MSNBC

[melanie]

Ok about a week ago I was watching MSNBC(sorry )on the bottom of the screen ticker tape said something about a possible cure for tourette syndrome I have ggogled it and cant find any info...Im not crazy I did see this any one have info

 

Melanie

[Cj60]

Maybe this is what msnbc was referencing?

 

My sister works in news and sent me this when she saw it. It was dated 8/9/12.

 

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File:toureets-dd.wav

 

Headline: SA Researcher Prescribes Behavioral Tech to Treat Tourette’s

 

Intro:

 

A San Antonio researcher working with the UT Health Science Center San Antonio is developing ways for people with Tourette’s syndrome to control their tics – without the need for pharmaceuticals. From the Texas Public Radio Science and Technology desk David Martin Davies has the story.

 

TRACK

 

Tourette’s syndrome, a neurological disorder associated with motor or vocal tics that can be embarrassing or disruptive. A new study conducted at the UT Health Science Center along with Harvard/Massachusetts General Hospital and Yale University is affirming that Tourette’s can be successfully treated without using strong antipsychotic drugs.

 

Dr. Alan Peterson a San Antonio psychologist who is a co-author of the study said there are big drawbacks to relying on medication to manage Tourette’s.

 

“There’s a lot of weight gain. There are some permanent neurological conditions that can occur that can cause some pretty significant long term problems that can occur.”

 

Instead the study finds that behavioral therapy works better than the meds – and without the side effects.

 

“We teach people how to identify this premonitory urge then we work with them to develop competing responses that will prevent the tic from occurring.”

 

The therapy might include developing skills like: tic awareness: learning to detect early warning signs that a tic is about to occur. Teaching patients to uses rhythmic breathing techniques to ward off a tic and relaxation training

 

The treatment called comprehensive behavioral intervention for tics, or CBIT is slowly catching on in the United States – but it’s being embraced and promoted in Canada and across Europe. The results are published in the Archives of General Psychiatry.

 

For the Texas Public Radio Science and Technology Desk – David Martin Davies reporting.