Fish oil shows little effect on Tourette’s tics
Some parents swear by fish oil as a treatment for the “tics” caused by Tourette’s disorder, but so far the research evidence is slim.
In a small study of children with Tourette’s, researchers found that omega-3 fatty acids were no better than a placebo at reducing the severity of tics - the sudden, involuntary movements or vocalizations that mark Tourette’s.
On the other hand, children who took omega-3 did show an improvement in the degree to which their tics bothered them, researchers report in the journal Pediatrics.
For now, it’s not clear what to make of the findings, according to lead researcher Dr. Vilma Gabbay, of the NYU Child Study Center in New York City and the Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research in Orangeburg, New York.
It’s possible that the omega-3 supplements affected the children’s well-being, said Gabbay.
There is evidence, for example, that omega-3s can help lift depression symptoms.
But the study was small and had other limitations. And the bottom line, Gabbay said, is that larger trials are needed to see whether there might be a role for omega-3 supplements in managing Tourette’s.
The condition, also known as Tourette syndrome, is a neurological disorder that affects about one percent of the population. The characteristic tics usually start in childhood, and include actions like repeated throat-clearing, rapid blinking or mouth twitching.
Tourette (TS) Syndrome Tics
Tourette (TS) Syndrome is a neurological disorder characterized by tics - involuntary, rapid, sudden movements that occur repeatedly in the same way. To receive a diagnosis of TS a person must have both multiple motor and one or more vocal tics, not necessarily simultaneously, throughout a span of more than one year. The tics may occur many times a day (usually in bouts) nearly every day or intermittently. Tics periodically change in the number, frequency, type and location and wax and wane in their severity. Symptoms can sometimes disappear for weeks or months at a time. While most persons with TS have some control over their symptoms from seconds to hours at a time, suppressing them may merely postpone more severe outbursts. Tics are experienced as irresistable and (as the urge to sneeze) eventually must be expressed. Tics increase as a result of tension or stress and decrease with relaxation or concentration on an absorbing task.
Tics are categorized as Motor or Vocal, Simple or Complex. Simple tics are movements or vocalizations which are completely meaningless, whereas complex tics are movements or vocalizations which make use of more than one muscle group or appear to be meaningful.
Simple
- Abdominal jerking
- Ankle flexing
- Arm flailing
- Arm flapping
- Arm flexing
- Arm jerking
- Arm squeezing
- Clapping
- Eye blinking
- Eye rolling
- Facial contortions
- Foot dragging
- Foot shaking
- Foot tapping
- Grimacing
- Hair tossing
- Head jerking
- Knee bending
- Knee knocking
- Leg jerking
- Licking
- Lip smacking
- Mouth opening
- Nose twitching
- Pouting
- Shrugging
- Squatting
- Squinting
- Stomping
- Stooping
- Tongue thrusting
Complex
- Banging
- Body jerking
- Body slamming
- Chewing clothes
- Copropraxia
- Echopraxia
- Hair twisting
- Hitting
- Hopping
- Jumping
- Kicking
- Kissing
- Picking
- Pinching
- Pulling clothes
- Skipping
- Scratching
- Shivering
- Smelling things
- Somersaults
- Stepping backwards
- Tearing things
- Throwing things
- Twirling in circles
- Walking on toes
Despite the popular media image, most people with Tourette’s do not uncontrollably hurl obscenities or slurs.
Many children with Tourette’s do not need any special treatment. But some kids have symptoms that interfere with their daily life, or have additional conditions that may warrant treatment, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder.
Will my child outgrow this?
Most tics go away after a few months. However, sometimes a person will have 1 or 2 tics for many years. Children who have Tourette syndrome usually have their worst symptoms when they are between 9 and 13 years of age. Over half of these children get much better during the teen years and in early adulthood. Less than half of the people who have Tourette syndrome as children have moderate to severe tics as adults.
What can I do to help my child?
Learn about tics and Tourette syndrome and explain them to people who regularly interact with your child, such as relatives, teachers and day care providers.
Understand that your child has very little control over tics caused by Tourette syndrome. If you focus too much on the tics, they may get worse. In most cases, it’s not helpful to encourage your child to try to stop a tic. Your child can hold back tics for a little while, but eventually the tics will come out.
“The problem is, the medications currently used are very hard to tolerate, or sometimes just don’t work,” Gabbay told Reuters Health.
Some of those medications include antidepressants, anti-seizure drugs and antipsychotics. Their side effects can range from weight gain to fatigue to depression.
Anecdotally, Gabbay said, some parents have claimed that omega-3 supplements help control their children’s tics.