title: Deficits in sensory organization for postural stability in children with Tourette syndrome.
abstract: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset developmental disorder characterized by involuntary motor and vocal tics. Previous studies have indicated that children with TS demonstrate postural control anomalies when standing. The aim of this study was to compare postural stability under normal and altered sensory conditions in children with TS and healthy control (HC) children. A convenience sample of twelve children with TS (9 boys and 3 girls; 9.4 ± 1.1 yr) and 12 HC age- and gender-matched children (9.2 ± 1.1 yr) participated in this study. The Sensory Organization Test (SOT) was used to assess postural stability under six altered sensory conditions (1. normal vision, fixed support; 2. eyes closed, fixed support; 3. vision sway-referenced, fixed support; 4. normal vision, support sway-referenced; 5. eyes closed, support surface sway-referenced; 6. both vision and support surface sway-referenced) using the SMART Balance Master® 8.2 (NeuroCom® International, Inc, Clackamas, OR, USA). The results showed significant differences between the two groups in conditions 5 and 6 (p=0.003 and 0.002, respectively). The mean composite equilibrium score in children with TS was significantly lower than that of HC children (p<0.000). The results suggested that children with TS had greater difficulty in maintaining postural stability, especially when vestibular information was challenged. The results of this study provide supporting evidence for possible deficits in impaired access to vestibular information and sensorimotor integration of postural control in children with TS.
authors: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.
authors: Wen-Yu
authors: WY
authors: Liu
authors: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan; Department of Physical Therapy, Joint Assessment Center for Child Development, Department of Rehabilitation, Tao-Yuan General Hospital, Ministry of Health and Welfare, Taiwan.
authors: Ya-TingHsu
authors: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.
authors: Hen-Yu
authors: HY
authors: Lien
authors: College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan; Division of Pediatric Neurology, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, Taiwan.
authors: Huei-Shyong
authors: HS
authors: Wang
authors: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan; College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan. Electronic address: walice@adm.cgmh.org.tw.
authors: Alice May-Kuen
authors: AM
authors: Wong
authors: Division of Pediatric Neurology, Chang Gung Children's Hospital, Taiwan; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Chang Gung Memorial Hospital, Linkou, Taiwan.
authors: Simon Fuk-Tan
authors: SF
authors: Tang
authors: Department of Physical Therapy and Graduate Institute of Rehabilitation Science, College of Medicine, Chang Gung University, Taiwan.
authors: Yang-Hua
authors: YH
authors: Lin
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D004856:Postural Balance / Q000502:physiology*; D011434:Proprioception / Q000502:physiology*; D012678:Sensation Disorders / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000503:physiopathology*; D014796:Visual Perception / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: Balance control; Sensory organization test; Tourette syndrome