Health Tip: Understanding Tourette Syndrome

(HealthDay News) -- Tourette syndrome is a neurological disorder that usually shows symptoms in childhood. Vocalizations and repetitive involuntary movements called tics often surface among children between the ages of 3 and 9.

Tics may include blinking, shrugging, jerking, sniffing or grunting. The most disabling tics are motor movements that result in self-harm or coprolalia, which are inappropriate vocal tics. However, coprolalia is only present in 10 percent of people with Tourette.

Tourette can be a chronic condition with lifelong symptoms, but improvements often can be seen in late teens through adulthood, according to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.