Psience Quest

Quote:Korbmacher immediately had Hans tested for a strep infection. A throat swab came back negative, but blood tests revealed that he had four times the typical levels of immune molecules that the body produces in response to a strep infection. 

PANDAS is as puzzling for researchers as it is for the families that struggle with it. Scientists studying the condition propose that the string of psychiatric symptoms is triggered by infection with Group A Streptococcus, one of the most common childhood illnesses (SN: 3/2/19, p. 7). In some children, a faulty immune response to the infection may mistakenly attack brain cells, causing behavior to go haywire.

But researchers have yet to nail down which brain cells are harmed. And it’s not clear why countless children get strep, yet so few develop PANDAS symptoms. With so much uncertainty about how strep could affect the brain, some experts doubt whether PANDAS is a separate disorder from OCD and whether it’s truly triggered by strep. Amid the debate, families searching for help get mixed messages.