How to Recognize Tourette's Syndrome Causes

While the true cause of Tourette's Syndrome is unknown, there is strong evidence to suggest that both environmental factors and heredity come into play. Tourette's Syndrome, a neurological disorder that causes both vocal and motor tics, can even be difficult to recognize, as the symptoms are often ignored or misdiagnosed. Read on to learn more about how to recognize Tourette's Syndrome causes.

Things You'll Need

• Physician or mental-health professional

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Instructions

• 1

  Note that while a person with Tourette's Syndrome has a 50 percent chance of passing it on to one of her children, it is a syndrome that exhibits variable expression, meaning that a person can carry the gene without showing any of the symptoms. That is one of the reasons why it is sometimes difficult to trace the origin of Tourette's through heredity.

• 2

  Look for obsessive-compulsive disorders in the family history of someone who has been diagnosed with Tourette's Syndrome. Often, the two conditions are linked together on a genetic level.

• 3

  Recognize the environmental factors that can influence the severity of symptoms with people who have Tourette's Syndrome. While the environment cannot actually cause Tourette's Syndrome, it can exacerbate the severity of tics by creating excessive stress for the individual. In addition, diet, exposure to toxins and pollutants, childhood diseases and infections and psychosocial factors have all been shown to have an effect on the severity of Tourette's Syndrome.

• 4

  Investigate the current research that indicates there may be a link between Tourette's Syndrome and streptococcal infections, such as strep throat. Check out the official website for the Tourette Syndrome Association for more research updates. See the Resources section below for a link.

• 5

  Keep track of current research showing the possibility that Tourette's Syndrome is linked to several other medical conditions, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention-deficit disorder (ADD), and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The Tourette's Syndrome Association website is an excellent resource for links to medical studies and research.