Blocking Tics in Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome

Area of Science:

• Neurology
• Neuroscience
• Pediatric Neurology

Background:

• Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS) is a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary movements and vocalizations known as tics.
• Blocking tics (BTs) are a less commonly discussed manifestation, involving brief interruptions of ongoing motor activities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence, age of onset, and clinical associations of blocking tics (BTs) in patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (GTS).

Main Methods:

• A cross-sectional study involving the registration of 195 consecutive patients diagnosed with GTS.
• Data collection included personal interviews and examinations to identify the occurrence and characteristics of BTs.

Main Results:

• Blocking tics (BTs) were reported by 37.4% of GTS patients, with a mean onset age of 10.4 years, typically occurring after initial tic onset.
• The most frequent BTs involved cessation of walking (80.8%), speech (26.0%), running (24.7%), and writing (12.3%).
• BTs were associated with more severe tic symptoms, a higher number of tics, and comorbid obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Conclusions:

• Blocking tics (BTs) are identified as complex tics and appear to be early, prevalent symptoms in GTS.
• The presence of BTs suggests a potentially more severe phenotype of Gilles de la Tourette syndrome.