What causes a syndrome?!

They are believed to be caused by a combination of environmental and genetic factors. Nobody knows the exact cause for these conditions, but genetic abnormalities have been discovered.

ADHD / ADD-
The U.K. team analyzed the genetic information of 366 children with ADHD, comparing it to more than 1,000 unrelated but ethnically matched individuals in a control group. Children with ADHD were significantly more likely to have missing or duplicated segments of DNA -- called copy number variations (CNVs) -- than were children without ADHD, the researchers found. This type of genetic variation is more common in those with brain disorders, they noted.

The findings were replicated in a study of 825 Icelandic patients with ADHD and more than 35,000 Icelandic control group members.

Tourettes -
A person with Tourette's has about a 50% chance of passing the gene(s) to one of his or her children, which is strongly indicative that it is a genetic disorder.

A team of scientists has discovered the first gene mutation that may cause some cases of Tourette syndrome (TS), an inherited neuropsychiatric disorder known for involuntary muscle and vocal tics. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), a part of the National Institutes of Health, provided funding for this research.

The gene, named SLITRK1, was found through genetic analysis of a boy with TS who was previously identified as having an “inversion” on chromosome 13 - a portion of the chromosome had an orientation opposite that of the normal chromosome. He was the only family member with TS and the inversion, suggesting that these two events were related.

The team then screened SLITRK1 (found near where the boy’s chromosome was abnormal) in 174 patients with TS and discovered an abnormality in the coding sequence of the gene in one family. The researchers also identified a separate mutated gene sequence in two unrelated individuals with the disorder. None of these mutations were identified among several thousand unaffected control individuals. Additional testing in cell cultures showed changes in protein expression or function, confirming the finding of the mutated gene.

OCD -
Obsessive-compulsive disorder tends to run in families, causing members of several generations to experience severe anxiety and disturbing thoughts that they ease by repeating certain behaviors. In fact, close relatives of people with OCD are up to nine times more likely to develop OCD themselves.

New research is shedding new light on one of the genetic factors that may contribute to that pattern. And while no one gene "causes" OCD, the research is helping scientists confirm the importance of a particular gene that has been suspected to play a major role in OCD's development.

In two papers published simultaneously in the Archives of General Psychiatry, researchers from the University of Michigan, the University of Illinois at Chicago, the University of Chicago and the University of Toronto report finding an association between OCD patients and a glutamate transporter gene called SLC1A1.

The gene encodes a protein called EAAC1 that regulates the flow of a substance called glutamate in and out of brain cells. So, variations in the gene might lead to alterations in that flow, perhaps putting a person at increased risk of developing OCD.

Hope I helped

The word "syndrome" means unknown cause as does the word "idiopathic". Guess the term Irritable Bowel We Haven't Got A Clue...didn't get any votes lol.

But ADHD can be reversed the majority of the time by a change in diet as shown clinical trials. OCD is a symptom of low serotonin (lack of essential vitamins to stress/anxiety can lower serotonin) and Tourette's looks to be an inherited condition however the gene hasn't been identified.

RedAngel

i have severe OCD. also borderline personality disorder and severe anxiety. i have always felt extremely weird. as a kid... i would hope and pray that a 'serial killer' or someone would come in and kill me or make me sacrifice myself.

with the OCD... cause u listed that... i have a cleaning thing. i just finished doing my car... and it's 9pm saturday night here in OZ. and i don't just wash it... i take of the seat covers... i do the upholstery... etc. i check each room before i go to sleep... making sure they are perfectly clean. i have a germ phobia... i don't get colds/flu's... i wear anti-bacteria type stuff as deodorants.

why? it's just me... it's a part of me. i accept it... i'm the person i was meant to be.

you should go to doctor.