Tic-induced gait dysfunction.

BACKGROUND

Many neurological disorders impair gait, but only a few of them are episodic or paroxysmal, the most important ones being freezing of gait and paroxysmal dyskinesias.

METHODS

We describe 4 patients with tic disorders (3 with Tourette syndrome, and 1 with a tic disorder secondary to vascular disease) in whom intrusion of complex motor tics interfered with normal progression of stepping, thus producing an episodic gait disorder.

RESULTS

The involuntary movements that interfered with gait had features typical for tics, including their brief, sudden, irresistible, inapposite, and nonrhythmic recurrence. The motor behavior resembled tripping (n = 2), "blocking" of gait, or hip movements minimally interfering with gait.

CONCLUSIONS

Tic-induced gait disturbance is an episodic gait disorder occurring in patients with tics and should be recognized as a possible cause of episodic gait disturbances.