RT Journal Article
T1 European Multicentre Tics in Children Studies (EMTICS): protocol for two cohort studies to assess risk factors for tic onset and exacerbation in children and adolescents.
A1 Schrag, Anette
A1 Martino, Davide
A1 Apter, Alan
A1 Ball, Juliane
A1 Bartolini, Erika
A1 Benaroya-Milshtein, Noa
A1 Buttiglione, Maura
A1 Cardona, Francesco
A1 Creti, Roberta
A1 Efstratiou, Androulla
A1 Gariup, Maria
A1 Georgitsi, Marianthi
A1 Hedderly, Tammy
A1 Heyman, Isobel
A1 Margarit, Immaculada
A1 Mir, Pablo
A1 Moll, Natalie
A1 Morer, Astrid
A1 Müller, Norbert
A1 Müller-Vahl, Kirsten
A1 Münchau, Alexander
A1 Orefici, Graziella
A1 Plessen, Kerstin J
A1 Porcelli, Cesare
A1 Paschou, Peristera
A1 Rizzo, Renata
A1 Roessner, Veit
A1 Schwarz, Markus J
A1 Steinberg, Tamar
A1 Tagwerker Gloor, Friederike
A1 Tarnok, Zsanett
A1 Walitza, Susanne
A1 Dietrich, Andrea
A1 Hoekstra, Pieter J
A1 EMTICS Collaborative Group, 
K1 Genetics
K1 Longitudinal
K1 Obsessive–compulsive disorder
K1 Streptococcal infection
K1 Stress
K1 Tourette syndrome
AB Genetic predisposition, autoimmunity and environmental factors [e.g. pre- and perinatal difficulties, Group A Streptococcal (GAS) and other infections, stress-inducing events] might interact to create a neurobiological vulnerability to the development of tics and associated behaviours. However, the existing evidence for this relies primarily on small prospective or larger retrospective population-based studies, and is therefore still inconclusive. This article describes the design and methodology of the EMTICS study, a longitudinal observational European multicentre study involving 16 clinical centres, with the following objectives: (1) to investigate the association of environmental factors (GAS exposure and psychosocial stress, primarily) with the onset and course of tics and/or obsessive-compulsive symptoms through the prospective observation of at-risk individuals (ONSET cohort: 260 children aged 3-10 years who are tic-free at study entry and have a first-degree relative with a chronic tic disorder) and affected individuals (COURSE cohort: 715 youth aged 3-16 years with a tic disorder); (2) to characterise the immune response to microbial antigens and the host's immune response regulation in association with onset and exacerbations of tics; (3) to increase knowledge of the human gene pathways influencing the pathogenesis of tic disorders; and (4) to develop prediction models for the risk of onset and exacerbations of tic disorders. The EMTICS study is, to our knowledge, the largest prospective cohort assessment of the contribution of different genetic and environmental factors to the risk of developing tics in putatively predisposed individuals and to the risk of exacerbating tics in young individuals with chronic tic disorders.
YR 2018
FD 2018-07-07
LK http://hdl.handle.net/10668/12692
UL http://hdl.handle.net/10668/12692
LA en
DS RISalud
RD Apr 17, 2025