Unsatisfied with available treatment strategies for Tourette Syndrome? You’re not alone!

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a genetic disorder that affects the body’s brain and nervous system by causing tics — sudden, repetitive movements or sounds that some people make, seemingly without realizing it.

A person with TS has at least one vocal tic or can have multiple motor tics. An example of a vocal tic is grunting, humming or clearing of the throat. Motor tics are sudden, uncontrollable movements like exaggerated blinking of the eyes or clenching of muscles or grinding of the teeth.

Tic Disorders are not rare. The current estimates are that 1 out of every 160 children between the ages of 5-17 in the United States has TS and that 1 out of every 100 children has TS or another Tic Disorder.

Tourette symptoms generally appear before the individual is 18 years old and may often be accompanied by other disorders such as: ADHD, OCD, Sensory Integration issues, Specific Learning Disabilities, Depression, Anxiety and Sleep Disorders.

There is no cure for Tourette Syndrome, but thanks to years of dedicated research, there are various treatment options.The exact cause of Tourette syndrome isn’t known, but some research suggests that it happens when there’s a problem with how nerves communicate in certain areas of the brain. An upset in the balance of neurotransmitters (chemicals in the brain that carry nerve signals from cell to cell) might play a role.

Recent clinical reports and preliminary controlled studies of CBD oil and people suffering from Tourette syndrome, has suggested that cannabis-based medication may be a new and promising treatment strategy for patients with TS. However, it has also been speculated that TS might be caused by a dysfunction in the endocannabinoid system in the brain. This hypothesis fits perfectly with the clinical observation that treatment with cannabis-based medication results in an improvement of both tics and behavioral problems without causing clinically relevant impairment on concentration and psychomotor functions.

Since it is well-known that the endocannabinoid system modulates several other neurotransmitter systems in the brain (including the dopaminergic, GABAergic, serotonergic and glutaminergic systems), a dysfunction in the central endocannabinoid system will result in imbalances in several other transmitter system and, thus, may explain the complex clinical symptomatology in TS. For more information on this exciting study please see: https://www.fundacion-canna.es/en/treatment-patients-tic-disorders-and-tourette-syndrome-cannabis-based-medication