A brief history of Tourette's disease dating from Itard in 1825 through Tourette in 1884, Eisenberg in 1959 and to the present day, is reviewed. The syndrome is compared to ‘The Jumping Frenchmen of Maine’, ‘Latah’ and ‘Myriachit’. Two case histories are very briefly outlined and the author's beliefs regarding etiology and dynamics are presented. The statement is made that medication with butyrophenone† is the only known method of treatment which has proven consistently effective in the control of the symptoms of this disorder.
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