Genetics of Tourette Syndrome

The concept that Tourette syndrome (TS) has a "hereditary" etiology can be traced back to Armand Trousseau's monograph, published in 1873, 12. years before Georges Gilles de la Tourette's celebrated publication. In his monograph describing patients with nonpainful tics, Trousseau noted that family members also exhibited tics and suggested the disorder was hereditary. Gilles de la Tourette, in his classic paper, included Trousseau's patients as examples and also noted family members of his own patients were affected with tics. Historically, these anecdotal examples led to conducting a series of genetic epidemiologic studies to answer specific questions into the inheritance of the presence of tics as a trait. Is the trait familial? What proportion of familiarity is genetic? Where is/are the gene(s) located? This chapter will summarize the historical evidence, review the current understanding of genetic architecture, and suggest future prospects for understanding the genetics of TS.