Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome: Cross-Cultural Perspectives with a Focus on the Asia-Pacific Region

Gilles de la Tourette Syndrome (GTS) is a heterogeneous, inherited, neuropsychiatric tic disorder characterized by the presence of multiple motor and one or more vocal tics. Onset is typically during childhood and the course is fluctuating with periods of remission and exacerbation. Most people with GTS also experience associated psychiatric co-morbidities and other challenges, and GTS is widely considered to operate at the boundary of neurology and psychiatry – with influences on patient outcomes from both sides. Once thought to be rare, tic disorders are now recognized to be relatively common, but under-recognized, and a significant cause of hidden disability and disruption to quality of life. The precise mechanisms underlying GTS are yet to be revealed, however, research into therapeutic interventions has yielded a range of options across several domains.

GTS presents in all ethnic and cultural groups worldwide. For a number of reasons, it has historically been the case that much of the GTS literature has been generated from European and North American perspectives. However, given the heterogeneous nature of the disorder, the influence of psychiatric and environmental factors on symptom expression, and the range of treatments that may be effective – some of which are more or less acceptable in different settings - cross-cultural perspectives and research have an important place both in helping clinicians work with people with GTS in specific settings, and in deepening understanding of the disorder by observing it within different contexts.

This Research Topic seeks submissions that explore GTS from the perspective of patients, clinicians, and/or researchers from a variety of cultural perspectives, including the Asia-Pacific region. Contributors are asked specifically to include discussion of cultural perspectives in their submission. The scope is broad, and we welcome original submissions and systematic reviews of the relevant literature; and quantitative, qualitative, and mixed-methods approaches in areas that include –

• Treatment studies, including adaptations of existing methods or the development of novel approaches;
• Epidemiological studies;
• Pathophysiological studies;
• Genetic studies;
• Studies describing the development of questionnaires or other tools to assess aspects of GTS
• Descriptions of the establishment/functioning of consumer support associations or research collaboratives.