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Gilles de la Tourette syndrome

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 January 2018

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Abstract

Type
Editorials
Copyright
Copyright © Royal College of Psychiatrists, 2014

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome was first described by Parisian doctor Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette in 1885. Originally considered a rare medical curiosity, the syndrome of multiple tics is now regarded as a fairly common neurodevelopmental condition, affecting up to 1% of school-age children. Gilles de la Tourette described the clinical triad of tics, echolalia and coprolalia. The last is relatively rare and no longer features as a diagnostic criterion, despite the media obsession with obscene manifestations. French colleagues react with horror when they see their syndrome’s name shortened to Tourette syndrome, even in 100-word texts!

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