Tourettes Syndrome
             What Is Tourette's Syndrome?
             TS is an inherited disorder characterized by multiple involuntary movements and uncontrollable vocalizations call tics. Tics come and go over years. Tics are sounds of movements that are repeated over and over again. To be diagnosed with TS a person must have both multiple motor and one or more vocal tics for a period of at least one-year, beginning before the patient is age 21. The tics do not have to occur at the same time. They can vary in frequency and they can disappear for weeks or even months at a time.
            
             What are some of the symptoms?
             TS symptoms range from very mild to quite severe, the majority of cases fall in the mild category. The first symptom of TS are usually facial tics. The most common is eye blinking. Some people have vocal tics such as clearing the throat or sniffing. Their tics or behavior does not disable most people, but some do need medication. A few patients with severe TS demonstrate self-harming behaviors such as lip and cheek biting and head banging against hard objects. However, these behaviors are extremely rare.
            
             What should you know about Tourette Syndrome?
             Its cause is believed to be in the brain and how two parts of the brain communicate. The defect that causes TS has not been established. Tics include eye blinking, neck jerking, facial grimacing, grunting, sniffing, snorting, hitting oneself, and uttering words or phrases out of context. The tics associated with TS are often treated medically, not because they hurt the patient, but because they may be embarrassing. Symptoms of TS begin before the age of 21, usually between the ages of 2 and 15. 200,000 Americans are estimated to have TS. More
             have yet to be diagnosed. A person with TS has a 50% change of passing the gene to his or her children. If a child inherits the gene, a son will have a 3 to 4 times higher chance of inheriting the disorder. Ten percent...