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Standard, Complementary, and Future Treatment Options for Tics

  • Tourette's Syndrome (TS Zeiger, Section Editor)
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Abstract

Purpose of Review

Tics occur in up to 20% of children and are a defining feature of Tourette syndrome (TS). When treatment is necessary, there are many options available. The purpose of this review is to present an overview of the standard, complementary/alternative medicine (CAM), and emerging treatments of tics and provide examples of the current evidence supporting these therapies.

Recent Findings

Behavioral therapy and conventional pharmacotherapy are the mainstays of treatment and have the strongest evidence to support their use. CAM is common, but there are few rigorous randomized, controlled trials evaluating the safety and efficacy of these modalities. Several novel pharmacological and nonpharmacological treatments targeting specific pathways thought to be involved in TS are currently being studied with the hope of expanding future treatment options.

Summary

We conclude that there is an ongoing need for new evidence-based approaches for safe and effective treatment of tics.

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  1. Department of Pediatric Neurology, The Johns Hopkins Hospital, 200 N. Wolfe Street, Suite 2158, Baltimore, MD, 21287, USA

    April N. Sharp & Harvey S. Singer

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Correspondence to Harvey S. Singer.

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April N. Sharp reports no conflict of interest.

Harvey S. Singer reports grants from Tourette Association of America.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Tourette’s Syndrome

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Sharp, A.N., Singer, H.S. Standard, Complementary, and Future Treatment Options for Tics. Curr Dev Disord Rep 5, 101–107 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40474-018-0138-1

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