ADHD and Epilepsy in children with Tourette Syndrome: a triple comorbidity?

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is an inherited neurodevelopmental disorder most commonly diagnosed in childhood or early adolescence, characterized by multiple motor tics and one or more phonic tics, which last for more than a year. Tics may be simple or complex in nature and vary in number, frequency and severity over time. TS is not a unitary condition and can be disaggregated into more homogeneous symptom components. With a prevalence of about 1%, TS is no longer considered a rare condition. TS has a multifactorial aetiology, in which genetic, immunological and hormonal factors interact to establish vulnerability. TS is associated with several comorbid disorders which are often the major source of impairment for affected children. Comorbidity between TS and ADHD is high even if the genetic relationship between ADHD and TS has not been fully established (1). The comorbidity of TS and epilepsy is rarely reported. In this paper, we report a series of eight young patients with TS who were followed up for at least 7 years, presenting comorbid mild ADHD symptoms and easily controlled seizures.