EEG events prior to simple tics have been examined in six patients with Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome, and compared to EEG changes occurring when the same subjects voluntarily mimicked their own tics. Voluntary jerks were prefaced by a premovement negative potential commencing about 500 ms prior to the muscle EMG discharge and reaching an amplitude of about 7 muV. No such premovement potenti...

OBJECTIVE The authors assessed selective basal ganglia involvement in a subgroup of children with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or tics believed to be associated with streptococcal infection. METHOD Using computer-assisted morphometric techniques, they analyzed the cerebral magnetic resonance images of 34 children with presumed streptococcus-associated OCD and/or tics and 82 healthy...

The clinical features of 32 patients (24 males) with Tourette's syndrome in Brazil were studied. The mean age at onset was 7.1 years, tics being the first symptom in 71% and hyperactivity in 29%. Blinking, grimacing, and shoulder elevation were the most common motor tics and sniffing, throat clearing, and grunting noises, the most frequent vocal tics. Coprolalia was present in 28%, echolalia in...

Targeting tumour-initiating cells (TICs) would lead to new therapies to cure cancer. We previously demonstrated that TICs have the capacity to survive under suspension conditions, while other cells undergo anoikis. Here we show that TICs exhibit increased phosphorylation levels of S727STAT3 because of PP2A inactivation. Collagen 17 gene expression is upregulated in a STAT3-dependent manner, whi...

M2 macrophages promote tumor growth and metastasis, but their interactions with specific tumor cell populations are poorly characterized. Using a mouse model of spontaneous melanoma, we showed that CD34- but not CD34+ tumor-initiating cells (TICs) depend on M2 macrophages for survival and proliferation. Tumor-associated macrophages (TAMs) and macrophage-conditioned media protected CD34- TICs fr...

BACKGROUND A sensory trick, or geste antagoniste, is defined as a physical gesture (such as a touch on a particular body part) that mitigates the production of an involuntary movement. This phenomenon is most commonly described as a feature of dystonia. Here we present a case of successful modulation of tics using sensory tricks. CASE REPORT A case report and video are presented. The case and...

It has been suggested that psychosocial stress influences situational fluctuations of tic frequency. However, evidence from experimental studies is lacking. The current study investigated the effects of the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST-C) on tic frequency in 31 children and adolescents with tic disorders. A relaxation and a concentration situation served as control conditions. Patients were a...

Tourette Syndrome (TS) or Tourette’s disorder (DSM IV-TR) is a childhood onset, brain-based disorder characterized by persistent motor and vocal tics that last for more than one year. Tics are brief, meaningless movements or sounds, but can be more complex and appear purposeful. In addition, many people with TS have other problems that might include one or more of the following: difficulties wi...

Tic disorders are heterogeneous, with symptoms varying widely both within and across patients. Exploration of symptom clusters may aid in the identification of symptom dimensions of empirical and treatment import. This article presents the results of two studies investigating tic symptom clusters using a sample of 99 youth (M age = 10.7, 81% male, 77% Caucasian) diagnosed with a primary tic dis...

BACKGROUND Tic disorders, in particular chronic tic disorder and Tourette syndrome, affect about 1% of the population. The current treatment of choice is pharmacological or behavioural, addressing tics or the premonitory urges preceding tic onset. AIMS The current study reports an open trial evaluating the effectiveness of a cognitive psychophysiological treatment addressing Tourette-specific...