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Don’t jump to conclusions about so-called TikTok tics

#1
C C Offline
https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/dont-ju...ktok-tics/

INTRO: Over the past year and a half, a seemingly-new medical phenomenon has emerged involving large numbers of mostly adolescent females presenting with unusual movements and vocal outbursts. There have been papers published in the medical literature discussing this phenomenon, though no actual scientific analysis, and now articles written for the public by journalists. The titles and headlines have grabbed the attention of many armchair neurologists and psychiatrists because this phenomenon involves a combination of entities that tend to engender a strong emotional response: TikTok, Tourette syndrome (TS), and kids these days. And to be frank, the fact that the kids I’m referring to are largely female also very likely plays an unfortunate role in how this phenomenon is being interpreted.

Though it wasn’t the first, and certainly won’t be the last, an article published in The Wall Street Journal last week is a prime example of how the emergence of a seemingly sudden-onset movement disorder in a number of young girls, and a few boys, is being presented to the public by the lay media. There is an assumption, based on the experience of a few experts in relevant fields, that these patients have what is known as a functional neurological disorder (FND) rather than TS. Furthermore, they claim that the ultimate etiology is stress brought on by the coronavirus pandemic.

In our post today, Dr. Conelea and I will explore this phenomenon in the context of the assumption that FND plays a role, but with a bit of deserved skepticism. Our concern is that jumping to conclusions might be based on a limited understanding of how Tourette Syndrome presents in different patient populations, in particular adolescent girls. Even more worrisome to us is the potential for harm caused by the confusing way the media is covering this issue.

This article is a collaborative effort, but Dr. Conelea is the true expert here and the driving force behind this post. Going forward, I will designate when I’m taking the lead and writing from my informed individual perspective in order to avoid any potential confusion when singular first person pronouns make an appearance. Here we go!

Tourette Syndrome is not “just tics”. A common misconception about TS is that it’s “just tics”: involuntary, sudden, rapid, recurrent movements or vocalizations... (MORE)
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#2
Syne Offline
Mental illness is contagious. Much bigger epidemic than COVID.
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#3
Magical Realist Offline
I remember an older man I used to work with always clearing his throat quite audibly. Never thought much about it but maybe it was a symptom of TS.
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