Tourette Syndrome History
Dr.
Gilles de la Tourette (Biography)
was a French neurologist at the Salpetriere Hospital in Paris.
In 1884 Gilles de la Tourette, prompted by his mentor, Charcot;in
a pier reviewed article, described nine patients who were
affected with compulsive tics; some of which he had never personally
treated or come in contact with, The symptoms were characterized
by multiple muscle tics vocal noises and compulsive swearing.
"Everything
is extraordinary in this disease: the name is ridiculous, its
symptoms peculiar, its character equivocal, its cause unknown,
its treatment problematical." - Gilles de la Tourette
In
his primary case he describes a woman (Marquise de Dampierre)
who 60 years earlier was a patient of a Itard in 1825.
Marquise de Dampierre - Her disturbances began when she was seven
years old, and persisted until her death at the age of 80 years,
except for one year when she visited Switzerland and married.
Dr.
Gilles de la Tourettee writes;
“Marquise
de Dampierre at the age of 7 was afflicted by convulsive movements
of the hand and arms…After each spasm, the movements of
the hand became more regular and better controlled until a convulsive
movement would again interrupt her work. She was felt to be suffering
form over excitement and mischief, and because the movements became
more and more frequent, she was subjected to reprimand and punishment.
It soon became clear that these movements were indeed involuntary.
They involved the shoulders, the neck, and the face, and resulted
in contortions and extraordinary grimaces.”
“As
the disease progressed, and the spasms spread to involver her
voice and speech, the young lady made strange screams and said
words that made no sense. However, during all this, she was clearly
alert, and showed no signs of delirium or other mental problems.
Months and years passed with no real change in her symptoms. It
was hoped that with puberty these might naturally abate, but this
did not occur.”
“In
the midst of an interesting conversation, all of a sudden, without
being able to prevent it, she interrupts what she is saying or
what she is listening to with horrible screams and with words
that are even more extraordinary than her screams. All of this
contrasts deplorable with her distinguished manners and background.
These words are, for the most part, offensive curse words and
obscene saying. These are no less embarrassing for her than for
those who have to listen, the expressions being so crude that
an unfavorable opinion of the woman is almost inevitable.”
In
addition to the involuntary motor and vocal tics and swearing,
Dr. Gilles de la Tourette also noted that:
a)
the disorder had an onset in childhood, usually between 7 and
10 years of age,
b) affected males more than females, and
c) was hereditary;
d) the tics usually started in the face or upper extremity;
e) the symptoms waxed and waned spontaneously;
f) the tics were made worse by stress and diminished in sleep
and occasionally during fevers; and
g) it was not a progressive degenerative disorder.
He correctly distinguished tics from other similar disorders in
that the movements were “Short lived, and extremely brisk…They
are intermittent, never continuous, so that they neither prevent
normal eating nor limit independent ambulation…Their mental
state is normal and most of them are highly intelligent.”
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Georges
Gilles de la Tourette: The Man And His Times AJ Lees,
Rev. Neurol. (Paris), 1986, 142, 11, 808-816
http://baillement.chez.tiscali.fr/lettres/tourette.html
Tourette
Syndrome and Human Behavior David E. Comings, M.D. Hope
Press, 1990, 7-9
http://www.hopepress.com
Paul
Marshall
editor@tourettes-disorder.com
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