Rehabilitation Prognosis
The prognosis is quite good in most childhood and adolescent patients with Tourette’s syndrome. Many of the patients are free of tics from the end of the first or the beginning of the second decade of life, i.e. the symptoms subside completely (remission) or at least improve considerably. However, there may be a consolidation of concomitant symptoms such as behavioural disorders or learning problems in adulthood. More than half of the people affected feel more restricted by these behavioral problems than by the tics. For the severely affected adult patients, new drugs are under development, as well as a new method of deep brain stimulation, so that a higher quality of life can be ensured for the affected persons.
Summary
Tourette’s syndrome is a neurological-psychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics and is usually accompanied by behavioral disorders. The diagnosis is made by precise questioning (anamnesis) and observation of the patient over a longer period of time using questionnaires and estimation scales. The therapy is symptomatic and often psychotherapeutic.
Drug therapy with neuroleptics is only recommended if the patient suffers from extreme psychological stress, difficulties at school, at work or in the family, or if aggressive tics occur, which could injure the patient himself or people around him. Many of the childhood and adolescent patients experience a decrease in symptoms (remission) from the age of 18.
