Childhood caffeine tic syndrome.

Abstract

To determine whether caffeine ingestion was temporally correlated with tics in 2 healthy children. Two first-degree cousins were observed over a period of approximately 3 years, and the presence and absence of tics was recorded and correlated with consumption of or abstinence from caffeinated foods or beverages. Appearance and disappearance of tics were closely and clearly temporally correlated with ingestion and elimination of caffeine in the cousins' diets. Our observations suggest that caffeine may precipitate tics in susceptible children.