Anderson focuses on alarming illness

LEROY, N.Y. (WIVB) - Friday’s edition of Anderson, on Channel 4, focused on the alarming illness in LeRoy. Some medical professionals are calling it conversion disorder, that’s a condition sometimes caused by stress.

On Friday's show, several victims shared their story and their frustration on breaking out with these uncontrollable tics.

The New York State Health Department has ruled out environmental factors, no vaccines and no infectious diseases as possible causes. One teenage girl from the Albany area came to LeRoy for a softball tournament and then started showing symptoms.

The teen said, “I woke up from a nap and all of a sudden my body started convulsing really bad, I got this strange feeling in my spine that I never felt before and I couldn’t stop myself. I have this feeling that’s constantly there. It’s like an electrical tingle feeling that never goes away and it makes these tics to come out and I can’t stop it or control it.”

The families expressed their frustration over not knowing what is causing these tics. Medical experts from Harvard appeared on the show and said this comes from the brain and it’s not an epileptic seizure. But the parents are desperate for answers and want to know what’s causing it.