There isn't a test to diagnose PANDAS. A healthcare provider will perform a physical exam and evaluate your child's symptoms.
The Cunningham Panel is a unique series of high-complexity blood tests that aid clinicians in diagnosing infection-triggered autoimmune neuropsychiatric syndromes such as PANDAS/PANS.
A flare up does not last forever, and symptoms do eventually subside for most patients. In fact, some studies suggest that about 95% of kids will outgrow PANS or PANDAS by adolescence or young adulthood when their immune systems fully mature.
Are there any potential complications? Symptoms of PANDAS can leave your child unable to function at school or in social situations. Untreated, symptoms of PANDAS may continue to worsen and can result in permanent cognitive damage. For some children, PANDAS can become a chronic autoimmune condition.
However, what you may not know is that there's an infection that can mimic some of ASD's symptoms and go undiagnosed for years in patients with autism. I'm talking about PANDAS, or Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.
PANS & PANDAS are overlooked medical conditions that can lead to these changes in thinking and behavior. Unfortunately, these neuroimmune conditions are often not recognized, and it can often take years and multiple doctors visits for children to get a proper diagnosis.
In PANDAS children, a strep infection occurs before or at the time the OCD symptoms ramp up. Assuming the infection is adequately treated, the first symptoms generally improve within 4-6 weeks.
Kids with PANDAS and PANS will have sudden and severe obsessions, compulsions, or both. Obsessions. A child may have new and intense fears. Or new and intense concerns about things being even, clean, dirty, or a set way.
Pediatrics, neurology, hematology/oncology, psychology, psychiatry, integrative medicine, immunology and rheumatology are just a few of the specialties of PANDAS doctors. As members of the PANDAS physician network, these healthcare providers have experience with PANDAS disorder and PANDAS treatment.
One way that probiotics may be helpful for PANDAS is in preventing digestive problems due to antibiotics, a common treatment for PANDAS. Research has found that probiotics show promise for this purpose. Another way is through the gut-brain axis, or how digestive health and brain health can impact each other.
Although it may take time, most children who have PANDAS recover completely with treatment. Symptoms tend to slowly get better over several months once the strep infection clears, but there may be ups and downs. PANDAS is likely to come back if your child gets strep again.
(Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infections). The National Institute of Mental Health brought awareness and recognition of PANS/PANDAS in the 90s, and today scientists estimate as many as 1 in 200 children may have PANS/PANDAS.
ADHD-like symptoms & PANS PANDAS
Decline in Academic Performance is a symptom category included in the PANS PANDAS Diagnostic Criteria. ADHD-like symptoms are included in this category. New onset of ADHD-like behaviors along with other PANS symptoms is one of the possible signs someone may have PANS PANDAS.
Pandas are dependent on their mothers for the first few months of their lives and are fully weaned at 8 to 9 months. Most pandas leave their mothers when she becomes pregnant again, usually at about 18 months. A panda's average life span in the wild is 14-20 years.
Following infection with strep, children with PANDAS syndrome develop severe physical, neurological and psychological disturbances that interfere with their daily functioning. Thankfully, we can treat this disorder. In addition, we can moderate its symptoms through a professional following an accurate diagnosis.
Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with Streptococcus infections (PANDAS) is a neurological and psychiatric condition in which symptoms are brought on or worsened by a Streptococcal (strep) infection. PANDAS is a subtype of pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome (PANS).
PANS/PANDAS patients are commonly misdiagnosed with Autism, Tourette's Syndrome, OCD, bipolar disorder, ADHD, Oppositional Defiance, or an eating disorder. However, PANS/PANDAS patients can have co-occurring conditions of Autism, ADHD, autoimmune illnesses, immunodeficiencies, and more.
The response to antibiotics can occur quickly – full or partial remission of OCD, anxiety, and many of the comorbid symptoms of PANS and PANDAS within 24-48 hours. Typically, however, the response occurs after a week or two of therapy.
PANS PANDAS: MILD CASE
The symptoms may occupy a few hours a day and may cause minor disruptions at home and in school, but these are manageable with reasonable accommodations. Overall symptom severity is in the “troubled but tolerable” range.
Children who develop PANDAS usually have a sudden onset of symptoms. The symptoms usually become more intense within 24–48 hours after the onset of their Group A Strep infection.
PANDAS/PANS causes inflammation in an area of the brain called the basal ganglia, which helps govern emotions and motor control. When the immune system creates antibodies to the strep infection, these antibodies mistakenly attack tissue in the basal ganglia as well.
CBT/ERP: CBT (cognitive behavioral therapy) or ERP (exposure and response prevention) may be beneficial for a recovering PANDAS child. Medical interventions, such as antibiotics, IVIG, etc., are needed to lay a foundation for therapy to be introduced.