Blog
September 2, 2020
IVIG for PANS PANDAS Study
Study To Compare The Effect of Panzyga Versus Placebo in Patients With Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome. This will be a double blind placebo study of IVIG for...
August 29, 2020
Parent Regulation Cheat Sheet
Elisha Bidwell, LMFT discusses her Parent Regulation Cheat Sheet and how PANS PANDAS caregivers can utilize it. Click to download a printable copy of the Parent Regulation Cheat Sheet Gabriella:...
August 27, 2020
Overview of Lyme & Tick Borne Illness – Dr. Moorcroft
"Education is critical to know what is out there. If we can identify cases of Lyme disease early, we can treat them right away. Then we decrease the likelihood of an infection leading to chronic...
August 27, 2020
Lyme Disease and Tick-Borne Illness Overview – Dr. Moorcroft
According to the CDC, Lyme disease is the number one vector-borne illness in the United States. The CDC believes their typical numbers are underestimating the number of Lyme disease cases in any...
August 27, 2020
Lyme Disease Treatment – Dr. Moorcroft
I often combine antibiotics with natural products, including different antimicrobial herbs and different tinctures. I look at the evidence we have; we're in an evidence-based medical culture, yet we...
August 27, 2020
PANS & Lyme Disease – Dr. Moorcroft
Do I have patients with Lyme triggered PANS? Do I have patients whose Lyme does not trigger PANS symptoms but does exacerbate the severity of pre-existing conditions or make it more difficult to...
August 27, 2020
Bartonella & Babesia – Dr. Moorcroft
In terms of neuropsychiatric symptoms, there are case reports in the medical literature, showing kids who have a PANS presentation who received immunomodulatory treatment, steroids, psychiatric...
Hypoferritinemia and iron deficiency in youth with pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome
Chan, A., Karpel, H., Spartz, E. et al. Hypoferritinemia and iron deficiency in youth with pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome. Pediatr Res 89, 1477–1484 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41390-020-1103-3
Conclusion: Hypoferritinemia and iron deficiency appear to be more common in PANS patients. More research is needed to confirm and understand this association.
- 79 subjects (mean age of PANS onset of 8.7 years)
- Hypoferritinemia was observed in 27% and three quarters occurred during a PANS flare
- PANS patients with hypoferritinemia had worse global impairment, more comorbid inflammatory diseases, and exhibited a chronic course of PANS illness than those without
- The estimated prevalence of iron deficiency was 3–8% in the PANS cohort, 1.4–2.0-fold higher than in the age- and sex-matched U.S. population.
- Hypoferritinemia was commonly observed during a disease flare but not associated with dietary or demographic factors.
- In patients with PANS and iron deficiency, clinicians should consider possibility of inflammation as the cause especially if iron deficiency cannot be explained by diet and blood loss.
July 16, 2020
ASPIRE Celebrates its first year anniversary!
What a year! Thank you for being a part of ASPIRE’s first year. We believe in the power of WE; it takes an entire community to fight for better outcomes for those affected by PANS/PANDAS....
July 6, 2020
Education Series from New England Center for Health
ASPIRE is happy to announce that New England Center for Health, lead by Dr. Nancy O’Hara (ASPIRE Professional Advisory Board Member), Dr. Lindsey Wells, and Vicki Kobliner will host zoom calls...
Two-Tier Lyme Disease Serology Test Results Can Vary According to the Specific First-Tier Test Used
Alexandra B Maulden, Aris C Garro, Fran Balamuth, Michael N Levas, Jonathan E Bennett, Desiree N Neville, John A Branda, Lise E Nigrovic, for Pedi Lyme Net, Two-Tier Lyme Disease Serology Test Results Can Vary According to the Specific First-Tier Test Used, Journal of the Pediatric Infectious Diseases Society, Volume 9, Issue 2, June 2020, Pages 128–133, https://doi.org/10.1093/jpids/piy133
Significant variations in two-tier Lyme disease test results were observed in many children, depending on the specific first-tier test utilized. When dealing with children with a strong clinical suspicion of Lyme disease and an initially negative test result, clinicians should contemplate retesting for Lyme disease.