Lamanna Jacopo, Mazzoleni Riccardo, Farina Ramona, Ferro Mattia, Galentino Roberta, Porta Mauro, Malgaroli Antonio
Center for Behavioral Neuroscience and Communication (BNC), Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, 20132 Milan, Italy.
Biomedicines. 2024 Jul 26;12(8):1668. doi: 10.3390/biomedicines12081668.
Tourette syndrome (TS) is a high-incidence neurobehavioral disorder that generally begins in childhood. Several factors play a role in its etiology, including genetic influence and auto-immune activation by streptococcal infections. In general, symptoms subside after the end of adolescence, but, in a significant number of patients, they remain in adulthood. In this study, we evaluated temporal variations in the two core clinical features of TS including tics and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) symptoms. An observational longitudinal study lasting 15 months (2017-2019) was conducted on a cohort of 24 people recruited in Milan (Italy) who were diagnosed with a subtype of TS known as obsessive-compulsive tic disorder. Inclusion criteria included a global score of the Yale global tic severity scale (Y-GTSS) > 50, a Yale-Brown obsessive-compulsive scale (Y-BOCS) global score > 15, and TS onset at least one year prior. Y-GTSS and Y-BOCS data were acquired at six time points, together with local environmental data. Tics, but not OCD symptoms, were found to be more severe in spring and summer compared with winter and autumn ( < 0.001). Changes in tics displayed an appreciable oscillation pattern in the same subject and also a clear synchrony among different subjects, indicating an external orchestrating factor. Ambient temperature showed a significant correlation with Y-GTSS measurements ( < 0.001). We argue that the increase in tics observed during hot seasons can be related to increasing ambient temperature. We believe that our results can shed light on the seasonal dynamics of TS symptomatology and provide clues for preventing their worsening over the year.
抽动秽语综合征（TS）是一种高发的神经行为障碍，通常始于儿童期。其病因涉及多个因素，包括遗传影响以及链球菌感染引发的自身免疫激活。一般来说，症状在青春期结束后会有所缓解，但仍有相当一部分患者会持续到成年期。在本研究中，我们评估了TS的两个核心临床特征——抽动和强迫症（OCD）症状随时间的变化。对在米兰（意大利）招募的24名被诊断患有抽动秽语综合征的患者进行了一项为期15个月（2017 - 2019年）的观察性纵向研究，这些患者被诊断为一种称为强迫性抽动障碍的TS亚型。纳入标准包括耶鲁综合抽动严重程度量表（Y - GTSS）总分>50、耶鲁 - 布朗强迫症量表（Y - BOCS）总分>15，且TS发病至少一年以上。在六个时间点收集了Y - GTSS和Y - BOCS数据以及当地环境数据。结果发现，与冬季和秋季相比，春季和夏季的抽动症状更为严重（<0.001），而OCD症状则不然。同一受试者的抽动变化呈现出明显的振荡模式，不同受试者之间也存在明显的同步性，这表明存在外部协调因素。环境温度与Y - GTSS测量值显示出显著相关性（<0.001）。我们认为，炎热季节观察到的抽动增加可能与环境温度升高有关。我们相信，我们的研究结果能够揭示TS症状学的季节性动态变化，并为预防其全年病情恶化提供线索。
