title: Gilles de la Tourette syndrome in a cohort of deaf people.
abstract: We present six patients with Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (TS) who are also deaf. TS has been observed previously, but rarely reported in deaf people, and to date, so called "unusual" phenomenology has been highlighted. TS occurs almost worldwide and in all cultures, and the clinical phenomenology is virtually identical. In our cohort of deaf patients (we suggest another culture) with TS, the phenomenology is the same as in hearing people, and as in all other cultures, with classic motor and vocal/phonic tics, as well as associated phenomena including echo-phenomena, pali-phenomena and rarer copro-phenomena. When "words" related to these phenomenon (e.g. echolalia, palilalia, coprolalia or mental coprolalia) are elicited in deaf people, they occur usually in British Sign Language (BSL): the more "basic" vocal/phonic tics such as throat clearing are the same phenomenologically as in hearing TS people. In our case series, there was a genetic predisposition to TS in all cases. We would argue that TS in deaf people is the same as TS in hearing people and in other cultures, highlighting the biological nature of the disorder.
authors.affiliation: Department of Mental Health Sciences, University College London, London, UK; Department of Psychiatry, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa; St Georges Hospital and Medical School, Blackshaw Rd, London SW17 0QT, UK.
authors.forename: M M
authors.initials: MM
authors.lastname: Robertson
authors.affiliation: National Deaf CAMHS, Lime Trees, 31 Shipton Rd, York YO30 5RE, UK.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Roberts
authors.affiliation: Child Psychiatry, St Georges Hospital, Blackshaw Rd, London SW17 0QT, Australia.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pillai
authors.affiliation: Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, School of Psychiatry & Ingham Institute, University of New South Wales, Liverpool Hospital, L1, MHC, Elizabeth Street, 2170 Sydney, NSW, Australia. Electronic address: v.eapen@unsw.edu.au.
authors.forename: V
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Eapen
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D032763:Behavior Control / Q000379:methods; D012048:Correction of Hearing Impairment / Q000379:methods; D003638:Deafness / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D005190:Family / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006320:Hearing Tests / Q000379:methods; D006801:Humans; D007406:Interview, Psychological / Q000379:methods; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000379:methods; D009770:Obsessive Behavior / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology; D019986:Persons with Hearing Disabilities / Q000523:psychology*; D011599:Psychopathology; D012720:Severity of Illness Index; D020323:Tics / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000628:therapy; D005879:Tourette Syndrome / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy
keywords: Biological aetiology; Deaf; Tics; Tourette syndrome