Testosterone and DHEA-S levels with chronic tic disorder in children

• We investigated the testosterone, DHEA-S and cortisol level in tic patients.
• Patient group’s testosterone and DHEA-S levels was higher than the control group.
• No statistical difference was found between the cortisol levels.
• There was no correlation between tic severity and the DHEA-S and testosterone levels.

The neurobiological basis of tic disorders is thought to be a series of interactions including genetic, environmental and gender related factors. Being male is thought to be an especially important risk factor in the pathogenesis of tics. Our aim in this study was to investigate gender-related hormones such as testosterone, dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEA-S) and cortisol in tic patients. A total of 26 patients who had not entered puberty and had been diagnosed with chronic tic disorder and 25 healthy children were included in the study. Serum total testosterone, cortisol and DHEA-S levels were measured and the relationship with clinical data was investigated. The testosterone and DHEA-S levels of the patient group were higher than that of the control group (P=0.019, P=0.025) but no statistical difference was found between the cortisol levels (P=0.642). No statistical correlation was found between total tic severity, general disturbance, movement tic subscale scores and the DHEA-S (P=0.77, P=0.45, P=0.819 respectively) and testosterone levels (P=0.954, P=0.669, P=0.909 respectively). The results of this study reveal an elevation of testosterone and DHEA-S levels in patients. Future studies with a larger number of patients are likely to help elucidate the importance of these androgens in tic disorder.