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Le Roy and Corinth, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in at least 22 people

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  • #16
    Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 6 students at Junior-Senior High School

    At least from what the aunt of one of the girls said on the latest Buzz radio show, (thanks for finding the update, Digger), the girls in Le Roy are seeing a neurologist in Buffalo whom they like. It sounds like there was some delay in getting to that point, so I hope things turn out OK for them.

    The possibility of 14 cases put forth in the MSNBC article fits with what I read on a forum. The poster was from the area and had heard that the count was 9-10 at that time. (On Nov. 9th.)

    As Laidback Al pointed out, we have no idea here what could be going on. I better clarify something that Digger brought up, (this confused me a lot when I first read about anti-NMDAR encephalitis):

    If Anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis represents the immune systems response to a perceived cancer it has detected...
    So far anti-NMDA receptor encephalitis is only rarely connected to cancer. Dr. Dalmau's background was in neurological manifestations of cancer, so that can be confusing, (and alarming), to see highlighted in his biography. (I think some of the online biographies have nothing mentioned about his latest work so it looks like he is strictly a cancer specialist.)

    They don't know why people get it. The only recommendations I have read about are timely testing and treatment. That seems to help the outcome, but the disorder is fairly rare and only recently recognized.

    I have no idea if this outbreak is autoimmune at all. Thank goodness that is the job of of specialists to sort through that.
    Last edited by Emily; December 7, 2011, 08:53 PM. Reason: Clarified cancer info. Clarified that I was not personally recommending testing or treatment.
    _____________________________________________

    Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

    i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

    "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

    (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
    Never forget Excalibur.

    Comment


    • #17
      Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 6 students at Junior-Senior High School

      If it is 6 cases, the fact that they are all female could be due to coincidence. If it is 14, that has to be a clue and cannot be coincidence. To what might high school girls be exposed that boys wouldn't be? Perfume? Makeup? The girls locker room? Certain medicines?

      It is unlikely to be simply contact among the girls as the girls would likely also have contact with many males (siblings, boyfriends, fathers, etc.).

      Comment


      • #18
        Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 6 students at Junior-Senior High School

        Assuming that there is approximately an equal number of boys and girls in the potentially affected population, even six girls and zero boys having contracted this condition is statistically significant regarding its gender occurence. Assuming equal numbers of boys and girls and a total population of 400, for example, if 14 girls show symptoms and no boys do, the probability is above the 96th percentile that there is a gender bias in whatever is causing this.

        Originally posted by alert View Post
        If it is 6 cases, the fact that they are all female could be due to coincidence. If it is 14, that has to be a clue and cannot be coincidence. To what might high school girls be exposed that boys wouldn't be? Perfume? Makeup? The girls locker room? Certain medicines?

        It is unlikely to be simply contact among the girls as the girls would likely also have contact with many males (siblings, boyfriends, fathers, etc.).
        "I know God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much." - Mother Teresa of Calcutta

        Comment


        • #19
          Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 6 students at Junior-Senior High School



          http://rms.medhyg.ch/article_p.php?I...E=RMS_247_0925

          we don'tknow what happen ( need more informations ) juste note that there is sex ratio for NDMA encephalitis ( I don't know for the other forms of autoimmune disease of the brain )


          automatic translation :
          NMDA Encephalitis (N-methyl-D-aspartate)

          This damage affects mainly young women and may be of paraneoplastic paraneoplastic or not.
          In a recent review, more than 90% of patients are women with an age ranging from 5 to 76 years.18 The first description for women with a teratoma ovarien.19 Today, there is evidence that only 59% of patients positive for anti-NMDA have a tumor associated. The removal of the tumor or immunotherapy provides good recovery of symptoms despite a severe clinical picture.
          Children may also be affected, according to a study récente.20, 21for The majority of patients, the initial symptoms are psychosis or other psychiatric symptoms (agitation, anxiety, etc.., 77%). Epileptic seizures occur in 76% of cases.Abnormal movements like dyskinesia, choreoathetosis, dystonia are present in 86% of cases. There is also autonomic instability in 69% of cases. A case of opsoclonus-myoclonus was successfully treated a patient for 23 years.22

          The EEG is abnormal in almost all patients. The MRI showed hyperintensities in FLAIR or T2 in 60% of cases at the medial temporal lobe of the basal ganglia and cerebral cortex. In 40% of cases, MRI is normal. A recent observation by our group, through functional imaging, suggests a hypermetabolism in the basal ganglia, which correlates with the course of the disease and probably represents the counterpart of movements anormaux.23 The CSF is abnormal in 95% of cases with the presence of oligoclonal bands in 26 of 39 patients tested (66%). The clinical course can be dramatic, require resuscitation facilities and prolonged hospitalizations. The median duration of hospitalization was 2.5 months (one to fourteen months). Immunological therapies early (before four months of evolution) seem to lead to a better prognosis. It is the same for a tumoral origin. If the tumor is diagnosed and treated, recovery may be complete or persistent mild deficits.
          All major components of immunotherapy (corticosteroids, immunoglobulin, and plasmapheresis) is used without being able to define a single or combination therapy as the most effective for all patients. It is reported one to three relapses in five patients, mainly in the absence of tumor with a median of eighteen months (and up to 84 months after the first attack) .18

          Comment


          • #20
            Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 6 students at Junior-Senior High School

            Bizarre mystery illness strikes group of N.Y. teens

            <?xml:namespace prefix = fb /><fb:like width="125" href="http://video.foxnews.com/v/1389015047001/bizarre-mystery-illness-strikes-group-of-ny-teens/?playlist_id=87937" layout="button_count" show_faces="false" action="recommend"></fb:like>Jan 13, 2012
            - 4:00 -
            12 girls exhibit Tourette-like symptoms

            Video:

            <NOSCRIPT></NOSCRIPT>
            "Safety and security don't just happen, they are the result of collective consensus and public investment. We owe our children, the most vulnerable citizens in our society, a life free of violence and fear."
            -Nelson Mandela

            Comment


            • #21
              Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

              http://scholar.googleusercontent.com/scholar?q=cache:o8T7Qd9X_uUJ:scholar.google.com/+%22immune+dysregulation%22+chemicals&hl=en&as_sdt =0,48&as_ylo=2012
              Review Article
              What’s Out There Making Us Sick?
              Stephen J. Genuis Faculty of Medicine, University of Alberta, 2935-66 Street, Edmonton, AB, Canada T6K 4C1 Correspondence should be addressed to Stephen J. Genuis, Received 6 June 2011; Accepted 26 July 2011 Academic Editor: Janette Hope Copyright &#169; 2012 Stephen J. Genuis.
              This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

              Throughout the continuum of medical and scientific history, repeated evidence has confirmed that the main etiological determinants of disease are nutritional deficiency, toxicant exposures, genetic predisposition, infectious agents, and psychological dysfunction. Contemporary conventional medicine generally operates within a genetic predestination paradigm, attributing most chronic and degenerative illness to genomic factors, while incorporating pathogens and psychological disorder in specific situations. Toxicity and deficiency states often receive insufficient attention as common source causes of chronic disease in the developed world. Recent scientific evidence in health disciplines including molecular medicine, epigenetics, and environmental health sciences, however, reveal ineluctable evidence that deficiency and toxicity states feature prominently as common etiological determinants of contemporary ill-health. Incorporating evidence from historical and emerging science, it is evident that a reevaluation of conventional wisdom on the current construct of disease origins should be considered and that new knowledge should receive expeditious translation into clinical strategies for disease management and health promotion. An analysis of almost any scientific problem leads automatically to a study of its history. —Ernst Mayr
              Last edited by Emily; January 16, 2012, 09:34 AM. Reason: Removed first link as story was not about Le Roy, NY.
              _____________________________________________

              Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

              i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

              "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

              (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
              Never forget Excalibur.

              Comment


              • #22
                Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                This article from a local source has more information in it than most, though no answers.

                http://thebatavian.com/howard-owens/...re-cause/29933
                State health officials discuss outbreak of tics in Le Roy, but say they can't share the cause
                Submitted by Howard Owens on January 12, 2012 - 1:10am
                _____________________________________________

                Ask Congress to Investigate COVID Origins and Government Response to Pandemic.

                i love myself. the quietest. simplest. most powerful. revolution ever. ---- nayyirah waheed

                "...there’s an obvious contest that’s happening between different sectors of the colonial ruling class in this country. And they would, if they could, lump us into their beef, their struggle." ---- Omali Yeshitela, African People’s Socialist Party

                (My posts are not intended as advice or professional assessments of any kind.)
                Never forget Excalibur.

                Comment


                • #23
                  Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                  Two of the (12+) LeRoy students are going to be on the Today Show this morning. I bet it is James Dupont and Beth Miller's kids (names already disclosed by parents themselves).

                  http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2455298.shtml?cat=566

                  News 10 WHEC - News Article is in attached PDF.

                  LeRoy girls with mystery illness to appear on the Today Show on 1/17/2012 in the morning (as of this post, this morning)

                  Per News 10NBC, "For the first time, we're hearing from students in LeRoy dealing with a mysterious illness involving a neurological tic. It's a mystery that has baffled medical experts locally, and has gained national attention- at least a dozen girls at LeRoy high ..."
                  Attached Files

                  Comment


                  • #24
                    Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                    The article in post #22 actually contains the odd lines:

                    State health officials know what is behind the outbreak, but Young would not disclose it.

                    [snip]

                    "We all have to respect that (keeping medical information private), but I tell you what, if my daughter had a diagnosis and I knew that, as a parent, I would tell you -- because I’m not a doctor and I don’t care about HIPPA," Dupont said. "I care about getting these kids better or finding what’s causing it so it doesn’t get any worse."

                    Later, from the back of the auditorium, Dupont called out Young on his repeated insistance that a diagnosis has been completed for the 11 students.

                    Dupont asked parents in attendance whose daughters had developed tics to raise their hands. More than a half dozen adults raised their hands. Then Dupont asked how many had been told by their daughters' doctors what caused the tics. Several said they had not been given a diagnosis.

                    One parent spoke up and said he was told the cause was "conversion disorder."

                    Young said he couldn't respond to that comment.

                    Conversion disorder is a neurosis usually brought on difficulties in a person's life, according to Wikipedia. It is marked by numbness, blindness, paralysis or fits. Britannica.com lists tics as a manifestation of conversion disorder.

                    After more questioning about conversion disorder, Thomas Wallace, from the state's mental health office, said it isn't really a diagnosis. He said it can be a symptom of other issues and that it can be found in clusters of patients.

                    The number of patients is not out of line with national statistics for tic manifestations among a group of 500 youngsters (in fact, in a group of 500, there should be at least 20 children with tics, based on national statistics).

                    [snip]

                    UPDATE AND CLARIFICATION: The mention of types of drugs above wasn't meant to exclude from the meaning, as it does, that designer drugs weren't investigated as a cause. They were and subsequently ruled out as a cause. PANDAS has been ruled out as a cause. HPV vaccine has also been ruled out as a cause, according to Dr. Young. ODD or ADHD can make a child more susceptible to tics, but that isn't a cause. One thing Young intimated is that there is no one cause for all the girls.

                    Comment


                    • #25
                      Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                      Today Show speaks to third girl with mystery illness. The NBC Today Show will be broadcasting live in LeRoy, NY during the first hour.

                      The show will air live this morning, 1/18/2012, from LeRoy,NY.

                      http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2456956.shtml?cat=565

                      Per News WHEC 10NBC,

                      "A crew from the Today Show is back in LeRoy, where another girl is speaking out about her condition for the first time. Brooke DuPont is one of a dozen girls suffering from a mysterious medical condition being described as "Tourette's-like symptoms. ..."

                      See all stories on this topic ?

                      Comment


                      • #26
                        Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                        Dr. divulges name of illness in LeRoy

                        LeROY, N.Y. (WIVB) - A doctor treating most of the dozen Genesee County girls suffering from mysterious spasms has received permission from one patient's family to reveal her diagnosis.

                        Dr. Jennifer McVige of the Dent Neurologic Institute says the patient she has permission to talk about is diagnosed with Conversion Disorder. It's a psychological condition where a person manifests physical symptoms of an illness such as seizures, headaches, uncontrollable shaking or tics.

                        Dr. McVige, who is treating 11 of the 12 patients in this case, says victims do not do this purposely, rather subconsciously.

                        She explained, "What you find is individuals who have manifested this disorder have a great deal of stress, or there was a stressor in their life or a stressful moment in their life. It's kind of like the straw that broke the camel's back."

                        The entire article is below.

                        http://www.wivb.com/dpp/news/genesee...lness-in-leroy

                        Although I think this is a possibility, there is excessive coincidence in the fact that this "illness" in LeRoy, NY also occurred simultaneously in a few students here at our local school in Indiana. There was no social connection between the students here in Northern Indiana and the students afflicted in LeRoy, NY.

                        If this is truly an accurate diagnosis, one would be looking at a common stressor in teens in the 12-17 age group in the time frame between late August and mid to late October.

                        If this is the case, it would lead me to believe that there would have to be some type of exceptional trauma event that was common among many children in this age group.

                        It would be interesting to know if any studies have been done on PTSD as it relates to children who remember the events of 9/11. The 10 anniversary coverage was all over the media leading up to and shortly after the 9/11/11 date last fall. Images and video permeated the media at that time. These kids would have been 2-7 years old at the time of the 9/11 attacks.

                        Comment


                        • #27
                          Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                          "Teen Girls Mystery Illness Now Has a Diagnosis - Mass Hysteria"??

                          I think NOT.

                          This diagnosis was cited in the MSNBC Today Health article linked below.

                          http://todayhealth.today.msnbc.msn.c...-mass-hysteria

                          Based on my knowledge of the cases here locally and the statement made by reporter Berkeley Brean concerning the nationwide reports of this illness, I strongly disagree with the MASS HYSTERIA diagnosis.

                          In one of the four videos on the page linked (below), WHEC reporter, Berkeley Brean, reports. He states in this video that aired on WHEC last night (1/17/2012),

                          http://www.whec.com/news/stories/S2455749.shtml?cat=565

                          "I was talking to some producers at the Today Show and they said after this story with Katy and Thera, they were inundated with e-mails and calls from parents across the country with kids going through very similar things. They thought it was important to come back up here (to LeRoy) to re-tell this story." Berkeley Brean reporting

                          The lack of social connections between multiple incidence of this illness across the country, simultaneously and geographically spread out, would eliminate the possibility of this being caused by "Mass Hysteria".

                          A more broad based thorough investigation is needed.
                          Last edited by Digger; January 18, 2012, 05:30 PM. Reason: Correted reporter Berkeley Brean last name spelling

                          Comment


                          • #28
                            Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                            One of many similar articles...

                            It’s something out of the classic Arthur Miller play, ‘The Crucible.” Twelve girls from an upstate New York high school began developing tics and emitting mysterious outbursts. Of…



                            Girls who mysteriously developed Tourette’s-like symptoms are suffering from mass hysteria: doctor
                            Teens displayed verbal outbursts, siezures and uncontrollable tics
                            Comments (1)

                            By Rheana Murray / NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
                            Wednesday, January 18 2012, 5:32 PM
                            .
                            Today Show/NBC
                            At LeRoy Junior-Senior High School in upstate New York, 12 female students suddenly fell ill with symptoms of Tourette's Syndrome, such as body tics and uncontrollable verbal outbursts. School officials have determined that environmental factors in the school building are not to blame, and the cause of the outbreak remains contested. There is at least one explanation for a group of teenage girls who all developed mysterious tics and outbursts seemingly overnight - mass hysteria.

                            As officials at Le Roy Junior-Senior High School in upstate New York scrambled to learn how twelve girls suddenly acquired the Tourette's-like symptoms, one doctor has come forward with a diagnosis.

                            According to Dr. Lazslo Mechtler, a neurologist in Amherst, N.Y. who is treating some of the girls, the students are suffering from "conversion disorder," or mass hysteria.


                            snip

                            “Obviously, we are all not just accepting that this is a stress thing,” one of the girl’s father’s, Jim Dupont, said to TODAY. “It’s heart-wrenching, you fear your daughter’s not going to have a normal life.”

                            Whether the girls’ conditions are stress-related or not, they’re still definitely real, stresses TODAY contributor and psychologist Dr. Gail Saltz.

                            “That’s not faking it,” she said on Tuesday’s show. “They’re real symptoms. They need a psychiatric or psychological treatment. Treatment does work.”

                            rmurray@nydailynews.com



                            Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/life-styl...#ixzz1jr91BImV
                            Last edited by sharon sanders; January 18, 2012, 06:47 PM. Reason: shortened

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                            • #29
                              Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                              Mass psychogenic illness?

                              see:http://www.flutrackers.com/forum/showthread.php?t=15606

                              http://novel-infectious-diseases.blogspot.com/

                              Comment


                              • #30
                                Re: Le Roy, NY, USA: Unusual outbreak of Tourette-like symptoms in 12 students at Junior-Senior High School

                                Also, see:



                                in which a mystery outbreak in China (albeit with very different symptoms) was dismissed as mass psychogenic illness for over two years before an actual physical (infectious, in that case) cause was found.

                                I don't think enough information has been released for me to make a judgment as to which case we are in this time.

                                Comment

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