PANS (Pediatric Acute onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) is an inflammatory disease of the brain triggered by infections. The illness is often brought on by strep (when caused by strep, the name PANDAS or Post-infectious Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disease Associated with Strep is often used) or other infections like Lyme, Epstein Barr, Babesia, and mycoplasma pneumonia.

Children with PANS/PANDAS might suddenly exhibit psychiatric symptoms, like OCD, anxiety, ADHD, extreme mood swings, or even severe depression and suicidality, often acting out in ways that seem drastically out of character. They are often misdiagnosed as psychiatric patients and their symptoms do not respond to regular medications and therapies. Many kids experience significant improvement when the immune system is properly managed and some even recover completely.

A clinical diagnosis 

OCD and/or restrictive food intake as well as two or more of the following symptoms must be present:

• anxiety
• emotional lability
• depression
• irritability
• aggression
• severely oppositional behaviors
• behavioral or developmental regression
• deterioration in school performance, handwriting, or math skills
• sensory abnormalities
• sleep disturbances
• bedwetting (enuresis)
• urinary frequency

Treatments may include:

• antibiotics
• corticosteroids
• anti-Inflammatories
• IVIG
• plasmapheresis
• psychiatric therapy
• SSRIs or other psychiatric medications may be used until infections and immune responses are under control