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tics

TIC-TOC: PANDAS syndrome (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection) and psychiatric pathology in children and adolescents

Hilario Blasco-Fontecilla, Victor del Rio-Peña, Ping Wang, Chao Li, Marina Martin-Moratinos, Marcos Bella-Fernández, Trastorno por tics y trastorno obsesivo compulsivo: Trastornos neuropsiquiátricos pediátricos autoinmunes asociados a infecciones por estreptococos (PANDAS) y enfermedades psiquiátricas en niños y adolescentes, Psiquiatría Biológica, Volume 31, Supplement 1, 2024,100554, ISSN 1134-5934,https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psiq.2024.100554.

  • Study Overview: Compared 801 children with and without ASLO positivity (Antistreptolysin O, a marker of past strep infection).
  • ASLO-positive kids are 7x more likely to have tics & OCD.
  • More ER visits and higher trauma/fracture rates.
  • No link to ADHD or academic performance.
Neuroinflammation in a Rat Model of Tourette Syndrome

Neuroinflammation in a Rat Model of Tourette Syndrome, Zhongling Ke, Yanhui Chen, Guofeng Chen, Yanyan Liu, Neuroinflammation in a Rat Model of Tourette Syndrome, Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol 16, Front. Behav. Neurosci., 10 March 2022, DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2022.710116   

Conclusion: The IDPN-induced TS rats had significant neuroinflammation in the brain, and the interaction between dopamine (DA) dysregulation and immune dysfunction may play a vital role in the pathogenic mechanisms of TS.

Recent progress on Tourette syndrome

Ueda K, Black KJ. Recent progress on Tourette syndrome. Fac Rev. 2021;10:70. Published 2021 Sep 7. DOI:10.12703/r/10-70

“Recent years have seen increasing information about the relationship between tics and comorbidities and about new genetic findings. Inflammatory processes have also been a topic of continued interest.

“The prevalence and characteristics of tics in patients with encephalitis were reviewed in a systematic study, which found that sporadic cases of tics were associated with encephalitis, particularly during a post-encephalitis period, and with basal ganglia involvement. A case-control autopsy study (of nine individuals with TS) using basal ganglia transcriptome by RNA sequencing in the caudate and putamen found disrupted basal ganglia neuronal signaling. The study also found a significant increase in immune and inflammatory transcripts. These results suggest metabolic alterations and inflammatory involvement in TS pathophysiology.”

“Inflammation has been extensively discussed in tic pathophysiology. A recent review article on immunological mechanisms in the pathophysiology of tic disorders argues that innate and adaptive systemic immune pathways and neuroinflammatory mechanisms play an important role in the pathogenesis of at least some patients with TS.”

“Complementary and alternative medicines—including dietary or nutritional supplements (calcium, magnesium, coenzyme Q10, fish oil, gastrodin, and vitamins B, C, D, and E), chiropractic manipulations, meditation, acupuncture, hypnosis, homeopathy, and biofeedback—have been reported for the treatment of tics,; however, the evidence is limited because of a lack of randomized control studies. The efficacy and safety of a Chinese herbal medicine (5-Ling granule) in the treatment of TS were evaluated in a multicenter, double-blind randomized controlled trial, finding it as effective as tiapride in improving tic symptoms.”

Tics in patients with encephalitis

Badenoch, J., Searle, T., Watson, I. et al. Tics in patients with encephalitis. Neurol Sci (2021). DOI: 10.1007/s10072-021-05065-w

“Tics were most commonly reported in the post-encephalitic period and involvement of the basal ganglia was frequently observed….Despite these limitations, the first literature review evaluating the presence of tics in reported cases of encephalitis showed that tics have been sporadically reported in cases of encephalitis resulting from autoimmune, infective, and unknown aetiology. Specifically, tics have been more commonly reported in the post-encephalitic period and involvement of the basal ganglia was frequently found. Furthermore, the association of new-onset tics and encephalitis, in the background of other neuropsychiatric abnormalities, has clinical implications in potentially improving the detection of encephalitis based on clinical features. Future research should focus on the categorisation and treatment of hyperkinetic movement disorders associated with encephalitis.”

Case Study: A New Infection-Triggered, Autoimmune Subtype of Pediatric OCD and Tourette’s Syndrome
Allen AJ, Leonard HL, Swedo SE. Case study: a new infection-triggered, autoimmune subtype of pediatric OCD and Tourette’s syndrome. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry. 1995 Mar;34(3):307-11. doi: 10.1097/00004583-199503000-00015. PMID: 7896671.

A review of clinical observations and literature reports leads to the hypothesis that, via a process analogous to Sydenham’s chorea, infections with group A β-hemolytic streptococci, among others, may trigger autoimmune responses that cause or exacerbate some cases of childhood-onset obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or tic disorders (including Tourette’s syndrome).