Tourette's syndrome and obsessive compulsive disorder. Clinical aspects

Tourette's syndrome (TS) is a disorder that typically has its onset in childhood or early adulthood and is characterized by the presence of both motor and vocal tics. Obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) frequently occur in patients with tic disorders. The earliest descriptions of TS included obsessive thinking as a part of the symptom complex. Recent studies suggest that obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) may occur in as many as 7% of patients with TS, and that both of these disorders share a similar clinical phenomenology and familial patterns of transmission. This article explores similarities and differences between these two disorders.