Effectiveness of Behavior Therapy and Psychosocial Therapy for the Treatment of Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder

February 8, 2012 updated by: Sabine Wilhelm, Massachusetts General Hospital

Behavior Therapy and Psychosocial Treatment for Tourette Syndrome and Chronic Tic Disorder

This study will compare the efficacy of supportive therapy versus habit-reversal therapy for the treatment of Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder.

Study Overview

Status

Completed

Conditions

Intervention / Treatment

Detailed Description

Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder are neurological disorders characterized by tics. Tics are involuntary, rapid motor movements or vocalizations that occur suddenly and repeatedly. In adults, the symptoms of Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder can be severe. These symptoms often cause difficulties in interpersonal relationships and high unemployment rates. Medication treatments are available for both Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder, but most are not completely effective and cause considerable negative side effects. Therefore, non-medication treatments are needed. This study will compare the efficacy of supportive therapy versus habit-reversal therapy for the treatment of Tourette syndrome and chronic tic disorder.

Participants in this open-label study will be randomly assigned to receive either supportive therapy or habit-reversal therapy. Over the course of 10 weeks, all participants will receive 8 treatment sessions of their assigned therapy. The supportive therapy will focus on educating participants on what tics are, how tics present themselves, the causes of tics, the common conditions that may occur along with tics, and environmental factors that may affect their tics (e.g. family, social, school, stress). Habit-reversal therapy will consist of awareness training, relaxation training, self-monitoring, and competing response training. Tic severity, tic-related impairment, depressive symptoms, anxiety symptoms, and obsessive-compulsive symptoms will be assessed at each study session, using diagnostic interviews and self-report scales.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

122

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

  • United States
    • Connecticut
      • New Haven, Connecticut, United States, 06520-7900
        • Yale Child Study Center, Yale University
    • Massachusetts
      • Boston, Massachusetts, United States, 02114
        • OCD Clinic/Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital
    • Texas
      • San Antonio, Texas, United States, 78229-3900
        • University of Texas Health Sciences Center

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

14 years and older (Child, Adult, Older Adult)

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Meets DSM-IV diagnostic criteria for Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder
  • The primary reason for seeking treatment is Tourette syndrome and/or chronic tic disorder
  • Either Tourette syndrome or chronic tic disorder is of more concern than any other simultaneous disease or disorder
  • Score greater than 3 on the Clinical Global Impressions Severity Scale
  • Score greater than 14 on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale
  • Unmedicated or on stable medication treatment for tics, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and/or depressive disorder for at least 6 weeks, and not planning to change medication for the duration of study participation

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Total tic score greater than 33
  • Score less than 80 on the Wechsler Test of Adult Reading
  • DSM-IV diagnosis of alcohol or substance dependence within the 3 months prior to study enrollment
  • Currently taking psychotropic medications for any psychiatric disorder (except for tics, obsessive compulsive disorder, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, and/or depressive disorder)
  • Any serious psychiatric disorder (e.g., bipolar disorder, psychosis) that requires immediate alternative treatment
  • Previously treated with four or more sessions of habit-reversal therapy for tics

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm
Intervention / Treatment
Placebo Comparator: 1
Participants will receive supportive psychotherapy.
Behavioral: Supportive therapy
Supportive therapy focuses on educating participants about tics: how tics present themselves, the causes of tics, the common conditions that may occur along with tics, and environmental factors that may affect their tics (e.g. family, social, school, stress).
Active Comparator: 2
Participants will receive habit reversal therapy.
Behavioral: Habit reversal therapy
Habit reversal therapy consists of awareness training, relaxation training, self-monitoring, and competing response training.

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Tic severity
Time Frame: Measured at Week 10
Measured at Week 10

Secondary Outcome Measures

Outcome Measure
Time Frame
Tic-related impairment
Time Frame: Measured at Week 10
Measured at Week 10
Depressive symptoms
Time Frame: Measured at Week 10
Measured at Week 10
Anxiety symptoms
Time Frame: Measured at Week 10
Measured at Week 10
Obsessive-compulsive symptoms
Time Frame: Measured at Week 10
Measured at Week 10

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Massachusetts General Hospital

Collaborators

National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH)

Investigators

  • Principal Investigator: Sabine Wilhelm, PhD, MGH/Harvard Medical School

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Helpful Links

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

October 1, 2005

Primary Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2010

Study Completion (Actual)

March 1, 2010

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

September 30, 2005

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

September 30, 2005

First Posted (Estimate)

October 4, 2005

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

February 9, 2012

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

February 8, 2012

Last Verified

February 1, 2012

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

  • R01MH069877 (U.S. NIH Grant/Contract)
  • DSIR 83-ATAS (NIMH Program Class Code)

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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