At Least 12 Schoolgirls In New York Develop Debilitating Mystery Illness, Health Department Refuses To Disclose Cause (Gardasil?)

January 16, 2012

Natural News

By Ethan A. Huff

“You have to wonder why the health department refuses to disclose the cause. Ethan A. Huff speculates the culprit could be Gardasil.” –KTRN

Please note that the suggested connection between the mystery illness and the HPV vaccine Gardasil is unconfirmed, and is merely a speculation based on the other facts presented. It is the author’s opinion that Gardasil may be related, but readers are encouraged to develop their own hypothesis, since authorities refuse to disclose what they say is the actual diagnosis.

Twelve young schoolgirls from Le Roy Junior – Senior High School near Rochester, New York, recently became afflicted with a mysterious condition that caused them to develop tics and other symptoms similar to those associated with Tourette Syndrome. But administrators from the Le Roy Central School District refuse to publicly disclose the condition or its cause, even to the girls parents, claiming that it is a “federal issue.”

Since September, the 12 afflicted students, all girls, developed symptoms so severe that many of them had to be pulled out of school and tutored at home, according to WHAM 13 in Rochester. Officials claim the girls have all been properly diagnosed since that time, but they refuse to disclose any detailed information citing HIPAA privacy laws that actually do not apply in this situation, which implies a coverup.

“I can assure you these children have all been seen by professionals that have come up with answers and they are all being treated and they’re actually doing pretty well,” alleged Dr. Greg Young from the New York State Department of Health, during a recent meeting with upset parents. Dr. Young and his crew say environmental factors, poisonings, illicit drugs, hysteria, fake illness and various other causes have been ruled out — but vaccines, and the Gardasil vaccine in particular, were not mentioned as being ruled out.

Click here for the full report.

Outbreak of Tics in Le Roy, But Say They Can’t Share the Cause

January 12, 2012

The Batavian

Howard Owens

In a community meeting Wednesday night to discuss an unusual outbreak of tics among female students at Le Roy High School, a state health official steadfastly refused to reveal the cause of the outbreak.
Citing not just HIPPA as a reason for keeping the diagnosis of 11 girls private, Dr. Gregory Young said that as a matter of principle he didn’t want to see the girls “labelled” by what their doctor has found.
Young, from the NYS Department of Health, said the cause (or causes) isn’t related to the environment; it isn’t anything a person “catches”; it doesn’t come from exposure to something, or from anything ingested. Nor does the cause stem from prescribed drugs or illicit drugs.
State health officials know what is behind the outbreak, but Young would not disclose it. Yet he tried to reassure parents that it’s safe to send their children to school.
In all, according to Young — though some in the audience disputed the number — at least 11 girls have come down with the “tic manifestations” (Young cautioned against calling it a syndrome).
The doctor’s explanation, and a stone barrier he put up regarding the cause, didn’t go over well with parents or students.
James Dupont Jr. spoke passionately about the need for officials to be more forthcoming about what physicians have found. Dupont complained that although Young said the cause has been diagnosed, nobody’s told him what caused his daughter to develop tics.
After he spoke, he went into hallway and was mobbed by reporters.
“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.

Read More at Batavian

Psychiatric Meds in Children Leading to Rapid Weight Gain

October 27, 2009

U.S News

By Nathan Seppa, Science News

Many young children and adolescents taking drugs for severe psychiatric problems gain substantial weight and, in some cases, show increased levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood, researchers report in the Oct. 28 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Although the data from this study need to be replicated over a longer time frame, the findings nonetheless raise worrisome questions about anti-psychotic drugs that often benefit children who have schizophrenia, autism, tics, severe bipolar disorder or aggressive behavior.

“We are between a rock and a hard place here,” says study coauthor Christoph Correll, a psychiatrist at the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. These mental disorders are severe and can lead to suicide or to educational problems and emotional scars, he says. On the other hand, weight gain during youth predisposes an individual to chronic health problems later in life, he says.

Weight gain has been noticed before in children and adolescents taking commonly prescribed drugs for severe psychiatric problems. But studies seeking to link that weight gain to the medications were often muddied because patients had taken one of the drugs beforehand at some point—and may have already put on weight from it or reset their body metabolism to adjust to the drug somehow.

In the new study, Correll and his colleagues monitored 272 children, ages 4 to 19, between 2001 and 2007. Of these, 257 were getting psychotropics for severe problems for the first time, and 15 others refused the drugs but agreed to be seen by a doctor. The drugs were olanzapine (Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel), risperidone (Risperdal) or aripiprazole (Abilify). Restricting the study to first-timers eliminated problems encountered in earlier studies.

After a median follow-up period of nearly 11 weeks, these patients had gained 10 to 19 pounds on average, depending on the drug. Kids on Zyprexa gained the most, on average, while those taking Abilify gained the least. The 15 patients who had refused drug treatment gained less than one pound on average during the monitoring period.

The pace of weight gain seems to level off over time, Correll says, but further study will be needed to clarify that trend.

“This is a really good study of relatively short-term effects,” says Christopher Varley, a child psychiatrist at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children’s Hospital. But longer-term data are needed, he says, “because you never really treat a kid with one of these conditions for only 12 weeks—it’s more like six to nine months or a year or two.”

Correll’s team intends to monitor as many of the patients as possible over a longer time period.

Child psychiatrist Linmarie Sikich of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine says that she and her colleagues have seen many patients lose weight after coming off these drugs. So far, researchers don’t have enough data to clarify why some patients lose the weight and others don’t, she says.

The biological mechanism underlying the weight gain also remains obscure, Varley says. But some effects are evident, such as carbohydrate cravings. “The appetite of these youngsters dramatically goes up,” he says. At the same time, the drugs have a mild sedative effect. “They’re not out running around, expending calories.”

Sikich says some evidence suggests that the drugs may block the body’s satiety signal.

Meanwhile, patients in this study taking Zyprexa showed increased LDL cholesterol and triglycerides, types of fat in the blood. Patients getting Seroquel also had higher triglycerides. The other drugs showed little change in these metabolic markers.

“This does leave a difficult decision, but I think we’re getting increasing guidance,” Sikich says. Clinicians would prefer to prescribe the drugs with the mildest side effects, she notes.

While all four drugs are cleared for adults, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has specifically approved only Abilify and Risperdal for pediatric use thus far. Earlier this year, a panel of experts recommended that the FDA approve all four drugs for certain severe psychiatric problems in children. The regulatory body has yet to rule on that.

Click here for full report

Antipsychotics Cause Weight Gain in Kids

October 28, 2009

U.S. News

By Nathan Seppa

Many young children and adolescents taking drugs for severe psychiatric problems gain substantial weight and, in some cases, show increased levels of LDL cholesterol and triglycerides in their blood, researchers report in the Oct. 28 Journal of the American Medical Association.

Although the data from this study need to be replicated over a longer time frame, the findings nonetheless raise worrisome questions about anti-psychotic drugs that often benefit children who have schizophrenia, autism, tics, severe bipolar disorder or aggressive behavior.

“We are between a rock and a hard place here,” says study coauthor Christoph Correll, a psychiatrist at the Zucker Hillside Hospital in Glen Oaks, N.Y. These mental disorders are severe and can lead to suicide or to educational problems and emotional scars, he says. On the other hand, weight gain during youth predisposes an individual to chronic health problems later in life, he says.

Weight gain has been noticed before in children and adolescents taking commonly prescribed drugs for severe psychiatric problems. But studies seeking to link that weight gain to the medications were often muddied because patients had taken one of the drugs beforehand at some point — and may have already put on weight from it or reset their body metabolism to adjust to the drug somehow.

In the new study, Correll and his colleagues monitored 272 children, ages 4 to 19, between 2001 and 2007. Of these, 257 were getting psychotropics for severe problems for the first time, and 15 others refused the drugs but agreed to be seen by a doctor. The drugs were olanzapine (Zyprexa), quetiapine (Seroquel), risperidone (Risperdal) or aripiprazole (Abilify). Restricting the study to first-timers eliminated problems encountered in earlier studies.

After a median follow-up period of nearly 11 weeks, these patients had gained 10 to 19 pounds on average, depending on the drug. Kids on Zyprexa gained the most, on average, while those taking Abilify gained the least. The 15 patients who had refused drug treatment gained less than one pound on average during the monitoring period.

The pace of weight gain seems to level off over time, Correll says, but further study will be needed to clarify that trend.

“This is a really good study of relatively short-term effects,” says Christopher Varley, a child psychiatrist at the University of Washington School of Medicine and Seattle Children’s Hospital. But longer-term data are needed, he says, “because you never really treat a kid with one of these conditions for only 12 weeks — it’s more like six to nine months or a year or two.”

Click here for full report