Conditions Similar To Tourette Syndrome
How is ADD or ADHD related to Tourette syndrome?
There's a higher tendency for people with Tourette's to have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. And again, this may simply be another manifestation of the genetic proclivity to develop Tourette's syndrome. That gene may cause some people to have a tic as a symptom, some people may have obsessive-compulsive behavior, and other people may have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder along with it.
Can a mood disorder is mistaken for Tourette syndrome?
I know of no connection between bipolar disorder and Tourette's. There may be a tendency for people with Tourette's to have some mood disturbance, particularly in the direction of depression, and it is not clear that it's fundamentally coming from the same process that's causing tic or if it is simply a consequence of living with the syndrome which can be very disruptive and stressful to people.
What other illnesses can be mistaken for Tourette syndrome?
There are other abnormal movements that people can develop, dystonia being one of them - involuntary posturing could be suspected to be a tic when it is, in fact, an entirely different disorder. There's another involuntary movement which is called Myoclonis, which is a lightning-like muscle contraction, not very common, far less common than Tourette's or tic disorder, but that might lead some people to believe that it's a tic,. And the distinguishable factor with tic is that it's often repetitive and stereotypical and suppressible, and these other things are not.
What diseases can be mistaken for Tourette syndrome?
Tic can be associated with some other neurological diagnoses, although rarely so. People with Huntington's disease, for example, sometimes have tic, although that's an uncommon manifestation of a rare disease. People with Parkinson's disease or other similar disorders have been reported to have occasionally tic, but that would be an unusual manifestation of these other neurological diseases.
Is dystonia often mistaken for Tourette syndrome?
Some forms of dystonia which are... it's an abnormal posturing or involuntary movements that are brain generated. Usually this looks different than tick, but some people with dystonia may be mistaken as having a tick disorder. For example, one form of dystonia is called Blepharospasm, where people have involuntary eye lid closure. This usually occurs later in life, in the 40's or 50's more typically, or 60's. Whereas tick more typically begins during childhood. Also the suppressibility of tick is distinct from Blepharospasm where people can't think about it and stop it temporarily, whereas they can with tick.
What conditions may complicate Tourette syndrome?
Some of my patients, very few, I have noted that use of illicit drugs, cocaine or amphetamine, methamphetamine has provoked greater emergence of tics. Stimulant medications could conceivably provoke tic.