Rapid-onset functional tic-like behavior in young women during the COVID-19 pandemic

First published: August 13, 2021 https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.28778

Commentary

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, health care providers working in clinics around the world have been witnessing eight different forms of Tourette syndrome (TS), mostly in young people (mostly girls and women only) between the ages of 12 and 25.

This is with movement, and behavior such as vocal tics.

In most cases, these patterns are consistent with functional neurological disorders, but the phenomenology of these tic-like behaviors observed in this study had some striking similarities.

The goal of this review is to help clinicians recognize this disorder and distinguish it from patients with TS.

We begin by describing the clinical phenomenology and demographic characteristics of young people with rapid-onset functional tic-like behavior (FTLB) using illustrative data from the Tic Disorders Clinical Registry at the Pediatric Movement Disorders Clinic, Calgary Tourette.

Next, we discuss the shared experiences of eight centers, resulting in a study that provides a preliminary perspective on the pathophysiology and treatment of this complex disorder.

The rest of the article can be found in this journal.