Visalia Boy
Featured in Tourette's Documentary -
Every time Kelly Coulter watches her son in the
documentary "I Have Tourette's but Tourette's Doesn't Have
Me," she cries -- and it's getting on William's nerves. "Boo,
hoo, hoo," said the 11-year-old , rolling his eyes. "Geez,
mom." But when you talk with Kelly Coulter about her son and
his battle with Tourette's Syndrome, you can understand her
mixture of pride and happiness watching her well-spoken,
precocious son in the HBO documentary.
Additional Resource:
I Have Tourette’s but Tourette’s Doesn’t Have Me Teacher’s
Guide (PDF).
Rare Surgery Zaps Man's Tourette's - When the
electrodes first pulsed into his brain, the twitching stopped, the spasms ended,
and, for the first time in years, 31-year-old Jeff Matovic was just another guy
from Northeast Ohio who can once again shoot hoops with his brother.Awesome. That's Jeff Matovic's favorite word. And it's taken on a whole
new meaning for him now that he can walk down the hall, drink from a glass and
use a telephone without knocking himself in the head.
Teen With Tourette
Syndrome Learns to Cope-
Every night, Olivia Rosquita dances. The 15-year-old Roeper High
School freshman can't help it. She dances in her room until she's too
tired to move. Then she knows she can finally sleep and stop
compulsively thinking about her day, her clothes, her food, her
friends. Random thoughts constantly flood her mind, keeping her from
being "normal," from being herself. For too long, Olivia and her
mother, Lisa Clemons of Ferndale, have been living with the effects of
Tourette Syndrome.
Migraine
Headaches and Tourette Syndrome-
Tourette syndrome is the most common childhood genetic movement
disorder. Previous research shows children with Tourette syndrome also
suffer from migraines. A new study confirms those findings. The new
research reports the frequency of migraine headaches in Tourette
syndrome children is nearly four-times more than the frequency of
migraines in the general population.
Scientists have made a major breakthrough in understanding Tourette's
Syndrome (TS) by identifying a gene linked to the condition which is
usually associated with inappropriate swearing in public. Until now
the causes of the debilitating neurological disorder, which is
estimated to affect one per cent of the population, have eluded
researchers.
John Davidson, a TS sufferer from Galashiels in the Borders, whose
story was told in two ground-breaking television documentaries, last
night welcomed the breakthrough into a disease which he said could
"destroy lives and futures".
The challenge researchers faced was that the disease appears to be
caused by subtle mutations in many genes, rather than centering on one
particular group.
Now scientists in a collaborative project involving seven US
universities believe they have found the first TS-related gene
mutation.
Project leader Dr Matthew State, of Yale, said: "This was the
strongest piece of genetic evidence in the research paper. We found
two examples of exactly the same rare sequence change in a regulatory,
non-coding region of the gene. And it was in two unrelated individuals
with TS."
Dr State said early theories suggesting a single-gene mutation cause
for TS have been proved inaccurate. "There has been an evolving
hypothesis about Tourette's Syndrome being a much more complex
disorder. I think there is general consensus at this point that there
are likely to be multiple genes, likely interacting, and probably
different sets of genes in different people that contribute to TS."
The theory is borne out by the complicated physical constitution of
organisms in people with TS, who can also show symptoms of
psychological disorders such as obsessive-compulsive behavior,
attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) or learning
disabilities.
Mr Davidson, 34, who works as a caretaker in the Langlee Community
Centre in Galashiels, appeared in the 1989 BBC QED program John's Not
Mad and later in The Boy Can't Help It. He said of the new research:
"This could be a wonderful breakthrough, but I've learned the hard way
that there are no magic medicine answers for TS. However, with this
being to do with genes, there may be a way of preventing it occurring
in babies born in the future. I would like to have children but I
worry they might inherit my TS."
TS can be inherited or appear suddenly. Symptoms include sudden
movements or vocalizations, called tics, including eye blinking and
sometimes swearing. There is no known cure, but drug treatment or
relaxation therapy may be given.
