Tourette syndrome and excitatory substances: is there a connection?
OBJECTIVE
The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between excitatory substances by testing the urine in children with Tourette syndrome (TS).


METHODS
We performed a control study involving 44 patients with TS and 44 normal children by investigating the children's daily eating habits. We used the gas chromatograph-mass spectrometer and liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometer from Agilent. Substances for detection included 197 excitatory substances prohibited by the International Olympic Committee and other substances with similar chemical structures or biological functions for urine samples.


RESULTS
Forty-four patients who did not take any drugs in the past 2 weeks enrolled in the study. The positive rate in the experiment group was three cases, while it was negative in the control group. The level of 1-testosterone increased in one extremely severe TS patient who ate large amounts of puffed food and drank an average of 350 ml of cola per day. Cathine and other substances with similar chemical constitution or similar biological effects increased in one severe TS patient who ate bags of instant noodles daily, according to the high score of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale.


CONCLUSIONS
An increase in ephedrine type, testosterone, and stimulants may be related to the pathogenesis of TS. Unhealthy food possibly causes TS. The relationship between excitatory substances and TS needs to be explored with the goal of providing more information on diagnosing and treating TS.
Department of Pediatrics, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 100853, Beijing, China. zouliping21@hotmail.com
Li-Ping
LP
Zou
Ying
Y
Wang
Li-Ping
LP
Zhang
Jian-Bo
JB
Zhao
Jin-Fang
JF
Lu
Qun
Q
Liu
Hang-Yan
HY
Wang
D016022:Case-Control Studies; D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants / Q000652:urine*; D002648:Child; D004032:Diet; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D013739:Testosterone / Q000031:analogs & derivatives / Q000652:urine; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000652:urine*
D000697:Central Nervous System Stimulants; D013739:Testosterone; C520094:1-testosterone