Actor Gaten Matarazzo was born with CCD and portrays the character Dustin Henderson, who educates his friends about the disease in the third season of “Stranger Things.”
For the study, researchers used Google Trends to analyze the global search history of CCD between July 20, 2014, and July 16, 2019. They also assessed call volume and website traffic trends from CCD-related foundations.
Relative search interest for CCD jumped 94.4 percent in the week after Netflix released the latest season of “Stranger Things.” In previous seasons, search interest for CCD increased 11-13 percent. The educational website AboutKidsHealth also reported 10,000 weekly page views after the season aired, compared to an average of five to 80 views per week.
Researchers noted mainstream media can be an effective way to improve awareness about a rare disease, which in turn can increase funding and expand treatment options.
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