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Old 09-26-2011, 12:25 AM
Bob Dawson Bob Dawson is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,135
15 yr Member
Bob Dawson Bob Dawson is offline
Senior Member
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Posts: 1,135
15 yr Member
Default I do not understand the science

headline says "Parkinson's fakes on YouTube" - people pretending to have PD...
http://www.nejm.org/doi/pdf/10.1056/NEJMc1107673

Then it says:

we searched YouTube in January 2011 and selected videos
from the top 3% of the most often viewed videos in each category that were uploaded by patients
and were of sufficient quality. Movement
disorders by their nature can be seen and
evaluated without special examination techniques.

We asked the raters to base their judgments on
published diagnostic criteria for psychogenic
movement disorders that are related to aspects
of the movement disorder apparent on simple
observation.


And then near the end, they have a table of stats that appears to say there are 30,000 spastic videos on YouTube, (!!!!) of which 10,200 show Parkinson's, (!!!) of which they looked at two, but then one disappeared on YouTube and so they evaluated ONE YouTube about Parkinson;s and just by watching it on screen, declared it to be a fake.

I repeat, we have here a headline that has gone to PWP around the world, from scientists, and it is based on viewing one video on a computer screen, without ever meeting the patient or the patient's doctor or family. (if I understood the article correctly)

Maybe I do not understand the science here, but my impression is that it is not PWP faking evidence: the headline is fake, the method of diagnosis of Parkinson's is fake and the science involved is fake. You watch ONE video of a PWP on your laptop, claim that you can diagnose PD at a glance and then send it out to the world?

Rhetorical question: am I crazy, or is the world of PD research crazy?

You must beware what is on the internet; but it seems you must also beware of the Ph'd who can make a sweeping statement based on one video, claiming that PD is a disease they can identify at a glance, and they are scientists so we should accept what they say.
Did I misunderstand the science? This makes no sense to me as science. A sample size of one video and anybody can identify PWP a mile away.
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