In the tiny New York town of LeRoy, one thing is for sure; since October, 16 people suddenly have developed uncontrollable twitching and verbal tics.
Three months later, they -- and the rest of the town -- are still wondering why.
Doctors have diagnosed most of them with conversion disorder, saying that stress is the likely root of their physical problems.
"What happens is there traditionally some kind of stress or multiple stressors that provoke a physical reaction within the body," said Dr. Jennifer McVige, a neurologist who has evaluated several of the teens. "This is unconscious, it is not done purposefully and it's almost like ... the stress wells up in your body has to come out in some way shape or form."
Case of N.Y. teens' tics makes psychological sense
But the diagnosis has done nothing to explain why so many people from the same small town -- 14 teenage girls, a teenage boy and a 36-year-old woman -- started displaying these symptoms within the same time period.
All of the teens attend LeRoy Junior-Senior High School, so the attention has turned there. School officials say everything is safe, but environmental organizations and some parents aren't so sure.... Source/Origin >> Read More
