ASPIRE Blog

Preparing for Immunology Appointments & What Immunologists Should Know About PANS Wendy Nawara, MSW, ASPIRE Past President & Founding Board Member, interviews Maeve E. O’Connor, MD FACAAI FAAAAI FACP on the Prepping for Immunology Appointments. Full Video Below. Wendy Nawara: We are at the AAP National Conference and Exhibition. And I’m Wendy Nawara from ASPIRE, and […]

Wendy Nawara, MSW, ASPIRE Past President & Founding Board Member, interviews Maeve E. O’Connor, MD FACAAI FAAAAI FACP on the Changing Views at AAP on IVIG PANS/PANDAS. Full video below.

Polymicrobial nature of tick-borne diseases 430 of 678 (63%) positive for at least one human pathogen 57% Adults/27% Nymphs – Lyme 14% Adults/15% Nymphs -Babesia 14% Adults/2% Nymphs – Anaplasmosis 3% Adults – Tick-borne Relapsing Fever 2% Adults – Powassan The deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) transmits five pathogens to humans: Lyme (Borrelia burgdorferi), Babesia (Babesia […]

Ajmone-Cat MA, Spinello C, Valenti D, Franchi F, Macrì S, Vacca RA, Laviola G. Journal of Clinical Medicine. 2019; 8(10):1514. DOI: 10.3390/jcm8101514 Adverse psychosocial experiences have been shown to modulate individual responses to immune challenges and affect mitochondrial functions. Results show chronic psychosocial stress altered the expression of neuroinflammatory markers in the hippocampal and hypothalamic […]

ANS PANDAS impacts the physical health of a student and causes psychological, neurological, behavioral, and developmental difficulties.  Learn more about PANS PANDAS at School.

If uncontrollable thoughts, fears, and other behavioral changes are taking over your child’s life, Learn About PANS PANDAS.

Barbara B. Demchick, Julia Ehler, Shelly Marramar, Alison Mills & Amanda Nuneviller (2019) Family Quality of Life When Raising a Child with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcal Infection (PANDAS), Journal of Occupational Therapy, Schools, & Early Intervention, 12:2, 182-199, DOI: 10.1080/19411243.2019.1592052 “PANDAS is characterized by rapid onset of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and/or tics […]

Matthew E. Hirschtritt, Christopher J. Hammond, David Luckenbaugh, Jason Buhle, Audrey E. Thurm, B. J. Casey & Susan E. Swedo (2009) Executive and Attention Functioning Among Children in the PANDAS Subgroup, Child Neuropsychology, 15:2, 179-194, DOI: 10.1080/09297040802186899 Evidence from past studies indicates that adults and children with Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Tourette syndrome (TS) experience […]