Tourette Syndrome Essay examples -- Biology Essays Research Papers

Tourette SyndromeI accept been intrigued by this disorder since I met a beautiful little miss named Sarah. Sarahs father recently told me that doctors have informed him that Sarah may have Tourette Syndrome. I had visions in my mind of a little girl shouting curse uncontrollably with arms flailing about, although the times that I have been with Sarah have neer been marked by these actions. I set out to find more information to satisfy my own curiosity and to make myself a election for Sarahs father. Tourette Syndrome (TS) was first officially described over 100 years agone by a French neurologist named Gilles de la Tourette, a savant of Charcots and a friend of Freuds. He described nine patients, primarily Madame de Dampierre, by saying At the age of 7 (she) was afflicted by spasmodic movements of the hands and arms. . . She was felt to be suffering from overexcitement and mischief, and . . . she was subjected to reprimand and punishment. It soon became put on that these mov ements were indeed involuntary. . . involved the shoulders, the neck, and the face, and resulted in contortions and extraordinary grimaces (1). Soon after the move tics developed, Dampierre developed vocal tics consisting of screams and cries. Until her death at 85, she was forced to live in seclusion (2). Between 1920 and 1960, TS was all but forgotten, and psychiatrists and psychoanalysts treated the symptoms as hold in aggression, which proved ineffective (1). When drugs such as haloperidol were able to quiet symptoms in the 1960s, however, Giles de la Tourettes initial observations were reevaluated. Dr. Oliver Sacks notes, Tourettes was regarded - in a sudden reversion - as a chemical disease, the result of a neurotransmitter, dopamine... ...ourette Syndrome. http//neuro-www2.mgh.harvard.edu/TSA/AboutTS/faq.html7. Definitions and smorgasbord of Tic Disorders. The Tourette Syndrome Classification Study Group. http//tsa.harvard.edu/TSA/medsci/definitions.html8. Personal Healt h Living with the Mysteries of Tourette Syndrome. Brody, Jane E. The New York Times, March 1, 1995. http//tsa.mgh.harvard.edu/TSA/whatshappening/brody.html9. An primordial Warning for Tics? Faint Signals, Sensory Urges, and Momentary Relief. Leckman Ph.D., James F. National TSA newssheet - Spring 1996. http//tsa.harvard.edu/TSA/medetter/spring1996.html10. The Facts about Tourette Syndrome. Alternative Health. http//members.tripod.com/tourette13/11. Scientists Brainstorm to Find Cure for Tourette Syndrome. Weizmann lend of Science. http//wis-wander.weizmann.ac.il/site/EN/weizman.asp?pi=372