News

Doctors around the country are trying to raise awareness of a condition that may be more common than previously thought.

Most people associate strep throat as a common childhood infection, but doctors warn that a bout of strep can lead to side effects that mimic obsessive compulsive disorder or other psychiatric disturbances..

A growing group of researchers around the world are investigating how the microbiome, as this bacterial ecosystem is known, regulates how people think and feel. Scientists have found evidence that this assemblage—about a thousand different species of bacteria, trillions of cells that together weigh between one and three pounds—could play a crucial role in autism, anxiety, depression, and other disorders.

My son, Ezra, was kidnapped. It was on October 28, 2008. He was 3 ½.

It didn’t happen because he was unattended in a shopping cart or running around the playground. It was while he slept, tucked safely in his bed. We awoke to his screams and found him soaked in urine. The next morning, a child who physically looked like Ezra woke up. He had Ezra’s blond hair, big green eyes, and long eyelashes. But he didn’t have his personality, compassion, or wit. He was no longer sweet-natured, inquisitive, loving, and incredibly verbal. Instead he screamed for hours, stuttered, made repetitive noises, and became very selective in the foods that he would eat. He was angry, defiant, and raged for hours. We used to snuggle, now he wouldn’t let me hold him — his body stiffened each time I reached out for a hug.

Josie Andrews is one of many kids diagnosed with PANDAS, a devastating disease that happens to your well-adjusted child overnight. It starts with something we’ve all had – strep throat. That strep throat then creates OCD, anxiety, eating disorders, aggressive rages for hours at a time, irrational fears, mood swings, writing issues and a decline in motor skills.

The PANDAS/PAN Journal mobile app will enable parents to track children’s behaviors and treatment.