Restricted Eating and Misdiagnosis: Sophie’s Journey with PANS
When severe food restriction and complex symptoms are mistaken for FND, proper evaluation is crucial. When Sophie got the flu at age 12, she didn’t expect it would mark the...
Posts found in:
Eating Restrictions
When Everything Changes Overnight: A Parent’s Journey Through PANS/PANDAS
Read more about one family’s story and what PANS/PANDAS really looks like, written by ANAD Community Member and ASPIRE’s Midwest Lead and Restricted Eating Lead, Breanne Failor One day, your...
When Overnight Everything Changed: A Parent’s Perspective on PANS/PANDAS
Sometimes what looks like an eating disorder is really a symptom of PANS/PANDAS. Too many families miss the real cause and go without the help their kids need. That’s why we’re so glad @F.E.A.S.T...
February 14, 2025
Resources for Eating Restrictions in PANS/PANDAS
Restricted eating, including Avoidant/Restrictive Food Intake Disorder (ARFID), is a common yet complex challenge for individuals with PANS/PANDAS. Families and patients often struggle to find...
Anorexia nervosa and autoimmune comorbidities: A bidirectional route?
Sirufo MM, Magnanimi LM, Ginaldi L, De Martinis M. Anorexia nervosa and autoimmune comorbidities: A bidirectional route? CNS Neurosci Ther. 2022 Dec;28(12):1921-1929. doi: 10.1111/cns.13953. Epub 2022 Sep 16. PMID: 36114699; PMCID: PMC9627382.
In this review, in addition to reporting the numerous cases described in which autoimmune disorders are associated with anorexia or vice versa, we summarize the many aspects of this relationship between the immune system (IS) and AN. We describe how the microbiota affects the IS, disrupts gut-brain communication, and possibly triggers eating disorders. We also describe the shared immunological pathways of autoimmune and eating disorders and in particular the occurrence of disrupted T cell tolerance and autoantibodies in AN. The described observations represent the starting point for possible, future research directions.
October 18, 2021
Answers to Anorexia: Master the Balance of Hope & Healing
by James Greenblatt, Ali Nakip MD, Jennifer C Dimino As mainstream medicine continues to ignore the proven relationship between nutrition and mental health, this book delivers lifesaving information....
May 30, 2021
ARFID Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: A Guide for Parents and Carers
by Rachel Bryant-Waugh ARFID Avoidant Restrictive Food Intake Disorder: A Guide for Parents and Carers is an accessible summary of a relatively recent diagnostic term. People with ARFID may show...
PANS Patient Story – When an Eating Disorder is Due to PANS PANDAS
Note from ASPIRE: This is a must-read PANS PANDAS Patient Story. A typical happy young girl develops a severe eating disorder and other PANS PANDAS symptoms; then, she suffers through...
Bidirectional relationship between eating disorders and autoimmune diseases
Hedman A, Breithaupt L, Hübel C, Thornton LM, Tillander A, Norring C, Birgegård A, Larsson H, Ludvigsson JF, Sävendahl L, Almqvist C, Bulik CM. Bidirectional relationship between eating disorders and autoimmune diseases. J Child Psychol Psychiatry. 2019 Jul;60(7):803-812. doi: 10.1111/jcpp.12958. Epub 2018 Sep 3. PMID: 30178543.
Conclusions: The interactions between EDs and autoimmune diseases support the previously reported associations. The bidirectional risk pattern observed in women suggests either a shared mechanism or a third mediating variable contributing to the association of these illnesses.
Association of Exposure to Infections in Childhood With Risk of Eating Disorders in Adolescent Girls
Breithaupt L, Köhler-Forsberg O, Larsen JT, Benros ME, Thornton LM, Bulik CM, Petersen L. Association of Exposure to Infections in Childhood With Risk of Eating Disorders in Adolescent Girls. JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 Aug 1;76(8):800-809. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2019.0297. Erratum in: JAMA Psychiatry. 2019 May 8;: PMID: 31017632; PMCID: PMC6487907.
In a Danish population-based cohort study of 525 643 adolescent girls, a prior infection in childhood was associated with an increased risk of later anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorder not otherwise specified.
The findings suggest that hospital-treated infections and less severe infections treated with anti-infective agents are associated with increased risk of subsequent anorexia nervosa, bulimia nervosa, and eating disorders not otherwise specified and that future studies should investigate whether these associations are causal and identify the exact mechanisms between infections and subsequent inflammatory processes with eating disorders.
PANDAS and anorexia nervosa-a spotters’ guide: Suggestions for medical assessment
Vincenzi B, O’Toole J, Lask B. PANDAS and anorexia nervosa–a spotters’ guide: suggestions for medical assessment. Eur Eat Disord Rev. 2010 Mar;18(2):116-23. doi: 10.1002/erv.977. PMID: 20148396.
Conclusion: Given the current state of knowledge, diagnosingPANDAS is extraordinarily difficult. However, extrapolating from knowledge aboutSydenham’s choreaandPANDAS–OCD and PANDAS–tics/TS, a heightened index of suspicion for the existence of an auto-immune reaction in the brain response to environmental infectious agents culminating in ‘anorexia nervosa’ should be maintained.