Treatment of Tourette syndrome
There is no cure for Tourette's and no medication which works universally for all individuals without significant adverse effects; knowledge and understanding are the best treatments available for tics. Management of the symptoms of Tourette's may include pharmacological, behavioral and psychological therapies. While pharmacological treatment is reserved for more severe symptoms, other types of treatments may help avoid or improve symptoms of depression or social isolation, and improve supportive family functioning. Educating the patient, family, and surrounding community (school, church, friends, etc.) is a key part of treatment.
Tourette syndrome
Most cases of Tourette's in older individuals are mild and almost unrecognizable. Adults with TS presenting in clinics are atypical and represent a biased sample. When symptoms are severe enough to warrant referral to clinics, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD) and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are often associated with Tourette's. In children with tics, the additional presence of ADHD is associated with functional impairment, disruptive behavior, and tic severity. Compulsions resembling tics are present in some individuals with OCD; "tic-related OCD" is hypothesized to be a subgroup of OCD, distinguished from non-tic related OCD by the type and nature of obsessions and compulsions. Not all persons with Tourette's have ADHD or OCD or other comorbid conditions, although in clinical populations, a high percentage of patients presenting for care do have ADHD. One author reports that a ten-year overview of patient records revealed about 40% of people with Tourette's have "TS-only" or "pure TS", referring to Tourette syndrome in the absence of ADHD, OCD and other disorders. Another author reports that 57% of 656 patients presenting with tic disorders had uncomplicated tics, while 43% had tics plus comorbid conditions. People with "full-blown Tourette's" have significant comorbid conditions in addition to tics.