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J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry 76:992-995 doi:10.1136/jnnp.2004.043273
  • Short report

Tourette’s syndrome and deep brain stimulation

  1. J L Houeto1,
  2. C Karachi1,
  3. L Mallet3,
  4. B Pillon2,
  5. J Yelnik1,
  6. V Mesnage1,
  7. M L Welter1,
  8. S Navarro6,
  9. A Pelissolo3,
  10. P Damier7,
  11. B Pidoux4,
  12. D Dormont5,
  13. P Cornu6,
  14. Y Agid1
  1. 1Centre d’Investigation Clinique, INSERM U289, IFR 70, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, Paris, France
  2. 2INSERM EPI 007, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière
  3. 3CNRS UMR7593, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière
  4. 4Fédération de Neurophysiologie Clinique, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière
  5. 5Service de Neuroradiologie, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière
  6. 6Service de Neurochirurgie, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière
  7. 7Service de Neurologie, Hôpital Laennec, Nantes, France
  1. Correspondence to:
 Dr Y Agid
 Centre d’Investigation Clinique, Hôpital de la Salpêtrière, 47 boulevard de l’Hôpital, 75013 Paris, France; agidccr.jussieu.fr
  • Received 28 April 2004
  • Accepted 1 December 2004
  • Revised 29 November 2004

Abstract

In this prospective double blind randomised “N of 1” study, a patient with a severe form of Tourette’s syndrome was treated with bilateral high frequency stimulation of the centromedian-parafascicular complex (Ce-Pf) of the thalamus, the internal part of the globus pallidus (GPi), or both. Stimulation of either target improved tic severity by 70%, markedly ameliorated coprolalia, and eliminated self injuries. Severe forms of Tourette’s syndrome may benefit from stimulation of neuronal circuits within the basal ganglia, thus confirming the role of the dysfunction of limbic striato-pallido-thalamo-cortical systems in this disorder.

Footnotes

  • Competing interests: none declared