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. 2018 Mar 23;11(2):143–155. doi: 10.1007/s12152-018-9359-6

Table 1.

Inclusion and exclusion criteria for DBS surgery

Inclusion criteria * Exclusion criteria *
- Primary diagnosis of TS according to the DSM-V criteria [28]
- A minimum score of 80 on the Diagnostic Confidence Index [29]
- A minimum score of 25 on the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale [27]
- Failure to respond to, or intolerable side effects of three-months trials of adequately dosed classical (e.g. haloperidol) and atypical (e.g. risperidone, olanzapine, quetiapine) antipsychotic medication or clonidine
- Completed at least ten sessions of behavioural therapy (e.g. exposure and response prevention or habit reversal)
- A stable psychosocial environment
- Neuropsychological profile indicates candidate can tolerate demands of surgery, postoperative follow-up, and possibility of poor outcome
- Age is not a strict criterion. Local ethics committee involvement for cases involving persons <18 years, and for cases considered “urgent” (e.g. impending paralysis from head-snapping tics)
- Tics not related to TS
- Major psychiatric disorders (e.g. schizophrenia or bipolar disorder)
- Current substance abuse or dependence (except for nicotine)
- Severe cognitive impairment
- Structural abnormalities on brain magnetic resonance imaging
- General contraindications for surgery or anaesthesia

DBS Deep Brain Stimulation, TS Tourette Syndrome, DSM-V Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders criteria (fifth edition)

*These criteria are in line with the latest worldwide recommendations for DBS in Tourette Syndrome [24]