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Gilles de la Tourette on Tourette syndrome.
| Content Provider | Semantic Scholar |
|---|---|
| Author | Sandor, Paul |
| Copyright Year | 1998 |
| Abstract | The first publication of the English translation [1] of the seminal work by George Gilles de la Tourette [2] in which he described the syndrome that was later named after him marked the beginning of a great and continuing interest in neuropsychiatric research of Tourette's syndrome and its associated disorders. This led to a considerable increase in our knowledge of the disorder as documented by an explosive growth in the number of publications describing advances in nosology, neurophysiology, biochemistry, neuroanatomy, imaging, and molecular biology of this complex and fascinating disorder [3]. Gilles de la Tourette's study captured the many essential features of this condition which make it such a good model of neuropsychiatric disorder. He clearly conceived of the disorder as a hereditary one, which affects people of all ethnic backgrounds and classes, but with a proponderance of male versus female patients. He was also aware that emotional upset, physical discomfort, and psychological stresses in general aggravate the symptoms of this condition. Gilles de la Tourette identified a new disorder by applying independent thought and considerable powers of observation to clinical material. What have we learned in 113 years since the publication of his groundbreaking treatise? It is a tribute to Gilles de la Tourette that only a few of his original observations, based on a rather limited clinical sample, had to be modified. We now know that movements do not always completely cease during sleep and, in fact, about 20% of patients with Tourette's syndrome exhibit tics during sleep [4]. Moreover, his assertion that patients with Tourette's syndrome sleep particularly soundly does not conform with our experience that initial and middle insomnia is quite common among patients with Tourette's syndrome [4]. Although Gilles de la Tourette was aware that the condition is not severe in all cases, he felt that the remission was never long lasting and usually a prelude to a new exacerbation. Based on contemporary reports, it appears that up to 75% of older adolescents may experience a reduction of their symptoms when they enter |
| File Format | PDF HTM / HTML |
| PubMed reference number | 9678742 |
| Journal | Medline |
| Volume Number | 44 |
| Issue Number | 6 |
| Alternate Webpage(s) | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0022399998000385/part/first-page-pdf |
| Journal | Journal of psychosomatic research |
| Language | English |
| Access Restriction | Open |
| Content Type | Text |
| Resource Type | Article |
