Neurologist Mechtler Blames Post 9/11 World for Leroy NY Sickness "We are going to see more."
Managing Editor's Note: Neurologist Laszlo Mechtler of the (Scratch and) Dent Neurology Clinic where the Leroy NY girls have been diagnosed with Conversion Disorder seems to blame the stress of the post 9/11 world in The Week, a UK publication. And he suggests there will be more of the same. My father grew up in the Depression, my Mom was little girl during WWII - can you imagine a more stressful time? How long was it before Agent Orange was implicated in the sickness of Viet Nam vets? By the way, Dr. Mechtler earned more than $175,000 as a paid speaker for Merck, GlaxoSmithKline and Pfizer in 2009 and 2010 according to Pro Publica Dollars for Docs. We hope the sick teens in Leroy find answers to secure their health soon.
Why have 12 teenage schoolgirls come down with a baffling form of “conversion disorder”, once known to Freudians as “hysteria”? The doctor now treating them warns that the answer could be a portent for an increasingly stressed-out America which has been taught to “live in fear”.
“Ever since 9/11, Americans have been subjected to warnings of orange alert and red alert, and, unlike Israelis for instance, they are not culturally used to it,” says Mechtler. “What has happened to these girls is the result of Americans being made to live in fear. We are going to see more of these outbreaks.”
Read more: http://www.theweek.co.uk/health-science/44544/ny-schoolgirls-hysteria-doctor-blames-constant-terror-alerts#ixzz1kQfsaM20
correlate living too close to freeways" an as explanation for the few hundred thousand families who witnessed their child regress following vaccinations. google
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Posted by: Ricky Barnes | February 07, 2012 at 02:10 AM
Docs know more than you think. They can tell if a movement is voluntary or not. One test docs learn for paralysis is to lift a patient's hand over her face, then let go. Almost nobody lets it hit the face, and it shows they have control. Neurologists see plenty of this stuff and are really being gentle when they suggest conversion disorder and say the symptoms are real. Yah, real psych symptoms.
Posted by: Eric | January 31, 2012 at 10:57 AM
Hmmmn, "abnormal immune response" maybe due to ASIA (see patrons 99 info on the Harvard Neurologist article). If this is the case, let them explain how/why Syndenham's Chorea is suddenly on the rise. Funny how it cooed be coinciding with the ever increasing mandatory vaccines for school that the poor kids have to take.
Posted by: Jen | January 28, 2012 at 02:23 PM
Heard this today, that Erin Brockovich is investigating
http://abcnews.go.com/Health/Wellness/erin-brockovich-launches-investigation-tic-illness-affecting-ny/story?id=15456672#.TyMEyZjN45Q
Some people have posted to this site now, sounds like it could be
Sydenham Chorea - since its just happening in girls, around puberty, could it be
estrogen related? Triggered by a Strep infection?
Here is more on Sydenhams Chorea
http://www.mdvu.org/library/disease/sydenhams/syd_cau.asp
Posted by: Allie90 | January 27, 2012 at 11:24 PM
my brother never had it when he was a kid, all the symptoms hit him at once. He had seen a neurologist and they did cat scan and hooked wires up to his head to test him also and found nothing. so they dosed him up on meds for epilepsy and anti anxiety meds
Posted by: jen | January 27, 2012 at 08:46 AM
I hope some of these families look up Dr. Ken Bock in upstate NY. He specializes in chronic health problems triggered by environmental assaults - problems mainstream med is not very good at treating.
He also wrote a book about the 4 A's - autism, allergies, asthma and ADD.
(Add a fifth "A": A**-covering diagnoses such as conversion disorder.)
http://www.rhinebeckhealth.com/rhc/bio_kbock.php
Posted by: Grateful | January 26, 2012 at 08:28 PM
jen, I suppose a good start would be to see his family doctor and then go from there. Do you mean he is suffering from tics he never had as a child? Maybe then the family doc could refer to a neurologist who has experience with PANDAS/PANS. Someone else here may be able to give you more advise. Good luck to him.
Posted by: Jen | January 26, 2012 at 06:55 PM
My brother has these same problems, started the same time as these girls and nobody has given him answers to what it is, and he doesn't live in leroy he lives in steuben county. who does he contact concerning these health issues he has? And he is an adult
Posted by: jen | January 26, 2012 at 06:13 PM
Visitor, My missing the joke shows what a joke the diagnosis of conversion disorder is.
Posted by: Stop Big Harma | January 26, 2012 at 09:58 AM
I do think Mold and other toxic exposures have something to do with whats going on and what is confusing is that the girls could handle the exposures pre-vaccination so it is difficult to find the trigger for the tics.
One mystery illness sufferer I stumbled upon found out it was the chemicals in her mattress. The mattress story made me think of SIDS. SIDS being another sudden mystery illness.
I had originally thought my son's tics were due to mold as I found that a few years before the school had a mold problem and people were getting sick, but disregarded the idea as he was in the same class with no symptoms the year before for 3 year old pre-school. When I looked into vaccines it made sense that a vaccine could have triggered an allergy or over blown immune response to mold.
It also took a long time to realize that he suddenly became allergic to milk as milk did not effect him his first few years.
Posted by: Patrick | January 26, 2012 at 09:11 AM
Every time these bozos open their mouths they confirm what the American people already suspect: They have no clue how to identify or treat the environmental illnesses this generation faces. This is literally the best they can do -- cover for their own willful ignorance by spouting ridiculous BS. What next, leeches and laudanum?
Posted by: Garbo | January 26, 2012 at 12:52 AM
To clarify:
The doctors{ they} are taking a real biological problem and labeling it a psychological one. It is the doc's who have the disorder. To be picky I think a careful reading of what I said communicates this. If I had meant that the "they" were the girls there would have then been no true biological effect for them to convert and only hysteria existing, but the doc's can take a real biological effect and call it psychological. It was a joke. All the same I regret I was not clear enough.
Posted by: Visitor | January 25, 2012 at 10:58 PM
If the acceleration and expansion of the vaccine schedule in U.S. had occurred a decade later, would we be employing a plethora of psychologists to marginalize away epidemics of learning disabilities, allergies, asthma, autoimmunity due to living under constant terror post 9/11?
I'm now beginning to suspect Gardasil and probably other vaccines appear to be highly coincidental with onset for at least some of these children, though there is probably something at the school that factors in strongly.
Side note, I asked one of my daughters if she ever hears a mention of "terror alerts" at her school. I don't think she ever really has at home. She didn't know what I was talking about.
Posted by: Jeannette Bishop | January 25, 2012 at 10:28 PM
I see that you could be correct, Benedetta and Jen. The statement from Visitor is a perfect example of the trouble with pronouns and their referents. Thanks for pointing that (fact) out to me. LOL.
Posted by: Not an MD | January 25, 2012 at 10:17 PM
The Dr. Drew show on this was interesting. The Dent docs seemed willfully/blissfully ignorant and somewhat shagrined by the pointing out, as Dr. drew put it, these girl's parents are 'super duper motivated to find the cause' (read watch out, parents can be really motivated and there could be trouble ahead if you screw them over) and since conversion disorder is a diagnosis of exclusion they better exclude all the real possibilities. Dr. John Sharp was trotted out as a last ditch effort to legitimize the conversion disorder theory and Dr. Trifiletti seemed to be actaually interested and offer some real hope to these poor kids.
Posted by: Jen | January 25, 2012 at 09:57 PM
I honestly thought Visitor's comment was a joke. Since "conversion disorder" is a diagnosis of exclusion, I guess Dent's finest have exhausted all the "scientific" possibilities for the poor girls' problems. Thank God they're getting second opinions!
Posted by: Jen | January 25, 2012 at 07:32 PM
Extremely loud and incredibly stupid
Posted by: TicTocDoc | January 25, 2012 at 07:30 PM
"It is truly a conversion disorder. Being disordered they convereted it from a biological effect to a psychological one."
Visitor,
Is that an example of evidence-based medicine? If so, please provide the evidence.
Posted by: Pass the popcorn | January 25, 2012 at 07:09 PM
Not an MD;
I think Vistor is saying it is the docs that have a conversion disorder.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 25, 2012 at 07:06 PM
Dr. Mechtler's statement is making me tic. I live in fear of such moronic doctors making mockery of medicine.
Posted by: "We are going to see more" idiotic excuses | January 25, 2012 at 06:57 PM
Wait, all these kids are being treated by the same neurologist? God help those kids, hope they get a second opinion.
Posted by: page kurtz | January 25, 2012 at 06:48 PM
@ Visitor - When the tics these children are suffering from are found to be from either a bad vaccine lot, or a specific toxin in their environment, your opinion will change. Conversion disorders are a default diagnosis used when a doctor has no idea as to the true etiology of a disorder.
Meanwhile, more children are being affected by serious tic disorders, in a specific geographic region, that interfere with their daily living activities. I do not find their suffering funny. I do not think their suffering should be casually dismissed with the wave of a hand and a preposterous diagnosis that will not help them to recover. I sincerely hope someone can help these children find the solutions that will help them to recover from their toxic insult.
Posted by: Not an MD | January 25, 2012 at 05:58 PM
It looks as though the Sanjay at Dent comes up on Dollars for Docs.
Posted by: Jen | January 25, 2012 at 04:15 PM
Haha that was funny, Visitor. Now I am perplexed- it seems there could be a different Sanjay Gupta at Dent than the CNN Sanjay, I think.
Posted by: Jen | January 25, 2012 at 03:57 PM
Not an MD:
It is truly a conversion disorder. Being disordered they convereted it from a biological effect to a psychological one.
Posted by: Visitor | January 25, 2012 at 03:19 PM
Well; Pharm ties comeing up with this lame brain idea - so we can assume then it is really in truly vaccine related?
Yes, that is what I am going to assume unless they want to do blood test and immune test and weelllll you know science based medicine.
Posted by: Benedetta | January 25, 2012 at 03:10 PM
Well, you have to admit that the BS dx provokes some interesting and knee-slappingly silly conversation. I love how the neurologist states the mystery of how all 12 girls (now up to 15 girls and a boy?) have come to suffer from mass psychosis all lies with what he could uncover from the 12th child, the only child of the original 12 he hasn't yet treated. Considering the diagnosis for the other eleven girls, one must wonder what the odds are of the 12th girl, who is allegedly most severely impacted, gracing his office for a visit? I wish him luck with that!
Conversion disorder, my butt!
Posted by: Not an MD | January 25, 2012 at 01:19 PM
Actually read the intro "about Dent Neurology Clinic" it's hysterical- state of the art, on the forefront .... Comprehensive, compassionate, LMFAO.
Posted by: Jen | January 25, 2012 at 12:54 PM
Interestingly, Sanjay Gupta is listed under "providers" for Dent Neuro clinic. He also appears in "Dollars for Docs." no wonder he looked squeamish interviewing Dr. Wakefield. Bet he's real proud of the runaround these poor girls got from their "state of the art" clinic.
Posted by: Jen | January 25, 2012 at 12:50 PM
All this needs is a picture of Bat Boy and it reads just as if it was lifted straight out of Weekly World News.
I am speechless.
Posted by: Donna L. | January 25, 2012 at 11:27 AM
Stuyvesant HIgh school students in downtown Manhattan saw the events of 9/11 at the World Trade Center happen with their own eyes. I haven't heard about any clusters of tic disorders at Stuyvesant.
What a stupid man.
Posted by: Pass the popcorn | January 25, 2012 at 11:20 AM
Oops, didn't realize the article already had an embedded link to the pro publica payoffs page.
Posted by: Jeff C | January 25, 2012 at 11:12 AM
Turns out the good doctor was paid $116,725 from GSK for speaking fees over the last couple years. Nice work if you can get it. No doubt the wonder of GSK psychotropics in treating such disorders comes up in these speeches.
http://projects.propublica.org/docdollars/top_earners/mechtler-laszlo--3
Link from Vaccination News
Posted by: Jeff C | January 25, 2012 at 11:09 AM
How can Metchler's statement work without a "Neuralyzer".
Seriously, did they even give a pretense of reason by saying they dervied this "subliminal" stress during interviews, or maybe dream interpretions, or even the lines in their hands?{not serious} When in doubt it's 9-111. I understand now.
Posted by: Visitor | January 25, 2012 at 10:17 AM
What terror alerts?
Posted by: Carol | January 25, 2012 at 10:16 AM
I am disgusted. Not surprised to see his Merck ties but thankyou for pointing that out. Those gores need to stay as far away from that man as possible. He has a clear conflict of interest- how would he like it if he came down with something and no effort was put in to finding the cause or solution?
Posted by: Jen | January 25, 2012 at 09:40 AM
now that is a stretch. If PTS from 9/11 were the reason then we'd all be tic'ing. I woud more likley buy into a chemical exposure. Either an accidental or deliberate release of a neuro-toxin (pesticide?) as being the reason for these girls developing tics than saying it due to "stress". Chemically test the turf (inc. astro turf) on field these kids play on.
Posted by: Sarah | January 25, 2012 at 09:23 AM
Isn't it amazing that this conversion disorder only exists in the US? And mainly these 12 girls in LeRoy? I would guess there would be dozens and dozens of people suffering from this in Baghdad, or Afghanistan? You know, where the likely hood of a bombing attack is an everyday occurrence.
Does he not realize how ridiculous he sounds?
Nope.
Posted by: Judith | January 25, 2012 at 09:09 AM
The neurologist blames constant terror alerts for the Leroy 12 girls recent health problems, how ridiculous is that? especially since these girls were just a couple of years old at the time of 9/11 so they would have no memory of this, and thus no fear, since it didn't happen to them.
Posted by: victor pavlovic | January 25, 2012 at 09:00 AM
I have heard that "correlation" does not mean "causation" of children who "regress" following vaccinations so often .. that my head hurts every time I hear it expressed anew.
Indeed .. if it were only a few thousand parents reporting the same "regression" in their child's health and development following vaccinations .. mere "correlation" with vaccinations may be possible.
However, common sense dictates a few HUNDRED THOUSAND parents reporting the same "regression" following vaccinations should be considered as EVIDENCE THAT MORE THAN MERE "CORRELATION" WITH VACCINATIONS MAY BE RESPONSIBLE.
In any event, for this (fill in your own blank) to "CORRELATE" the mysterious illness of eleven girls in the same school with HIS perception they live in "an increasingly stressed out America which has been taught to live in fear" is pure poppycock.
In fact .. this goes right up there with those who "correlate living too close to freeways" an as explanation for the few hundred thousand families who witnessed their child regress following vaccinations.
Posted by: Bob Moffitt | January 25, 2012 at 07:17 AM
Before making public statements he really ought to visit this planet more often.
Posted by: GH | January 25, 2012 at 07:17 AM