A Case of Gilles de la Tourette's Syndrome with some Observations on Aetiology and Treatment

Abstract

Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome has not been reported outside Europe and America, and all the patients reported have been of the white or negro races (Singer, 1963). Although the condition was described as early as in 1825 by Itard and later differentiated as a syndrome by Gilles de la Tourette (1885), and although the syndrome is an unusual condition with undetermined aetiology, treatment and prognosis (Eisenberg et al., 1959, Kelman, 1965), and Kinnier Wilson (1940) had given the syndrome ‘a sinister’ outlook characteristically ending in insanity, Fernando (1967) could find only 85 cases published in English literature as cases of the syndrome. He rejected 20 cases, and of the 65 ‘proven cases' 50 were from the United States, 13 from Britain, one each from Finland and Canada. Shapiro and Shapiro (1968) commented on the scarcity of the syndrome even in the Western culture. Extensive search in the literature has shown that Gilles de la Tourette's syndrome has not been reported in Asians. This paper presents a detailed report of the first case from India.