Drug Treatment of Adolescent Tiqueurs

A Double-blind Trial of Diazepam and Haloperidol

¹ Physician, The Bethlem Royal Hospital and The Maudsley Hospital, London, S.E.5
² Senior Registrar, The Bethlem Royal Hospital and The Maudsley Hospital, London, S.E.5
³ Post-graduate student, Department of Psychology, Institute of Psychiatry, The Bethlem Royal Hospital and The Maudsley Hospital, London, S.E.5
⁴ Lecturer, Institute of Psychiatry, The Bethlem Royal Hospital and The Maudsley Hospital, London, S.E.5

A double-blind controlled trial of diazepam and haloperidol was carried out on four adolescent tiqueurs who were treated as in-patients. It was considered that counting the tics over a fixed period of time under standardized conditions provided the most satisfactory criterion of improvement.

In the first trial, diazepam was found to have no significant effect on the frequency of the tics when a dosage of 2 mg. t.i.d. was used. However, further experience with one of the patients suggests that a higher dose may result in improvement, but with a tendency to relapse on discharge from hospital.

In the trial of haloperidol, although the subjects reacted differently to a significant degree, there was a highly significant reduction in the frequency of the tics, which was due to the drug. It was also demonstrated that the conditions of measurement affect the tic frequency, which was greater whilst reading aloud. Haloperidol appeared particularly effective in preventing increase of the tics under such conditions of stress.

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