Stimulant or anti-depressant medication may be prescribed and/or a behavioural intervention or counselling initiated. Typically, a child with undiagnosed PANDAS or PANS may be taken to the Psychologist and/or Paediatrician for treatment of an onset or exacerbation of ADHD symptoms, oppositional behaviours or OCD. To prevent relapses, some doctors may treat patients with a history of rheumatic fever (including Sydenham chorea) with a daily dose of antibiotics as a preventative measure against future infections. However, in a number of cases recent outbreaks of rheumatic fever, signs of a recent sore throat were absent or minimal. However, they may return if the child develops another infection (detected or undetected). Generally, after several weeks, all or most of the symptoms go away. infection is scarlet fever.Ĭhildren may also have changes in their behaviours. Symptoms of Sydenham chorea may occur several weeks to months after the infection and may include poor or diminished muscle control and tone, poor coordination and awkward movements of the face, body, arms and legs. A type of rheumatic fever with mostly neurological symptoms is Sydenham's chorea (also known as St. They are also the bacteria associated with rheumatic fever, a disease characterised by heart and joint inflammation that can occur after an untreated strep throat. The specific bacteria associated with PANDAS is known as Group A Beta-Haemolytic Streptococcus (GABHS). Although its quite conceivable that perhaps in some cases there may be a genetic disorder that affects the function of the same brain areas that are damaged in PANS and PANDAS. There is emerging evidence that Tourette syndrome may be caused by the same mechanism as PANDAS and PANS, and several studies suggest this. Tics can be uncontrollable movements, such as eye-blinking or shoulder-shrugging, or automatic noises such as throat clearing, grunting or saying certain words repeatedly. Attention deficits and oppositional/defiant behaviours.Obsessive/repetitive/compulsive argumentative behaviours,.Cognitive inflexibility, difficult to reason with, as if stuck on an idea,.TICS (repetitive vocalisations of body movements),.Typically children with PANDAS or PANS may display SOME or ALL of the following behaviours. Some children may only have Tics, whereas others may only have OCD, and others may have both, or ADHD and disruptive behaviours or worse still may display psychosis. The range of symptoms is wide and varied. (Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) to include all cases of sudden onset or aggravation of symptoms caused by any infectious trigger, be it viral or bacterial. This causes a range of behavioural and emotional problems as the brain tissue is damaged and malfunctions. Later, the researchers realised that the medical world was ignoring the condition if it was not associated with an identifiable (GABHS) streptococcus infection. In some genetically predisposed children the immune cells are fooled and also attack closely related parts of the brain, in the basal ganglia. The body's immune defences attack the Streptococcus bacteria, who try to survive by hiding in body tissues and imitating the tissues, a process known as "molecular mimicry". More specifically Group A Beta-Haemolytic Streptococcus (GABHS). This stands for Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus. To simplify their research, they chose to focus on those children who were triggered by streptococcus bacteria in ear, nose, throat and chest infections and they named the condition PANDAS. In the early 1990s researchers at the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) in the US observed that a group of children developed a Tics disorder and/or Obsessive Compulsive Disorder following an infection from bacteria such as streptococcus, of a viral infection from influenza or measles amongst others. They named these cases PITANDS, for Paediatric Infection-Triggered Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders. Background on PANDAS and PANS Child with PANDAS having a meltdown She/he may have become obsessed with repeating an activity, and may have become very particular about the way she does certain things. At school, teachers say that your child is not paying attention in class and her handwriting has deteriorated. Your child may have developed PANDAS or PANS. Your child has been acting differently ever since she had that last sore throat. She/he may be more hyperactive, moody and has developed repetitive face or body movements, such as blinking her/his eyes or shrugging shoulders or sucking her shirt or may be making repetitive noises.
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