Did The Internet Cause LeRoy Mystery Illness?

The illness that caused 12 girls from LeRoy Junior-Senior High School to suffer symptons similar to Tourette's Syndrome remains a mystery. Privacy concerns have kept details of the case undisclosed, except for referrences to "conversion disorder" or "mass hysteria". Now Deepak Chopra is speculating on a possible cause: the Internet.

Amherst neurologist Dr. Laszlo Mechtler, who is treating some of the victims, says the illness is "a rare phenomonon". He told NBC's Today that the condition has "happened before, all around the world, in different parts of the world", and added that the girls "will get better".

Meanwhile, Dr. Chopra recently told CBS News, "...when people only focus on one thing (such as the Internet), it's a problem". While not specifically discussing the LeRoy mystery, or othr similar cases that have been reported recently in North America, he noted that "any addictive behavior will cause the same types of damage in the brain like a drug will do".

A new study in China appears to back him up. The researchers looked at people between the ages of 14 and 21, diagnosed with internet addiction disorder (IAD). They discovered that the brains of the IAD sufferers had altered in ways that made them appear like brains of alcohol and drug addicts [China was treating for IAD as early as 2004].

No one is yet stating that IAD caused the mysterious LeRoy illness. The truth is, we may never know what caused it.But, given the high degree of Internet usage by teens (and more than a few adults), the matter will probably continue to be investigated.

(huliq.com)