Nine clinical cases of a motor disorder were published in 1885 under the name maladie des tics, establishing the eponym for a condition that had previously been grouped with chorea and other involuntary movements. This work originated from the research of a French neurologist who spent his career dissecting hysteria and the medical applications of mesmerism.
Academic Foundation
Born in 1857 in Saint-Gervais-les-Trois-Clochers, Georges Albert Édouard Brutus Gilles de la Tourette began his medical studies at the University of Poitiers in 1873. By 1881, he relocated to Paris to continue his training. He eventually secured a position as a student and house physician under Jean-Martin Charcot at the Salpêtrière Hospital, a relationship that proved central to his academic progression.
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Tasked by Charcot in 1884 to examine motor disturbances, he investigated conditions like myriachit and latah. His primary contribution involved identifying the specific symptoms of what became Tourette syndrome. While his initial publication of nine cases faced skepticism at the Salpêtrière, his mentor eventually attached his name to the condition. Beyond this, he authored sixteen papers on hysteria and studied the legal implications of hypnotism.
Personal Decline and Final Years
His career faced a turning point in 1893 when a former patient, Rose Kamper, shot him in the neck. Following this event and the death of Charcot, his mental state deteriorated. In 1901, Jean-Baptiste Charcot facilitated his commitment to a psychiatric hospital in Switzerland, where he received a diagnosis of tertiary syphilis. He resigned his positions and died in 1904 at the Lausanne Psychiatric Hospital, ultimately buried at the cimetière de Loudun.
Fast facts
- Born: 30 October 1857, Saint-Gervais-les-Trois-Clochers
- Died: 22 May 1904, Lausanne
- Education: University of Poitiers, University of Paris
- Award: Officer of the Legion of Honour (1900)
- Marriage: Marie Detrois (1887)
- Burial: cimetière de Loudun
Questions readers ask
What specific medical conditions did he study?
He focused on neurology and psychiatry, with extensive work on hysteria, mesmerism, and motor disorders such as the maladie des tics.
How did he die?
He died in 1904 from advanced dementia and complications related to neurosyphilis.
Achievements
- Officer of the Legion of Honour — 1900
- Fields: neurology
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