or short phrases. The tics are worse during emotional stress and are absent during sleep. The cause is unknown.

It occurs most often in boys, and may begin around age 7 or 8 or not until the child is in his or her late teens or early twenties. It may, at times, run in families.