98%
921
2 minutes
20
Background: Tics and comorbidities significantly impact the social interactions and mental health of adolescents with Tourette syndrome (TS). Psychoeducation is an initial intervention for TS. Gamification is a common psychoeducational intervention for youths with chronic conditions. However, the effectiveness of board games in improving tic severity and mental health in adolescents with TS remains underexplored.
Objective: We developed a serious board game to investigate its effects on tic severity, mental health, social adjustment, and depression in adolescents with TS.
Methods: A single-blinded, 2-arm, parallel randomized controlled study was conducted. From September 2022 to July 2024, participants were recruited from a medical center in northern Taiwan. Seventy-nine adolescents with TS aged 12 to 18 years were randomly assigned to either a control group (n=39) or an intervention group (n=40). Both groups received care as usual (daily pyridoxine [50 mg] and psychoeducation), while the intervention group additionally participated in a weekly 60-minute board game session over a 4-week period. Outcome measures included the Yale Global Tic Severity Scale, Positive Mental Health Scale, Social Adjustment Scale for Adolescents with TS, and Beck Youth Inventory II - Depression scale.
Results: Generalized estimation equation results showed that, compared to the control group, the intervention group demonstrated significant improvements in positive mental health at the postintervention (β=5.19, 95% CI 0.36 to 10.02, P=.04) and follow-up (β=7.14, 95% CI 2.15 to 12.14, P=.005), with time-dependent effects. The intervention group also showed significant improvements in social adjustment (β=4.24, 95% CI 1.79 to 6.69, P<.001) and depression (β=-3.06, 95% CI -6.04 to -0.11, P=.04) at follow-up. No significant differences were observed between the 2 groups in tic severity.
Conclusions: The serious board game developed in this study significantly enhanced psychosocial functioning in adolescents with TS. As an alternative to verbal and written health communication, the board game serves as an innovative psychoeducational instrument for health care professionals to help adolescents with TS in tic management and mental health promotion. Future studies can develop and validate the feasibility of a digital version of the board game.
Trial Registration: ClinicalTrials.gov NCT05566236; https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT05566236.
Download full-text PDF |
Source |
---|---|
http://dx.doi.org/10.2196/76208 | DOI Listing |
Hum Brain Mapp
September 2025
Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Investigating neuroimaging data to identify brain-based markers of mental illnesses has gained significant attention. Nevertheless, these endeavors encounter challenges arising from a reliance on symptoms and self-report assessments in making an initial diagnosis. The absence of biological data to delineate nosological categories hinders the provision of additional neurobiological insights into these disorders.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFInt J Dermatol
September 2025
Department of Dermatology, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, Georgia, USA.
Stroke
September 2025
Brain Language Laboratory, Freie Universität Berlin, Germany (A.-T.P.J., M.R.O., A.S., F.P.).
Background: Intensive language-action therapy treats language deficits and depressive symptoms in chronic poststroke aphasia, yet the underlying neural mechanisms remain underexplored. Long-range temporal correlations (LRTCs) in blood oxygenation level-dependent signals indicate persistence in brain activity patterns and may relate to learning and levels of depression. This observational study investigates blood oxygenation level-dependent LRTC changes alongside therapy-induced language and mood improvements in perisylvian and domain-general brain areas.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFStroke
September 2025
Department of Medicine, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Victoria, Australia. (V.Y., B.C.V.C., L.C., L.O., M.W.P.).
Background: To assess the efficacy and safety of tenecteplase in patients presenting within 24 hours of symptom onset with a large vessel occlusion and target mismatch on perfusion computed tomography.
Methods: ETERNAL-LVO was a prospective, randomized, open-label, blinded end point, phase 3, superiority trial where adult participants with a large vessel occlusion, presenting within 24 hours of onset with salvageable tissue on computed tomography perfusion, were randomized to tenecteplase 0.25 mg/kg or standard care across 11 primary and comprehensive stroke centers in Australia.