From pandas to pans: a nosographic entity in evolution throughout a descriptive analysis of a cohort of 103 italian children and adolescents

Fabio Falcini ,Federico Bertini,Donato Rigante,Gemma Lepri,Marco Matucci Cerinic

doi:10.1186/1546-0096-12-s1-p300

Abstract

The acronym PANDAS reveals a pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with Streptococcus pyogenes infection. This disorder is defined by: (a) the presence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or tics; (b) abrupt onset and remitting/relapsing course; (c) pre-puberal onset of all symptoms; (d) temporal association with a group A β-hemolytic S. pyogenes infection; (e) association with neurologic disorders (hyperactivity, choreiform movements, etc). In addition to PANDAS, another pediatric neropsychiatric syndrome with an abrupt onset is now recognized. This disorder is called PANS and is characterized by different neuropsychiatric manifestations, which seem to be temporally associated with infectious agents different from S. pyogenes or with other environmental triggers.

Highlights

The acronym PANDAS reveals a pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with Streptococcus pyogenes infection
As specified in “patients and method”, 77 patients were evaluated by MRI, EEG, and echocardiography, which were normal in all subjects
Our data confirm that patients with PANDAS present an acute abrupt clinical onset at mean age of 6±2 years

Summary

Introduction

The acronym PANDAS reveals a pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder associated with Streptococcus pyogenes infection. This disorder is defined by: (a) the presence of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) or tics; (b) abrupt onset and remitting/relapsing course; (c) prepuberal onset of all symptoms; (d) temporal association with a group A b-hemolytic S. pyogenes infection; (e) association with neurologic disorders (hyperactivity, choreiform movements, etc). In addition to PANDAS, another pediatric neropsychiatric syndrome with an abrupt onset is recognized. This disorder is called PANS and is characterized by different neuropsychiatric manifestations, which seem to be temporally associated with infectious agents different from S. pyogenes or with other environmental triggers

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Conclusion