Watch as tiny shocks ‘turn off’ Tourette Syndrome tics

Tiny electric shocks delivered to the wrist can 'turn off' the tics that blight the life of some Tourette Syndrome sufferers.

That's according to researchers at the University of Nottingham in the UK.

Tourette's causes people to make involuntary sounds and movements called tics.

The researchers said stimulating a nerve in the wrist with an electrical signal can reduce this urge-to-tic.

Nottingham University professor Stephen Jackson is part of the research team.

"They feel like a pressure build up for them to tic and it's like a bubble that's sort of fighting to get out and they feel this really strongly and that's what we call this premonitory urge and that pressure is released when they tic. And pretty much all of the patients we studied reported that that just disappeared once they were being stimulated."

Nineteen volunteers took part in the project, including 21 year-old Charlie Barnett.

He found the results so positive he's stopped taking his medication.

"He sees it as life changing and that's true of many of the people who've tried it. We had a number of people who were fairly sceptical, these are people who've had Tourettes for a long time, grown men in their 50s and 60s and they popped in to have a look, a bit sceptical about it, and they've just been absolutely amazed at the effect it has on them personally when they have it."

The team now hopes to develop a wearable device - like a fitness tracker - that could be programmed by the user.