Is TS Inherited? is a question often asked.
While the inheritance pattern of Tourette’s Syndrome is not clear, certain features of the condition do cluster in families.
Even among family members of an affected person, it is hard to identify who else has the condition.
Research shows that people with Tourette’s are 50% likely to pass the genes to one of their children.
Is Tourette’s Syndrome Inherited?
Tourette’s Syndrome is a complex neurological disorder which is characterized by sudden, repetitive, and involuntary movements or sounds known as tics.
Tics generally appear during childhood and their severity varies over time. For most kids, the severity of their tics becomes less frequent and milder during their late teens and as adults.
The tics can either be motor tics or vocal tics.
Motor tics are uncontrolled body movements, shrugging of the shoulders, eye-rolling, sudden jerking of the head.
Vocal or phonic tics, on the other hand, involve sudden sound outbursts which sufferers have no control over.
People with Tourette’s are at risk for certain associated problems such as anxiety, depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and sleep disorders.
What is the Cause of TS?
Although the exact cause of Tourette’s Syndrome is not known, research has established a relationship with genetic and environmental factors.
Most of the Tourette’s cases are inherited but their mode of inheritance is unknown. Additionally, no genes have been identified.
Environmental factors are also associated with this condition. Unlike genetic factors, environmental situations do not directly cause Tourette’s in children.
However, these factors seriously affect the severity of the condition.
Most cases of Tourette’s Syndrome occur from a variety of environmental and genetic factors, and not changes in a single gene.
As a matter of fact, Certain forms of Tourette’s are genetically linked to obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).
However, a genetic link between Tourette’s and ADHD is not yet understood.
Finally, the answer to Is TS Inherited? is that the the verdict is still out.
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