It is a syndrome that begins in childhood, clinically characterized by muscle tics in the head, face, limbs, or trunk, accompanied by symptoms such as language disorders.

bubble_chart Diagnosis

1. Onset in childhood, mostly between the ages of 5 and 15.

2. Symptom characteristics:

Multiple sites, involuntary, sudden muscle twitching, accompanied by explosive vocalizations and obscene utterances, along with compulsive tendencies and personality changes. It typically begins with twitching of the head and facial muscles, gradually progressing to twitching of the trunk. The frequency of episodes ranges from a dozen to even hundreds of times per day. The twitching is entirely purposeless. Most patients develop explosive abnormal throat sounds after several months or years. Symptoms usually disappear during sleep, and intellectual development remains normal.

3. Auxiliary examinations:

EEG and IQ are normal, and neurological examinations show no positive signs.

4. Differential diagnosis:

It is necessary to exclude chorea, hysteria, and epilepsy.

bubble_chart Treatment Measures

The first-line drug treatment is haloperidol, starting at 0.5–1 mg twice daily, then gradually increasing the dose to a therapeutic range of 2–8 mg per day. Symptoms typically improve within 1–2 weeks of treatment. To prevent extrapyramidal side effects, Artane 2 mg/day may be added. Alternatively, tiapride can also be used for this condition, starting at a low dose and gradually increasing to a therapeutic dose of 0.1 g three times daily.