For 24 hours, Twitter is suffering from Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. The operation “give up your word” launched by a Canadian Foundation wants to sensitize a large public to this little-known disorder.
“Swiss army, military, UDC, #SurrenderYourSay”, Twitter suffers from Gilles de la Tourette syndrome (Sgt)! The favorite social network of news junkies turns into a patient with this syndrome. Indeed, it is by joining the social network Twitter that the Canadian Tourette Syndrome Foundation (1) launched this Thursday a communication operation which consists of letting go of the reins of your personal account and letting the association tweet. in your place. The goal of this original mode of action, to raise public awareness of this disease. So, if you accept the rules of the game, you should expect to see amazing messages appear on your Twitter account that mean nothing, but also insults. In fact, this is exactly what happens to people with this syndrome: disorderly gestures, inconsistent words or sentences.
In order to avoid any misunderstanding, the Canadian association advises registrants send a preventative message to your subscribers to notify them of your participation in the experiment.
Gilles de la Tourette syndrome is a neurological disease with a genetic component characterized by involuntary, sudden, brief and intermittent tics, resulting in movements (motor tics) or vocalizations (sound tics). One or more behavioral disorders, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorders, panic or rage attacks, sleep or learning disorders are frequently added. Sgt appears during childhood and affects boys more often than girls, regardless of their geographic origin.
The causes
This disease probably has a strong genetic component at the origin of a family background. Several genes are involved (polygenic genetic disease) but have not yet been identified. It is strongly suggested that certain environmental factors contribute to the appearance of this syndrome, events having taken place before, during or just after birth, toxic factors, stress, immune reactions. For this last factor, it would seem that an abnormal response of the immune system during repeated streptococcal infections, could be at the origin of tics.
Treatments
There is no cure able to cure Sgt, those available make it possible to attenuate the manifestations. Drugs such as dopamine agonists, GABAergic agonists, alpha2-adrenergic agonists are used when the tics are mild. For moderate to severe tics, classic or atypical neuroleptics are used instead. Behavioral disturbances can also be alleviated by drug treatment acting on the production of neurotransmitters. For obsessive-compulsive disorder, serotonin reuptake inhibitor antidepressants are prescribed while noradrenergic agents or stimulants such as ritalin are indicated in attention-hyperactivity deficits.
Side effects of treatments
Drug treatment should be started only when it is really needed. Indeed, most drugs cause quite significant side effects, considerable weight gain, disappearance of periods, significant fatigue or appearance of a depressive state. Ritalin, prescribed for the treatment of attention deficit hyperactivity deficits, may temporarily increase tics.
The importance of psychological follow-up
Often, regular psychotherapy is complementary to the treatment of Sgt. Behavioral therapies (relaxation, modification of habits) can also improve tics, mainly when drug treatment brings little or no beneficial effects. In any case, psychological support can help overcome the daily difficulties caused by annoying tics.
Source: Orphanet
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