Multidisciplinary Telemedicine Care for Tourette Syndrome: Minireview

Abstract

Tourette syndrome (TS) is a childhood-onset, chronic neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by multiple motor and vocal tics. TS poses a considerable burden on both patients and health care providers, leading to a major detriment of educational success, occupation, and interpersonal relationships. A multidisciplinary, specialist-driven management approach is required due to the complexity of TS. However, access to such specialty care is often dramatically limited by the patients' locations and the specialists' geographic clustering in large urban centers. Telemedicine uses electronic information and communication technology to provide and support health care when distance separates participants. Therefore, we conducted this mini-review to describe the latest information on telemedicine in the assessment and management of TS and discuss the potential contributions to care for TS patients with a multidisciplinary approach. We believe that telemedicine could be a revolutionary method in improving medical access to patients with TS.

Tourette syndrome research highlights from 2020

“…Because of the outbreak of SARS-CoV-2, the medical landscape shifted significantly in 2020. One consequence was the widespread deployment of telemedicine services, which was discussed specifically for TS by Cen et al . (2020) .…”

Tourette Syndrome Treatment Updates: a Review and Discussion of the Current and Upcoming Literature

“…There is evidence for further reduction in tics when PST is added to pharmacotherapy, relative to pharmacotherapy alone [3]. PST has expanded to incorporate video footage [2] and telepsychoeducation strategies effectively [4].…”

Effects of Chemogenetic Inhibition of D1 or D2 Receptor-Containing Neurons of the Substantia Nigra and Striatum in Mice With Tourette Syndrome

“…Approximately 90% of patients with TS are accompanied by neuropsychiatric diseases, among which attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and impulse control disorder are the most common complications ( Ganos and Martino, 2015 ). The process of TS reduces the quality of life in patients and puts a heavy burden on the family and society ( Dodel et al, 2010 ; Cen et al, 2020 ). TS is often resistant to conventional treatments and remains a major therapeutic challenge.…”