What is PANS/PANDAS?
P.A.N.D.A.S. (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) and P.A.N.S. (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) are terms used to describe a subset of children and adolescents who experience an encephalitic-like onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms following an infection such as Strep, Pneumonia, Lyme, Mycoplasma, Mononucleosis, and more.
In simple terms, antibodies created to fight the infection become misdirected and attack a small area of the brain known as the basal ganglia. This autoimmune reaction results in an acute onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms that can include: separation anxiety, OCD, severe eating restriction, tics, age regression, sleep difficulties, personality changes, urinary frequency, irritability, rage, sensory sensitivities, and deterioration in learning abilities.
“It has been thirty years since we first discovered this disorder. Today, to see symptoms that are not being recognized and a child not being given appropriate care, that is the most frustrating and the most horrible part about all of this.”
