L Leonardi, G Lorenzetti, R Carsetti, E P Moratari, CA Guido, AM Zicari, E Forster-Waldl, L Loffredo, M Duse, A Spalice. Immunological Characterization of an Italian PANDAS Cohort. Front. Pediatr. Sec. Pediatric Infectious Diseases. Volume 11 – 2023 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2023.1216282
- 26 PANDAS patients with relapsing-remitting course of disease and 11 controls with recurrent pharyngotonsillitis. Each underwent detailed phenotypic and immunological assessment including cytokine profile.
- Possible correlation of immunological parameters with clinical-anamnestic data was analyzed.
- No inborn errors of immunity were detected in either group, using first level immunological assessments.
- A trend toward higher TNF-alpha and IL-17 levels, and lower C3 levels detected in the PANDAS patients compared to the control group.
- Maternal autoimmune diseases were described in 53.3% of PANDAS patients and neuropsychiatric symptoms other than OCD and tics were detected in 76.9% patients.
- ASO titer did not differ significantly between the two groups.
- A possible correlation between enduring inflammation (elevated serum TNF-α and IL-17) and the persistence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in PANDAS patients beyond infectious episodes needs to be addressed.