The diagnosis is made purely on the basis of the symptoms, in individual cases an EEG is written to exclude other diseases. TS cannot be cured therapeutically, and treatment is only necessary if affected individuals are impaired by their symptoms. This is especially true for children and adolescents to prevent psychosocial consequences (withdrawal behavior, resignation). Various medications are available, but some of them have unpleasant side effects. They must be individually adapted and slowly increased or phased out.
Does cannabis help Tourette’s patients?
Trials with the active ingredient of cannabis are very promising; recently, cannabis has been available as a medicine on prescription in Germany. Supportive relaxation and other behavioral therapy methods are used to help reduce stress and thus tic-triggering situations and improve self-control.
Education about the disease is important
In addition, it is important to educate parents and teachers in particular about the disease, how to deal with it, and how to find suitable solutions to problems. Only in rare, severe cases is an impairment of the private and professional life of the affected person to be assumed.
Did Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart suffer from Tourette’s syndrome?
Some scientists suspect that Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart also suffered from TS. They base this on Mozart’s letters to his cousin, which showed a tendency to nonsensical repetition (palilalia) and to use very crude expressions (coprolalia).
