Diagnosis and treatment of tics

Abstract

Tics are repetitive and sudden purposeless movements. Phenomenologically, tics are differentiated as simple or complex, motor or vocal. Transient forms, which last less than 1 year, occur frequently in childhood. For Tourette syndrome, multiple simple and complex motor and vocal tics are present for more than one year. Frequently, additional symptoms of an obsessive-compulsive disorder or an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are present. There is no therapy for the cause of tics. For minor symptoms or if a transient tic disorder is suspected, the use of medications should be avoided. Instead the patient and if necessary, the parents should be informed in detail and given advice. Particularly for children, it is important to exclude antiepileptic drugs as the cause of tics. For chronic tics and for pronounced symptoms, drug therapy with neuroleptic drugs or clonidine is a possibility. However, the efficacy of these substances is limited.