What is PANDAS? How Is It Different from Autism? Interview with S. Swedo
“PANDAS turned out to be the cause of new obsessive-compulsive symptoms in our son, who also has autism. But the lack of information and awareness left his symptoms untreated for nearly 3 years. Would love you to help more people understand.” Today’s “Got Questions?” answer is by developmental pediatrician Sue Swedo (left) and child psychiatrist Rebecca Hommer. Dr. Swedo is the chief of the Pediatrics and Developmental Neuroscience Branch of the National Institute of Mental Health, and Dr. Hommer is a NIMH staff clinician.
In 1998, Dr. Swedo and her colleagues coined the term PANDAS to describe 50 cases of a rare syndrome that involved obsessive compulsive behaviors following strep infection.