(Press-News.org) BALTIMORE, November 18, 2024— Researchers at Kennedy Krieger Institute have made significant strides in improving the lives of patients with Tourette syndrome. Their recent publication highlights how behavioral therapies—an approach that teaches patients how to manage certain tics using behavioral strategies—are proving to be the most effective treatment.
Tourette syndrome (TS), a neurodevelopmental disorder affecting up to 1% of the population, is characterized by motor and vocal tics, which are sudden, repetitive movements or sounds that can significantly interfere with daily life. TS often comes with other co-occurring conditions like anxiety, ADHD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), which can make managing the condition more complicated.
Dr. Hala Katato, the lead author on the publication from Kennedy Krieger’s psychiatry department, explains that tics can cause significant distress for many patients and that behavioral therapies provide patients with effective tools to manage their symptoms and are the recommended first-line treatment.
“Tourette syndrome can be overwhelming for patients and families,” said Katato. “However, our research shows that behavioral therapies train patients to recognize early signs of an upcoming tic which then allows them to implement behavioral strategies to reduce tic severity.”
The behavioral therapies in this research are:
Habit Reversal Training helps patients become more aware of their tics and teaches them strategies to replace tic behaviors with alternative actions, like subtly squinting your eyes to counter eye-widening tics.
Comprehensive Behavioral Intervention for Tics builds on the foundation of habit reversal training by incorporating interventions and relaxation techniques, such as deep breathing and progressive muscle relaxation, to manage factors that can trigger tics.
Exposure with Response Prevention focuses on helping patients experience the urge to tic without acting on it through gradual exposure. It aims to disrupt the pattern of premonitory urges (the sensations that typically precede tics) and reduce the need to perform a tic.
Dr. Jonathan Muniz, MD, a co-author of the publication, tells us these therapies are proven effective for children, teenagers, and adults with TS.
“These behavioral therapies are really straightforward approaches that patients of all ages can benefit from,” said Muniz. “It’s a practical solution to reducing tics that patients can easily incorporate into their everyday lives.”
Despite the success of these therapies, access to care remains a significant challenge for many families. It is estimated that only 25% of children with Tourette syndrome receive behavioral therapy due to the limited availability of trained providers. To address this, Kennedy Krieger Institute is working to expand access to these therapies through online platforms and telehealth services.
“We want to bridge the gap in accessing care and ensure that all patients, especially those in rural areas or who may struggle to access in-person care, can benefit from these effective treatments,” said Dr. Katato.
While behavior therapy serves as the frontline treatment, the research team is now investigating other ways to help patients with TS. This includes enhancing behavior therapy with medications like d-cycloserine or brain stimulation techniques—which may boost the effectiveness of behavioral therapy treatment outcomes. Additional investigations of the research team include how mindfulness may also benefit patients with TS and have secondary benefits for co-occurring conditions and improve quality of life.
“Our goal is to help the whole person, not just reduce the tics,” said Dr. Muniz. “Many patients with Tourette syndrome face additional challenges like anxiety, ADHD, and OCD, and we want to provide treatments that address all aspects of their well-being.”
Click here to learn more about the available therapies for Tourette syndrome or enrolling in clinical programs,
About Kennedy Krieger Institute
Kennedy Krieger Institute, an internationally known, non-profit organization located in the greater Baltimore/Washington, D.C. region, transforms the lives of more than 27,000 individuals a year through inpatient and outpatient medical, behavioral health and wellness therapies, home and community services, school-based programs, training and education for professionals and advocacy. Kennedy Krieger provides a wide range of services for children, adolescents and adults with diseases, disorders or injuries that impact the nervous system, ranging from mild to severe. The Institute is home to a team of investigators who contribute to the understanding of how disorders develop, while at the same time pioneer new interventions and methods of early diagnosis, prevention and treatment. Visit www.kennedykrieger.org/ for more information about Kennedy Krieger.
###
END
UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Phosphorus, a nutrient in soil essential for sustaining most forms of life, is increasingly disappearing from land as it is washed into waterways throughout the United States, according to a new study led by researchers at Penn State.
The study, published today (Nov. 18) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, analyzed data from 430 rivers across the U.S. and found that phosphorus loss from agricultural lands has increased over the past four decades, despite efforts to reduce it. This loss of phosphorus ...
Cambridge, Mass., 11/18/2024 – Scientists have identified many types of bacteria in the mouth, but many problems remain in understanding how they work with one another. One of the problems is that microbes assemble themselves into densely packed multi-species biofilms. Their density and complexity pose acute difficulties for visualizing individual cells and analyzing their interactions at single-cell level.
ADA Forsyth scientists have developed a new imaging approach that makes it possible to analyze the spatial connections between bacteria, including the strength of adhesive forces that hold them together. Adhesion is of fundamental importance in ...
Washington, DC / Bangalore, India — A new study highlights recent, but fluctuating, growth in global human antibiotic consumption, one of the main drivers of growing antimicrobial resistance (AMR). AMR results in infections that no longer respond to antibiotics (and other antimicrobial medicines) and often leads to longer hospital stays, higher treatment costs, and higher mortality rates. AMR is estimated to be associated with nearly five million global deaths annually.
Researchers affiliated with the One Health Trust (OHT), the Population Council, GlaxoSmithKline, the University of Zurich, the University of Brussels, ...
The research team, led by Durham University’s Department of Anthropology, studied two groups of wild bearded capuchin monkeys in Brazil’s Serra da Capivara National Park.
The researchers installed a large box in the park which contained food that the monkeys could access by either lifting a door or pulling a knob.
The team observed which monkeys learned how to access the food, and how that information then spread to the rest of their group.
The researchers specifically focused on the role played by social tolerance in the learning of the problem-solving behaviour.
Social tolerance determines who is allowed ...
Climate change is making water scarcer. A promising method to combat this problem is desalination technology because it can tap seawater. Though desalination has potential, it also brings risks with environmental impact, cost, and accessibility. Zero liquid discharge (ZLD) technology aims to increase water recovery from desalination by squeezing more water out of desalination brine. ZLD can help reduce water scarcity and waste from desalination plants, but comes at increased costs and, potentially, increased environmental effects from desalination.
In ...
WASHINGTON — Cmdr. J. Aaron Roberts relinquished command of the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory’s (NRL) Scientific Development Squadron (VXS) 1, the Warlocks, to Cmdr. Luis A. Levine, the new Commanding Officer (CO), during a change of command and retirement ceremony Nov. 14 at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River, Maryland.
NRL’s CO Capt. Jesse Black presented Roberts with the Meritorious Service Medal. Roberts served as the VXS-1 CO from May 2023 to November 2024 and the U.S. Navy for 21 years. Black said Roberts’ distinguished leadership was instrumental to the squadron’s continued record of exceptional support to NRL’s airborne ...
PHILADELPHIA, PA – November 18, 2024 – Opertech Bio, Inc., a leading innovator in taste assessment, today announced the publication of a research article in which the TāStation® rapid throughput taste evaluation system was used to resolve a central question about sweet taste perception.
It has been well established that sweeteners impart their taste by activating the TAS1R2/TAS1R3 “sweet taste receptor” in the tongue. A second signaling pathway involving the activity of glucose transporters, operating independently of the receptor, recently has been proposed for metabolizable caloric sweeteners. In a powerful demonstration of the analytical ...
Southwest Research Institute has won a $60 million contract to build three coronagraphs for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). SwRI’s novel Space Weather Solar Coronagraph (SwSCOR) is NOAA’s next-generation instrument to provide early detection and characterization of Earth-directed coronal mass ejections (CMEs).
CMEs are huge bursts of coronal plasma threaded with intense magnetic fields ejected from the Sun over the course of several hours. CMEs arriving at Earth can generate geomagnetic storms, which can cause anomalies in and disruptions ...
Between 2019 and 2023, antibiotic consumption in the EU increased by 1%, moving further away from the 2030 target of a 20% reduction recommended by the Council of the European Union.
Although there have been significant reductions in methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bloodstream infections during the same period, the situation in other critical areas, such as carbapenem-resistant Klebsiella pneumoniae bloodstream infections, has worsened, with an increase in incidence by almost 60% between 2019 and 2023. This represents a growing threat to patients in hospitals across the EU, particularly since very few therapeutic options remain available to treat patients infected with ...
So maybe the naysayers and detractors of online gaming and its ill effects on youth need to stand down. That’s what science is telling us in a new report in the journal Human Resource Development International from Melika Shirmohammadi, assistant professor at the UH College of Technology.
The article reports that - contrary to popular belief - massive multiplayer online gamers learn by gaming and their skills in the workplace are enriched by those seemingly endless hours previously thought of as frittering away time.
"Online gaming often ...
