[Gilles de la Tourette's disease. Symptoms, etiopathogenesis and therapeutic approaches]

Abstract

The Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a usually chronic neuropsychiatric disorder with an early childhood onset featuring mainly motor and vocal tics. It seems that strong genetic factors make a major contribution to the etiology of this disorder, but there are also clues that epigenetic factors are involved in the pathogenesis of Tourette's syndrome, such as maternal stress during pregnancy, birth complications and hormonal influences. First in line for adequate treatment are neuroleptic compounds of high potency, besides, several other psychoactive drugs have shown some therapeutic effects. Less evident is the efficacy of neurosurgical and psychotherapeutic interventions.