1043-3155 Pediatr Neurol Briefs pedneurbriefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs Pediatric Neurology Briefs Pediatr Neurol Briefs 2166-6482 1043-3155 2166-3155 Pediatric Neurology Briefs Publishers Chicago, IL, USA PNB-2-37-a 10.15844/pedneurbriefs-2-5-8 Movement Disorders Neurology Pediatrics Nervous System Diseases Child Development Brain Diseases Neurosurgery Child Infant Therapy for Tourette Syndrome http://orcid.org/0000-0002-0173-7931 Millichap J. Gordon MD 1 2 * Division of Neurology, Children's Memorial Hospital, Chicago, IL Departments of Pediatrics and Neurology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL Correspondence: Dr. J. Gordon Millichap, E-mail: jgmillichap@northwestern.edu 05 1988 01 08 2016 2 5 37 37 Copyright: © 1988 The Author(s) 1988 This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. Gum chewing as therapy for Tourette syndrome

A 12 year-old male with Tourette Syndrome whose symptoms improved with gum chewing is reported from the Division of Pediatric Neurology, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA.

 Tourette Syndrome Excessive Drowsiness Clonidine

A 12 year-old male with Tourette Syndrome whose symptoms improved with gum chewing is reported from the Division of Pediatric Neurology, Hahnemann University, Philadelphia, PA. With onset at 3 years of age, symptoms had included blinking, head nodding, neck twisting, shoulder shrugs, snorting, sniffing and blowing, and coprolalia. Haloperidol controlled tics but was associated with excessive drowsiness. Clonidine was of some benefit. After chewing gum, using 2-3 sticks to make a large wad, the urge to move and vocalize was decreased and jaw movements made noise-making more difficult. The author recommends gum chewing as an adjunct therapy in Tourette Syndrome to decrease stress, facial movements, and particularly vocalizations. [1]

COMMENT: Provided that teachers and parents are tolerant of gum chewing, this form of therapy should be recommended. The prevalence of Tourette syndrome was discussed in a previous issue (Ped Neur Briefs March 1988;2:24). Tics were controlled by haloperidol in 13 of 18 children requiring treatment; the disorder was mild and treatment was unnecessary in 23 (56%) patients. [2]

 Brill CB Gum chewing as therapy for Tourette syndrome Pediatr Neurol 1988 Mar-Apr 4 2 128 10.1016/0887-8994(88)90057-4 3242513 Caine ED McBride MC Chiverton P Bamford KA Rediess S Shiao J Tourette’s syndrome in Monroe County school children Neurology 1988 Mar 38 3 472 5 10.1212/WNL.38.3.472 3162295