Clinical trial NCT02512406: Sensory Processing in Tourette Syndrome
Official title: Sensory Processing in Tourette Syndrome
Study type: OBSERVATIONAL
Overall status: COMPLETED
Conditions: Tourette Syndrome
Keywords: Tourette Syndrome
Tics
Lead sponsor: University of Florida
Sponsor class: OTHER
First posted: 2015-07-30
Enrollment: 18
Sex: ALL
Minimum age (years): 6
Maximum age (years): 18
Standard ages: CHILD
ADULT
Accepts healthy volunteers: no
Observational model: CASE_CONTROL
Time perspective: CROSS_SECTIONAL
Sampling method: NON_PROBABILITY_SAMPLE
Study population: Targeted study population includes patients 6-18 diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome who are a patient of University of Florida Movement Disorders Center.

Brief summary: The purpose of this study is to learn more about how patients with Tourette Syndrome deal with sensory stimuli in their environment such as bright lights, loud noises, physical sensations such as shirt tags, etcetera. We will compare responses of patients with Tourette Syndrome to those without Tourette Syndrome.

The study aims to better characterize sensory processing abnormalities by sensory modality: The investigators will use a measuring tool based on Dunn's 1997 model of sensory processing, the Sensory Profile, which will allow the investigator to characterize both registration and response to external stimuli, as well as to delineate which sensory modalities are affected. Identifying which sensory modalities are most affected may guide future research into the pathophysiology of sensory processing abnormalities in TS.

The investigators also aim to correlate sensory processing abnormalities with the presence of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) , and autism spectrum disorders.

Detailed description: While it is widely recognized that patients with tic and Tourette Syndrome (TS) experience heightened sensitivity to or abnormal processing of internal sensations, it has also been suggested that patients with tic and TS experience abnormal processing of external sensations/stimuli. While this sensitivity to external stimuli does not appear to trigger motor or vocal tics, it can significantly affect quality of life. These sensitivities can be a source of irritation, discomfort, and distraction that can be equally or more disruptive than vocal or motor tics. Heightened sensitivity to external stimuli or other abnormalities of external sensory processing have been identified in other neuropsychological disorders such as autism spectrum disorders, schizophrenia, traumatic brain injury, ADHD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) . TS often presents with co-morbid diagnoses including attention-deficit and hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) but it is not currently known whether sensitivity to external stimuli is due to a central processing abnormality common to these disorders.

This study's objective is to use a variety of questionnaires to determine how external stimuli along with the presence of other disorders effect sensory processing.

Eligibility criteria: Inclusion Criteria:

* Targeted study population includes patients diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome
* Patient of University of Florida Movement Disorders Center diagnosed with Tourette Syndrome by a movement disorder specialist, according to DSM IV diagnostic criteria
* Age 6-18
* Presence of parent or guardian able to provide consent in the case of minors

Exclusion Criteria:

* Inability of patient or, in the case of minors, parent/guardian to provide informed consent
* Inability of designated person to complete questionnaires. In the case of patients' age 10 and younger, this would refer to the parent/guardian. In the case of patients older than 10, this could be either the patient or their parent/guardian

Primary outcomes:
measure: The Sensory Profile
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: The Adult/Adolescent Sensory Profile
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale
timeFrame: Day 1
measure: Yale Global Tic Severity Scale
timeFrame: Day 1
Secondary outcomes:
Other outcomes:
Locations:
city: Gainesville
country: United States
facility: UF Center for Movement Disorders and Neurorestoration
state: Florida
Study officials:
affiliation: University of Florida
name: Irene Malaty, M.D.
role: PRINCIPAL_INVESTIGATOR
References: