RISPERIDONE IN THE TREATMENT OF TOURETTE SYNDROME - A RETROSPECTIVE CASE NOTE STUDY

Nineteen patients with Tourette syndrome (TS) were treated with risper idone, at a mean daily dose of 1.5 mg. Of those, 41% responded positiv ely, 35% felt that it had made no difference, while it made 24% worse. Although 53% of the patients experienced side-effects, none had extra pyramidal side-effects. At follow-up, 8 to II months later, only two o f 19 (11%) patients were still taking risperidone. We suggest that ris peridone does have a role in a minority of TS sufferers but it is not suggested as the first line treatment. More placebo-controlled studies using risperidone are clearly indicated.