Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 108

Just when you thought your brain could unwind on a Friday, you realise that it would rather be challenged with some good old fashioned medical trivia…introducing Funtabulously Frivolous Friday Five 108 – this week has a literal twist!

Question 1

What is Peter Pan syndrome?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

• Not an official diagnosis as per the WHO but a “pop-psychological” concept whereby male adults (typically) are socially immature and are unable to take on adult responsibilities.
• The most famous person with “Peter Pan syndrome” was Michael Jackson.
• This concept of an eternal boy is nothing new, although the syndrome typically refers to males born in the mid 80s to 90s.
• The term Puer aeternus is Latin for eternal boy and has been used in mythology long before J.M. Barrie wrote his classic. Reference

Question 2

A child presents with unusual perceptions, they complain that time some times stands still or that objects seem larger than they ought to be. Sometimes the world seems to tunnel vision and everything appears further away than it should be. What syndrome does this child have?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

• Alice in Wonderland syndrome
• Also known as Todd’s syndrome after the British Psychiatrist who described these symptoms in some of his migraine sufferers.
• Patients can experience micropsia (objects appearing smaller), marcopsia, pelopsia (objects are closer than thay are) and teleopsia (object further away).
• Perhaps the best description of these dysmetropsia symptoms are from Lewis Carroll’s Alice in Wonderland. AIWS has also been associated with Epstein-Barr virus, brain tumours and psychoactive drugs (as well as migraines).
• Most children grow out of the syndrome in their teens and it is thought to be due to electrical activity causing abnormal blood flow in parts of the brain that process visual perception and texture. Reference.

Question 3

What did Shackleton suffer from which castaways, high altitutde mountaineers and solo sailors are all predisposed to get.

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

• Third man syndrome.
• This refers to situations where an unseen presence, a “spirit” provides comfort during traumatic experiences.
• Sir Ernest Shackleton describes an incorporeal being joining him with two others during their final leg. The concept was popularised by a book by John G. Geiger ‘The third man factor‘. Reference

Question 4

Which Dr coined the the term ‘Nerd‘?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

• Dr. Seuss
• Dr. Seuss has an even bigger impact on pop culture than you might think.
• The first recorded instance of the word “nerd” is in Seuss’ ‘If I Ran the Zoo’ published in 1950.

Question 5

What is Obesity hypoventilation syndrome also know as?

+ Reveal the Funtabulous Answer

• Pickwickian syndrome
• In reference to Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers.
• Obesity hypoventilation syndrome is defined as the combination of obesity (BMI >30), hypoxemia during sleep, and hypercapnia during the day, resulting from hypoventilation. Reference

“Sleep!” said the old gentleman, ‘he’s always asleep. Goes on errands fast asleep, and snores as he waits at table.”

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