Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Tourette syndrome and excitatory substances: is there a connection?

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Child's Nervous System Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background and purpose

The objective of this study is to investigate the relationship between excitatory substances by testing the urine in children with Tourette syndrome (TS).

Methods

We performed a control study involving 44 patients with TS and 44 normal children by investigating the children’s daily eating habits. We used the gas chromatograph–mass spectrometer and liquid chromatograph–mass spectrometer from Agilent. Substances for detection included 197 excitatory substances prohibited by the International Olympic Committee and other substances with similar chemical structures or biological functions for urine samples.

Results

Forty-four patients who did not take any drugs in the past 2 weeks enrolled in the study. The positive rate in the experiment group was three cases, while it was negative in the control group. The level of 1-testosterone increased in one extremely severe TS patient who ate large amounts of puffed food and drank an average of 350 ml of cola per day. Cathine and other substances with similar chemical constitution or similar biological effects increased in one severe TS patient who ate bags of instant noodles daily, according to the high score of the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale.

Conclusion

An increase in ephedrine type, testosterone, and stimulants may be related to the pathogenesis of TS. Unhealthy food possibly causes TS. The relationship between excitatory substances and TS needs to be explored with the goal of providing more information on diagnosing and treating TS.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Scahill L, Williams S, Schwab-Stone M, Applegate J, Leckman JF (2006) Disruptive behavior problems in a community sample of children with tic disorders. Adv Neurol 99:184–190

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Mason A, Banerjee S, Eapen V, Zeitlin H, Robertson MM (1998) The prevalence of Tourette syndrome in a mainstream school population. Dev Med Child Neurol 40:292–296

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Kano Y, Ohta M, Nagai Y, Pauls DL, Leckman JF (2001) A family study of Tourette syndrome in Japan. Am J Med Genet 105:414–421

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. Hasstedt SJ, Leppert M, Filloux F (1995) Intermediate inheritance of Tourette syndrome, assuming assortative mating. Am J Hum Genet 57:682–689

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Seuchter SA, Hebebrand J (2000) Complex segregation analysis of families ascertained through Gilles de la Tourette syndrome. Genet Epidemiol 18:33–47

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Roessner V, Robatzek M, Knapp G, Banaschewski T, Rothenberger A (2006) First-onset tics in patients with attention-deficit-hyperactivity disorder: impact of stimulants. Dev Med Child Neurol 48:616–621

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  7. Kurlan R (2003) Tourette’s syndrome: are stimulants safe? Curr Neurol Neurosci Rep 3:285–288

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  8. Lowe TL, Cohen DJ, Detlor J, Kremnitzer MW, Shaywitz BA (1982) Stimulant medications precipitate Tourette’s syndrome. JAMA 247:1729–1731

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Comings DE (1990) Blood serotonin and tryptophan in Tourette syndrome. Am J Med Genet 36:418–430

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Keen-Kim D, Freimer NB (2006) Genetics and epidemiology of Tourette syndrome. J Child Neurol 21:665–671

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Kurlan R (1992) The pathogenesis of Tourette’s syndrome: a possible role for hormonal and excitatory neurotransmitter influences in brain development. Arch Neurol 49:874–876

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  12. Kurlan R (1989) Tourette’s syndrome: current concepts. Neurol 39:1625–1630

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Peterson BS, Zhang H, Anderson GM, Leckman JF (1998) Double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial of an antiandrogen in the treatment of Tourette’s syndrome. J Clin Psychopharmacol 18:324–331

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  14. Jin R, Zheng RY, Huang WW, Xu HQ, Shao B, Chen H, Feng L (2005) Epidemiological survey of Tourette syndrome in children and adolescents in Wenzhou of P.R. China. Eur J Epidemiol 20:925–927

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  15. American Psychiatric Association (2000) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th edn (DSM-IV-TR). American Psychiatric Association, Washington, DC, pp 111–114

    Google Scholar 

  16. Leckman JF, Riddle MA, Hardin MT (1989) The Yale Global Tic Severity Scale: initial testing of clinician-rated of tic severity. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 28:566–573

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  17. Sharma AN, Olmedo R (2003) Ephedrine-induced Tourette syndrome. J Toxicol Clin Toxico 41:668–669

    Google Scholar 

  18. Goran MI, Ball GD, Cruz ML (2003) Obesity and risk of type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in children and adolescents. J Clin Endocrinol Metab 88:1417–1427

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  19. Tang HL, Shna JP, Gong YF (2003) Detection of serum testosterone, estradiol and progesterone in children with Tourette syndrome. J Appl Clin Pediatr 18:719–720, Chinese

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgments

We thank all children who participated in this study and all clinicians involved in collecting the samples. We thank the technicians in the stimulant test laboratory for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pediatrics, Chinese PLA General Hospital, 100853, Beijing, China

    Li-Ping Zou, Ying Wang & Hang-Yan Wang

  2. Department of Neurology, Beijing Children’s Hospital of Capital Medical University, Beijing, China

    Li-Ping Zou, Ying Wang, Li-Ping Zhang & Jian-Bo Zhao

  3. Maternal and Child Health Centre, Yan Qing County, Beijing, China

    Qun Liu

  4. Department of Blood Transfusion, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, 100853, China

    Jin-Fang Lu

Authors
  1. Li-Ping Zou
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ying Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Li-Ping Zhang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Jian-Bo Zhao
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Jin-Fang Lu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Qun Liu
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Hang-Yan Wang
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Li-Ping Zou or Hang-Yan Wang.

Additional information

Ying Wang is the co-first author.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zou, LP., Wang, Y., Zhang, LP. et al. Tourette syndrome and excitatory substances: is there a connection?. Childs Nerv Syst 27, 793–802 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-010-1318-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00381-010-1318-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation