BY JEANNINE STEIN Los Angeles Times
Tourette syndrome — a neurological disorder characterized by involuntary tics such as blinking, head-jerking and loud sounds — can be devastating for children, setting them up for teasing and ostracism. Drugs used to treat the condition have significant side effects. Now, a study has found that behavioral therapy may help lessen tics in children and teens about as effectively as medication.In the study, released this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association, 126 children ages 9 to 17 who had Tourette or a chronic tic disorder were randomly assigned to 10 weeks of a behavioral therapy designed to reduce ticking, or to a control group that received support therapy and education. About one-third of all children were also on anti-tic medication. The study treatment also included a functional intervention to better manage anxiety-producing social situations.
At the end of the study, about 53 percent of the children in the therapy group were judged significantly improved, compared with 19 percent of the children in the control group. Tics worsened in one child in the therapy group and in four in the control group.
Read the rest of the article here.
No comments:
Post a Comment