tourette disease

Main Entry: Tourette's syndrome
Variant: or Tourette syndrome
Function: noun
: a familial neuropsychiatric disorder of variable expression that ischaracterized by multiple recurrent involuntary tics involving body movements (as eye blinks, grimaces, or knee bends) and vocalizations (as grunts, snorts, or uncontrolled utterance of inappropriateor offensive words), that often has one or more associated behavioral or psychiatric problems (as attention deficit disorder or obsessive-compulsive behavior), that affects many more males thanfemales, and that usually has an onset in childhood and often stabilizes or ameliorates in adulthood —abbreviation TS; called also Gilles de la Tourette syndrome, Tourette'sdisease, Tourette's disorder
Gilles de la Tourette /zhEl-d&-lä-tür-et,/ Georges (1857–1904), French physician. Gilles de la Tourettefirst described Tourette's syndrome in 1884. He is also remembered for his clinical studies, published in 1891, in which he expounded the ideas of the French neurologist Jean-Martin Charcot abouthysteria and hystero-epilepsy.

Tourette's syndrome Tou·rette's syndrome (t&oobreve;-rěts') or Tou·rette syndrome (-rět')
n.
A severe neurological disorder characterized by multiple facial and other body tics, usually beginning in childhood or adolescence and often accompanied by grunts and compulsive utterances, as of interjections and obscenities. Also called Gilles de la Tourette's disease.

Tourette's syndrome (t-rěts') or Tourette syndrome   (t-rěts') A neurological disorder characterized by multiple facial and other body tics, usually beginning in childhood or adolescence and often accompanied by grunts and compulsive utterances, such as interjections or obscenities. It is named for its discoverer, French neurologist Georges Gilles de la Tourette (1857-1904).