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Parents say it is like their child changed overnight, but now a local doctor is on a personal mission to be on the cutting edge of treatment and diagnosis.

One afternoon in the winter of 2017, Corie Entrop’s 10-year-old son came home from school and began pulling out his hair. When the Alberta mother pleaded with him to tell her why he was doing it, he was unable to provide an explanation.

“I don’t know,” he responded. “I need to pull out my hair.”

Parents of PANDAS parents face skepticism even as their children recover.

Alexia Baier was an eager-to-learn, 4-year-old girl beginning pre-K in a suburb outside of Chicago. She thrived academically — counting, painting and playing with other children.

But five months after starting pre-K, she was infected with a bacteria that several millions of people get every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The bacteria, group A strep, caused Alexia to get strep throat, a condition children usually recover from easily with treatment.

LISBON, Ohio (WYTV) – Dr. Elizabeth Spaar explains PANDAS — how it happens and what it causes.

LISBON, Ohio (WYTV) – Sudden outbursts, tantrums, tics and bouts of OCD in children — and it seems to almost happen overnight.

The disorder is most commonly known as PANDAS — Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections.

OKLAHOMA – Medical experts say strep can trigger brain inflammation called PANDAS.

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — It’s that time of year again. Not the holidays, but strep throat season.

It’s a common and painful infection for young kids that’s usually cured by antibiotics. But for a few children, strep can trigger bizarre behavioral disorders such as severe tantrums, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and even tics.

Saul and Bonnie Markowitz remember the day their world changed forever. It was Feb. 2, 2007. Their son, Brandon, was 5 when he suddenly changed. He suffered tantrums that couldn’t be controlled and debilitating OCD. Brandon wasn’t Brandon.

This year, the Arkansas General Assembly passed a resolution, proclaiming the 9th of October as National PANDAS/PANS Awareness Day.

It’s not the type of pandas you might be thinking of; it’s much more serious. PANDAS stands for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder and PANS stands for Pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Disorder. Both are often misdiagnosed, yet treatable.