PANDAS: When A Strep Infection Leads To Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

What would you do if your child suddenly developed odd symptoms — like anxiety, obsessive compulsive behavior, tics, separation anxiety, and episodes of rage? If you're anything like your typical modern parent, you'd be worried sick, Google the symptoms, and start looking around for reputable local psychologists or psychiatrists rather rapidly. Indeed, in the presence of these symptoms, you wouldn't be at all unlikely to end up with one or more mental health diagnoses. But what if the origins of your child's symptoms could be found somewhere completely different, in something as common as strep? Enter PANDAS. 

What Is PANDAS?

Short for the rather wordy Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections, PANDAS is a rare autoimmune response to a streptococcal infection. First spotted in the late 1990s, PANDAS is both rare and new — making diagnosis tricky. It can be diagnosed clinically (meaning there aren't specific tests that look for the disorder) when neuropsychiatric symptoms show up shortly and suddenly after a strep throat infection. 

The secret to PANDAS' cause lies in the behavior of the strep bacteria. By hiding in the host's body in the form of molecules that are nearly identical to the body's own cells, strep manages to avoid detection for quite a while. Once the immune system notices its presence, it starts making antibodies to attack the invader. However, because the strep bacteria's molecules can be so similar to those found in the body's own cells, those cells may be attacked as well. Some of those cells can be in the brain, and when they are attacked, neuropsychiatric symptoms can make their appearance.

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PANDAS Symptoms

The diagnostic criteria for PANDAS are as follows:

• The person suspected of having PANDAS has to be between three and 12 years old.
• As PANDAS can only be diagnosed in individuals with group A Beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection , a positive test for strep throat or previous scarlet fever is required.
• The symptoms of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, a tic disorder, or both have to be present. There will also be hyperactivity or involuntary motor movements in most cases.
• The symptoms develop suddenly or worsen abruptly.