Risperidone in the treatment of Tourette syndrome: a retrospective case note study

Nineteen patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) were treated with risperidone, at a mean daily dose of 1.5 mg. Of those, 41% responded positively, 35% felt that it had made no difference, while it made 24% worse. Although 53% of the patients experienced side-effects, none had extrapyramidal side-effects. At follow-up, 8 to 11 months later, only two of 19 (11 %) patients were still taking risperidone. We suggest that risperidone does have a role in a minority of TS sufferers but it is not suggested as the first line treatment. More placebo-controlled studies using risperidone are clearly indicated.