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Catania, Italy
5th European Conference on Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorders
8-9 June 2012
Our host organisers:
Renata Rizzo
We have compiled all the information related to this meeting in the following file:
View online
Lecturers that joined us from the University of Calgary:
ESSTS 2020-2023 board members
ESSTS 2023-2026 board members
ESSTS 2023-2026 board members
Final conference programme
Upon completion of the final oral presentation & poster rounds on the last day of the conference, attendees e-voted live for "Best of" on both categories.
The Professor Mary Robertson Award 2025 was presented by Dr Jeremy Stern with the long-standing support of Tourettes Action UK.
Congratulations, keep calm and research on!
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2025
Natalia Szejko
More than meets the eye: differs body focused repetitive behavior from self-injurious behavior in patients with tic disorders?
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Stella Haffner
What do behavioural problems tell us? A critical examination of patient history variables
2nd prize
Kaja Monique Wiberg Andersen
Preliminary results: Increased number of traumatic events decreases tic severity in children with Tourette Syndrome
3rd prize
Joanna Loayza
Brain-wide activation patterns during tic-like movements caused by Tourette-related striatal disinhibition in freely behaving rats
Best poster
1st prize
Mathilde Fremming Wessel Christensen
”Tic Training Light”: a resource-efficient alternative to Cognitive Behavioural Therapy? Results from a naturalistic pilot study
2nd prize
Ione Georgakis
Development and Evaluation of the Tourette’s Action Adult Lived Experience Advisory Panel: Insights into Its Formation, Impact, and Functioning
Kayleigh Tuttle-Cull
Interoceptive Processes and Quality of Life in Young People with Tourette Syndrome, Chronic Tic Disorders, and Functional Tic-Like Behaviours
3rd prize
Maria Hadji-Michael
Knowledge is Power; Focus group exploring young people’s experience of the Premonitory Urge before and after a tic treatment group
Awards
Upon completion of the final oral presentation & poster rounds on the last day of the conference, attendees e-voted live for "Best of" on both categories.
The Professor Mary Robertson Award 2024 was presented by Mary Robertson herself with the long-standing support of Tourettes Action UK.
Congratulations, keep calm and research on!
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2024
Chelsea F. Dale
Taming Tics Together (TTT): Evaluation of a telehealth-based intensive intervention for youth with tics and co-occurring diagnoses.
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Jolande van de Griendt
Underlying Working Mechanisms of Exposure and Response Prevention in the Treatment of Tourette Syndrome and Tic Disorders.
2nd prize
Giulia Raffaele
Tic-Talk: Voices on Tourette labelling.
3rd prize
Kaja Andersen
A Critical Examination of the clinical diagnosis of Functional Tic-Like Behaviours & Agreement between cluster analyses and diagnoses of Tic Disorder and Functional Tic-like behaviours in a Tourette clinic population.
Best poster presentation
1st prize
Stella Haffner
Assessing the factor structure of the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Function in a Tourette’s population.
2nd prize
Isabel Archer & Madiha Shoaib
Adapting psychoeducation to accommodate neurodiversity among young people with Tourette syndrome.
3rd prize
Ione Georgakis
Tic Attire – An Occupational Therapy Concept Design Project to Reduce Tic-Related Pain and Injury.
Awards
Upon completion of the final oral presentation & poster rounds on the last day of the conference, attendees e-voted live for "Best of" on both categories.
The Professor Mary Robertson Award 2023 was presented by Mary Robertson herself with the long-standing support of Tourettes Action UK.
Congratulations, keep calm and research on!
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2023
Jade-Jocelyne Zouki
Mapping a Network for Tics in Tourette Syndrome Using Causal Lesions and Structural Alterations
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Annet Heijerman
Effectiveness of Tackle your Tics, a brief, intensive group-based exposure therapy programme for children with tic disorders
2nd prize
Tamara Pringsheim
Symptom trajectories in functional tic-like behaviours:
A prospective longitudinal cohort study
A prospective longitudinal cohort study
3rd prize
Yasamin Mahjoub
Randomized controlled trial of supplementary motor area transcranial direct current stimulation in Tourette syndrome
Best poster presentation
1st prize
Coralie Beaulieu & Méliza Gagnon
Microaggressions Experienced by Emerging Adults (16-25 years old) with Tourette Syndrome
2nd prize
Kaja Andersen
Clarifying the differences between patients with Organic Tics and Functional Tic-Like Behaviours
3rd prize
Diana Beljaars
Science-society rifts on tics, compulsions, and Tourette’s:
Perspectives of a panel of Tourettic persons and Tourette’s researchers
Perspectives of a panel of Tourettic persons and Tourette’s researchers
Awards
Upon completion of the final oral presentation & poster rounds on the last day of the conference, attendees e-voted live for "Best of" on both categories.
The Professor Mary Robertson Award 2022 was presented by Jeremy Stern, Honorary Medical Director for Tourette's Action UK.
Congratulations, keep calm and research on!
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2022
Simon Morand-Beaulieu
Increased alpha-band connectivity during tic suppression in children with Tourette syndrome revealed by source electroencephalography analyses
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Per Andrén
Online Exposure and Response Prevention for Children and Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome: A Randomized Controlled Trial
2nd prize
Christelle Nilles
Speech and language disorders and complex vocal tics affecting speech fluency in people with Tourette syndrome
3rd prize
Julian Fletcher
The Tourette OCD Alberta Network: Development of a Continuing Professional Development Program for Community Based Mental Health Therapists
Best poster presentation
1st prize
Carolin Fremer
Mass social media-induced illness presenting with Tourette-like behavior impact of unconscious intrapsychic conflicts, structural deficits, and maintaining factors
2nd prize
Ekaterina Ivanova
Therapist-guided exposure and response prevention treatment for adults with TS/CTD delivered via internet: a pilot trial
Gesine Sallandt
Automated tic detection: Machine learning approach for the detection of Tics in videos
3rd prize
Joanna Loayza
Further characterisation of the rat model of Tourette-related striatal disinhibition: in vivo electrophysiological and behavioural studies
Kari Anne Pedersen
What is Tourette syndrome?
↓ drag your mouse or finger left & right
Awards
This year and for the first time, the audience e-voted live for the awards.
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2022
Per Andrén
Clinical and cost-effectiveness of Internet-delivered behaviour therapy for children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome: Protocol for a single-blind randomised controlled trial in Sweden
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Fotis Tsetsos
Genome-wide association study of Tourette investigates the genetic determinants of Tourette and implicates neuronal and synaptic processes
2nd prize
Maria Hadji-Michael
Alexithymia and interoception in children with Tourette syndrome: A clinical audit
3rd prize
Martina Haas
YGTSS: A critical look at the psychometric quality of the gold standard based on EMTICS data
Best poster presentation
1st prize
Ewgeni Jakubovski
ABX-1431, A First-in-Class Endocannabinoid Modulator, Improves Tics in Adult Patients with Tourette Syndrome
2nd prize
Laura Beljaars
ESSTS Patient Groups: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
3rd prize
Mayaan Halevi
“Tic Attacks” in Tourette Syndrome
Yarisa Nicola Piris
Sexuality and Tourette Syndrome: The impact of sexual self-esteem on sexual practices. Pilot study.
Chloe Taylor
A case study of a child with complex TS treated with intensive CBIT and close school liaison
AWARDS
Per ANDREN
Mary Robertson Award
Clinical and cost-effectiveness of Internet-delivered behaviour therapy for children and adolescents with Tourette syndrome: Protocol for a single-blind randomised controlled trial in Sweden
Fotis tsetsos
Best oral presentation
1st prize
Genome-wide association study of Tourette investigates the genetic determinants of Tourette and implicates neuronal and synaptic processes
Maria HADJI-MICHAEl
Best oral presentation
2nd prize
Alexithymia and interoception in children with Tourette syndrome: A clinical audit
Martina HAAS
Best oral presentation
3rd prize
YGTSS: A critical look at the psychometric quality of the gold standard based on EMTICS data
Ewgeni JAKUBOVSKI
Best e-poster presentation
1st prize
ABX-1431, A First-in-Class Endocannabinoid Modulator, Improves Tics in Adult Patients with Tourette Syndrome
Laura BELJAARS
Best e-poster presentation
2nd prize
ESSTS Patient Groups: The whole is greater than the sum of its parts
Mayaan HALEVI
Best e-poster presentation
3rd prize
“Tic Attacks” in Tourette Syndrome
Yarisa Nicola PIRIS
Best e-poster presentation
3rd prize
Sexuality and Tourette Syndrome: The impact of sexual self-esteem on sexual practices. Pilot study.
Chloe TAYLOR
Best e-poster presentation
3rd prize
A case study of a child with complex TS treated with intensive CBIT and close school liaison
ePosters
A loud 📢 thank you to all the authors who shared with us their hard work and exceeded our conservative expectations of abstract submissions this virtual year!
You will find below a comprehensive list of the Conference ePosters (titles in alphabetical order).
Click on "more info" to view the supporting material (videos & articles) that some of the authors have provided.
You will find below a digital version of the posters presented during the poster rounds (titles sorted in alphabetical order)
In many cases oral presentation-assigned authors have also shared their ePoster.
Click on "more info" to view any additional elements, –such as audio, videos, articles and links–, that each author has shared with us.
The headphones 🎧 icon indicates that a podcast presentation is available.
scroll inside this tab ↓
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Speakers' slides
Courtesy of our speakers and researchers assigned an oral presentation to to active ESSTS members (and in some cases* also to conference attendees –upon request and for 8 weeks– following the completion of the meeting); please find below the PDFs of their presentations.
A special thank you to all those who shared their valuable work with the community!
*In cases where consent is granted to share the slides with conference attendees as well, a request form will be embedded in this section.
For members:
Active (for the current calendar year) ESSTS members can access the files directly once logged in to their member account.
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Recordings
The recording of the online course is available. Please log in to your user account, and the video will become accessible below.
(You will probably need to refresh your browser after logging in.)
Book of abstracts
A record-breaking –57!– number of abstracts, were presented in Brussels, 30% of which were submitted from researchers outside Europe.
From Calgary to Melbourne...
Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, UK, USA.
Thank you all for your contribution and for keeping the collaborative spirit in top shape! 🚀
Although our previous –virtual– meeting only took place 9 months prior to the Lausanne conference, one thing is certain; researchers around the world have been working tirelessly, submitting large numbers of excellent abstracts. We accepted 38 abstracts back in October 2021 and 48 in June 2022.
Thank you all for your contribution and for keeping the collaborative spirit in top shape! 🚀
From Calgary to Melbourne...
Australia, Canada, Denmark, Germany, Israel, Italy, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, UK, USA
Whether you have already retrieved your copy of the book of abstracts at the conference venue, or you would like to explore the programme and submitted abstracts, you may download the original file below.
click!
📸 A photo journey immortalising the Athens 2025 "on stage and backstage" experience! More photos are being added...!
(Feel free to get in touch, if you'd like to...contribute to the collection!)
New feature, the "T-playlist!"
A new feature was introduced in Brussels; audio presentations of the conference posters recorded by the authors themselves and made available in a podcast format.
click!
📸 A photo journey immortalising the Brussels "on stage and backstage" experience!
(We did our best to collect as many photos as possible. Feel free to get in touch, if you'd like to...contribute to the collection!)
Controversy & poll
Are functional tics easy to diagnose?
As promised when we first introduced controversy discussions followed by live polling during the Hannover meeting in 2019, it was indeed only the beginning!
This year, 2 esteemed colleagues from the University of Calgary, Tamara Pringsheim and Davide Martino took the stage and debated on a genuinely controversial topic; are functional tics easy to diagnose?
As you can see from the results...no landslide victory for either debater, yet Tamara's smile says it all! 💪
Both speakers have made their presentations available online; scroll to view them on the following section.
click for pop up
YES!
Programme
view PDF version
scroll inside this tab ↓
Thursday, 9 June 2022
Workshops
10.00-13.00 (parallel session)
Trainers:
Workshops
10.00-13.00 (parallel session)
II. Behavioural therapy for tic disorders:
"Tic treatment – Learn how to become a tic therapist or enhance your skills."
Workshop in English for beginner participants.
(view programme)
"Tic treatment – Learn how to become a tic therapist or enhance your skills."
Workshop in English for beginner participants.
(view programme)
Trainers:
Workshops
14.00-17.00 (parallel session)
III. Behavioural therapy for tic disorders:
"Exciting advances in Group treatment for Tics and Tourette syndrome."
Workshop in English for advanced participants.
(view programme)
"Exciting advances in Group treatment for Tics and Tourette syndrome."
Workshop in English for advanced participants.
(view programme)
Trainers:
Guest speakers (in order of appearance):
Judith Nissen, Eve Mc Allister, Nimmi Parikh, Annet Heijerman-Holtgrefe, Sharon Zimmerman Brenner, Noa Benaroya-Milshtein, Dana Feldman Sadeh
Dedicated to the memory of Kieron O'Connor
13.00-17.00 (parallel session)
18.00-19.00
I. Opening ceremony and lecture:
"Functional, Tourette-like behaviours; an evolving landscape"
"Functional, Tourette-like behaviours; an evolving landscape"
Speaker:
II. Apéritif time, getting together again!
III. Projection of film-documentary "Tics", by Thomas Oswald with the collaboration of Prof. Dr. Münchau and the neurologist & psychiatrist Dr. Daniel Alvarez-Fischer.
Friday, 10 June 2022
Pack your running shoes!
07.00
Morning run tradition continues, route TBA*
More info by our Chief Track & Field Officer:
*Weather & participation permitting, we shall repeat the run on Saturday 11 June.
Brain stimulation sessions
10.30-11.15
Podium discussion including discussion with the audience
moderated by Kirsten R. Müller-Vahl
Participants:
Juan Carlos Baldermann
11.15-11.45
Coffee break
11.45-12.15
Ecopipam in Children and Adolescents with Tourette Syndrome: Results from a Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Phase 2b Study
Speaker:
13.00-14.00
Lunch break
13.00-14.00 (parallel session)
ENIGMA-TS Working Group meeting
Confirm attendance
Confirm attendance
(at “Pavillon Ouest”, adjacent to main building)
Coordinator:
Society and TS session
14.00-14.45
Ticking the wrong box –a global look at why we don't know what works in tic education and how we can find out.
Speaker:
moderated by Andrea Cavanna
History of TS session
14.45-15.30
Georges Gilles de la Tourette, the man behind the name.
Speaker:
moderated by Andreas Hartmann
15.30-16.15
Neural mechanisms of cognitive behavioral treatment in the framework of perception-action integration
Speaker:
moderated by Andreas Hartmann
16.15-16.45
Coffee break
16.45-18.30
moderated by Natalia Szejko & Andreas Hartmann
18.30-19.00
General assembly meeting
Saturday, 11 June 2022
Comorbidities
09.00-09.45
Update of guidelines for the treatment of OCD and OCD with GTS including PANDAS
Speaker:
Comorbidities
09.45-10.30
Podium discussion including discussion with the audience
moderated by Kerstin von Plessen
Participants:
11.15-11.45
Coffee break
11.45-12.30
Are functional tics easy to diagnose?"
Controversy discussion, followed by a poll.
moderated by Andrea Cavanna
Arguing yes:
Arguing no:
12.30-13.30
Lunch break
14.30-16.15
moderated by Natalia Szejko & Andreas Hartmann
16.15-16.30
Coffee break
17.30
Closing ceremony, best poster & best oral presentation prizes, Professor Mary Robertson award.
click!
scroll ↓ & click on photos for gallery view
scroll ↓ & click on photos for gallery view
Congratulations!
Jana and Natalia, you are coming to Lausanne next year!
Jana and Natalia, you are coming to Lausanne next year!
Programme
- Welcome online! Introduction by ESSTS Chair, Kirsten Müller-Vahl and presentation of the new Board
- Interview with James Leckman (30 min)
- Update on immunology in Tourette Syndrome/tics, by Davide Martino (20 min)
- Update on Behavioural Therapy in Tourette Syndrome by Per Andrén (20 min)
- Best papers of 2019 by Kevin Black (40 min)
- Live Q&A session with the Davide Martino (moderator: Nanette Mol Debes) & Per Andrén (moderator: Cara Verdellen)
Invited speakers
Behavioural therapy goodie
BT updates, a summary of treatment guidelines and new studies on BT for Tourette Syndrome & chronic tic disorders
Clinical psychologist and PhD student at Karolinska Institutet Per Andrén, has kindly made available to our attendees and now to all interested parties the slides of his presentation. Feel free to download!
Controversy & poll
...to "T" or not to "T"? Is it time to rename Tourette syndrome?
This year, we introduced live polling for the ePoster and oral presentation awards, but also for our first (though certainly not last!) controversy, titled:
“Is it time to rename Tourette syndrome?”
See the final results on the following chart.
In Jeremy Stern’s immortal and spontaneous comment, "it was Brexit all over again”…😉
Of note, the discussion with the audience was lively and could easily have gone on for much longer. To be continued in Lausanne on this and other topics!
click for pop up
Awards
Professor Mary Robertson Award for Research Contribution 2022
Paula Viefhaus
Efficacy of a Resource Activation Treatment in Children with Chronic Tic Disorders – A Within-Subject Analysis
ESSTS Lifetime achievement award
Anne Gersdorff Korsgaard
Efficacy of a Resource Activation Treatment in Children with Chronic Tic Disorders – A Within-Subject Analysis
Best oral presentation
Leanne Hockey
Attention and inhibition in Tourette’s Syndrome
Best poster presentation
Juan Carlos Baldermann
Stimulation-dependent functional connectivity of effective deep brain stimulation for Tourette Syndrome
AWARDS
Paula Viefhaus
Mary Robertson Award
Efficacy of a Resource Activation Treatment in Children with Chronic Tic Disorders – A Within-Subject Analysis
Leanne Hockey
Best oral presentation
Attention and inhibition in Tourette’s Syndrome
Juan Carlos Baldermann
Best poster presentation
Stimulation-dependent functional connectivity of effective deep brain stimulation for Tourette Syndrome
Anne Gersdorff Korsgaard
ESSTS Lifetime achievement award
Book of abstracts
Lookbook
Recordings
(public content)
If you were unable to attend, or would simply like to ... 📺 binge-watch these great presentations again..
The majority of the session recordings are now available and will remain online for at least 3 months after the completion of the conference.
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Recordings
(private access-reserved content)
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Venue
A loud 📢 thank you to all the authors who shared with us their hard work and exceeded our conservative expectations of abstract submissions this virtual year!
You will find below a comprehensive list of the Conference ePosters (titles in alphabetical order).
Click on "more info" to view the supporting material (videos & articles) that some of the authors have provided.
On stage & backstage
view lookbook!
scroll ↓ & click on photos for gallery view
No items found.
