kim

Two parents that have PANDAS children from this and the TS forum, have been helped very successfully by this Dr. http://www.nancymullanmd.com/index.html Nancy Mullan MD 2829 W. Burbank Blvd, Suite 202 Burbank, CA 91505 Telephone: (818) 954-9267 Fax: (818) 954-0620

Still looking for answeres on this subject. I found a link on gram positive pathogens at http://books.google.com/books?id=DUX1G0ddW...lt&resnum=3 There is a chapter there by Cunningham (7 cross reactive antigens of group A streptoccoci page 75 first paragraph right hand side) that mentions strep cross reactive Mabs may be important in the manifestation of Erythema marginatum. Erythema marginatum http://everything2.com/title/Erythema%2520marginatum A characteristic rash, part (but not exclusive) of the many symptoms of rheumatic fever Erythema marginatum (also known as rheumatic erythema) is a painless round to oval raised erythema mostly found in children with a pale centre and a sharp border, blanching on pressure. It is most prominent on the trunk and the inner aspects of thighs and arms (but never on the face), where dozens of them can appear up to a size of 2-3 centimetre in diameter in minutes. The rash is associated with an earlier streptococcal infection and, apart from rheumatic fever, can be found in patients with glomerolunephritis (an inflammatory disease of the kidneys), sepsis and allergic drug reactions. Treatment is symptomatic and by identifying and treating the underlying cause . Has anyone seen anything that looks like this? I know someone has talked about ringworm, but I don't remember if it was here or the TS forum or the Psoriasis forum, but (to me) ring worm and this condition look much the same. Seems they could be easy to confuse GOOGLE IMAGE Erythema Marginatum http://images.google.com/images?hl=en&...mp;aq=f&oq= GOOGLE IMAGE RING WORM http://images.google.com/images?hl=EN&...mp;aq=f&oq=

Thought these might be of interest http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/154148.php Could Hormones Explain Gender Differences In Neurological Disease? http://www.jad-journal.com/article/PIIS016...bstract?rss=yes Anti-brain antibodies in adult patients with obsessive–compulsive disorder

when asoxon posted this on "potty issues" thread, I thought "Pichichero" was a name i recognized form another article regarding strep pneumo vaccine being at least partially responsible for a highly antibiotic resistant bacteria causing ear infections. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.p...toryId=15353598 and Dr. Pichichero is highly involved in vaccine research http://www.urmc.rochester.edu/smd/mbi/faculty/pichichero.htm I found it somewhat comforting (does cause me to be a little suspicious though) to think that this man was involved in PANDAs research. It did lead me to wonder (i'm not as well acquainted with all of the PANDAs research as i would like to be) what "other" antigens had N acetylglucosamine as a surface component, which has been found to be cross reactive in PANDAS. I feel strongly that my 2nd son had a reaction to his birth Hep B vaccine. I watched this child flayl his head all around with his mouth open. He acted so strange that the thought "this baby needs to be seen by a neurologist" ran through my mind. No one in my family had ever been to a neurologist. None of my friends had either that I was aware of, so where I even came up with that thought is kind of weird. Anyway, looking at this bolding mine http://vir.sgmjournals.org/cgi/reprint/36/1/207.pdf Carbohydrate Composition. of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen I guess I'm wondering if anyone has any has any research documenting PANDAS symptoms in relationship to other antigens? Also, could the strep pneumoniae vaccines be reactive in PANDAS kids?

Comments on this study by Teresa Binstock that i found in my email last nite * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Teresa Binstock Researcher in Developmental & Behavioral Neuroanatomy June 7, 2009 This post may be forwarded hither and yon. I was quite excited to read a study reporting the intestinal inflammation induced CNS inflammation and increased CNS excitability - and these effects via TNFa, which is muchly documented as atypical in many autistic children. Furthermore, there are ramifications regarding why GF and/or CF helps many but not all autistic children. The mini-essay and its citations can be enjoyed at: */Gluten-free and casein-free diets for subgroups of autistic children/* http://www.generationrescue.org/binstock/0...c-children.html Teresa Binstock Researcher in Developmental & Behavioral Neuroanatomy June 7, 2009 Introduction: A recently published study links intestinal inflammation to an increased tendency for excessive excitation within the CNS (17). This very important study is free online. Note that the cytokine Tumor Necrosis Factor alpha (TNFa) is etiologically significant in this gut-brain connection and that TNFa has been found to be atypical in many autistic children. Additional relevance of the relationship between peripheral inflammation and CNS excitability (17) derives from the facts (a) that casein induces TNFa in children with hypersensitivity to milk, and ( the gluten-free and casein-free diets have been found to lower TNFa. More, including citations, at: http://www.generationrescue.org/binstock/0...c-children.html

Pat, I could relate to your confusion there. I think how you view these findings lies in whether you believe there is a problem with the immune system not responding to an infection or whether the problem is in the "shutting down," of that response. In my own case, I think my problem was in the shut down (and the fact that I let an infection get out of control because I was too stupid to get on an antibiotic quicker). This study says that TNF-alpha, interferon-gamma, IL-10 and IL-8 production by PBMC stimulated with faecal samples was reduced. TNFa was something that I'm sure needed to be reduced in my case! My understanding is that IL10 is sort of a regulator and I would have killed for a hit of that! I'm thinking IL I0 may have been reduced simply because TNFa was? Anyway, this study gives me a little push to reduce grains myself. Another question that I had, was the immune functioning changed directly in relationship to the flora change? Bifido is a strain that seems to be highly recommended. After reading this, I'm confused too, whether the best course of action would be to avoid grains, or avoid grains and supplement with probiotics. Caryn, I thought about the "healthy" individuals too. It was great to see some actual validation regarding bacteria strains (and grain avoidance without apparent celiac "gene" involvement) and immune functioning tho. I'm more than willing to let go of the idea that a certain strain of bacteria might not be something that should be promoted in "all" if that's how this turns out. If you run into other info on this subject, would love to hear it! edit I forgot about that comment. Do you have that article handy?

People with a severe form of psoriasis who use human biologicals like Enbrel, Humara etc. (one of these is sometimes used to treat crohn's, i believe) are at an increased risk of lymphoma. From reading psoriasis forums, it sounds like the flu and pneumonia vaccinces are almost mandatory before the use of those products because of the drugs effect of suppressing the immune system. That's what originally caught my eye about this. So pregnant women are being encouraged to get a flu vaccine now, with some studies showing that it's affecting the fetus's immune system too. So will we have a mystery "huge increase" in non hodgkin's lymphoma in little kids some day, and will they say that it's just better reporting/earlier diagnosis on that too?! Wonder where the urgent follow up to this study is? I wondered what "Cancer Causes Control" refered too in the first sentence so i looked it up http://www.foodconsumer.org/newsite/Non-fo...une_system.html June 1, 2009 - Vaccination alters the immune system - FoodConsumer.org - "A new study published online on Nov 15, 2008 and scheduled to appear in the July 2009 issue of Cancer Causes Control suggests that some vaccines may increase risk of cancers such as non-Hodgkin lymphoma, while others may reduce the risk. The study led by H. A. Lankes and colleagues at Feinberg School of Medicine of Northwestern University showed influenza vaccination was linked to a 53 percent increase in the risk of NHL. Factors that alter the immune system have been known to affect the risk of non-Hodgkin lymphoma. But previous studies are inconsistent. Lankes and colleagues analyzed data on 387 patients with NHL and 535 controls who were enrolled in a study conducted in Nebraska between 1999 and 2002. Considered information included vaccination for tetanus, polio, influenza, smallpox, and tuberculosis, as well as important environmental factors - data collected by telephone interview. They found that study participants who had an influenza vaccine at any time were at a 98 percent increased risk of follicular lymphoma and at an 88 percent increased risk of diffuse large B cell lymphoma." http://www.springer.com/biomed/cancer/journal/10552 Description Cancer Causes & Control is an international refereed journal that both reports and stimulates new avenues of investigation into the causes, control, and subsequent prevention of cancer. Its multidisciplinary and multinational approach draws together information published in a diverse range of journals.

Seems this could have something to do with an individuals response to a gluten free diet and probiotics. I'm wondering if those who mount an abnormally high antibody response would see a negative response more often? I know the "strep strains" in probiotics have been the suspected culprit when a child doesn't seem to do well on probiotics but this might be another thing to consider. bolding mine *1: Br J Nutr. 2009 May 18:1-7. [Epub ahead of print] Click here to read <http://www.ncbi. nlm.nih.gov/ entrez/utils/ fref.fcgi? PrId=3288& itool=Abstract- def&uid=19445821 &db=pubmed& url=http: //journals. cambridge. org/abstract_ S000711450937176 7> *Effects of a gluten-free diet on gut microbiota and immune function in healthy adult human subjects.* De Palma G, Nadal I, Collado MC, Sanz Y. Microbial Ecophysiology and Nutrition Group, Institute of Agrochemistry and Food Technology (IATA), Spanish National Research Council (CSIC), PO Box 73, 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain. Diet influences the composition of the gut microbiota and host's health, particularly in patients suffering from food-related diseases. Coeliac disease (CD) is a permanent intolerance to cereal gluten proteins and the only therapy for the patients is to adhere to a life-long gluten-free diet (GFD). In the present preliminary study, the effects of a GFD on the composition and immune function of the gut microbiota were analysed in ten healthy subjects (mean age 30.3 years) over 1 month. Faecal microbiota was analysed by fluorescence in situ hybridisation (FISH) and quantitative PCR (qPCR). The ability of faecal bacteria to stimulate cytokine production by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) was determined by ELISA. No significant differences in dietary intake were found before and after the GFD except for reductions (P = 0.001) in polysaccharides. Bifidobacterium, Clostridium lituseburense and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii proportions decreased (P = 0.007, P = 0.031 and P = 0.009, respectively) as a result of the GFD analysed by FISH. Bifidobacterium, Lactobacillus and Bifidobacterium longum counts decreased (P = 0.020, P = 0.001 and P = 0.017, respectively) , while Enterobacteriaceae and Escherichia coli counts increased (P = 0.005 and P = 0.003) after the GFD assessed by qPCR. TNF-alpha, interferon-gamma, IL-10 and IL-8 production by PBMC stimulated with faecal samples was also reduced (P = 0.021, P = 0.037, P = 0.002 and P = 0.007, respectively) after the diet. Therefore, the GFD led to reductions in beneficial gut bacteria populations and the ability of faecal samples to stimulate the host's immunity. Thus, the GFD may constitute an environmental variable to be considered in treated CD patients for its possible effects on gut health.

C diff info. along with articles posted to the right http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/...80527155508.htm Antibiotics Accompanying Surgery Prevent Some Infections But Increasingly Cause Another

Toll like receptors and vit D again. Can anyone say that their PANDAS kids improve dramatically after enough sun exposure to start these levels rising after winter months? This article confuses me though. The sentence that I bolded, makes me wonder what stimulates TLR9 to render it ineffective? http://www.huliq.com/11/76027/new-effect-i...stem-vitamin-d3 New effect on immune system of Vitamin D3

came back to edit out a double post and realized that this was a "poll" thread. Sorry Buster. I was going to remove above post, but then thought by kicking it to the top maybe it would catch someone else's attention.

looked interesting http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/reprint/179/8/5571 Intravenous Immunoglobulin Therapy Affects T Regulatory Cells by Increasing Their Suppressive Function excerpt In this regard, glucocorticoids were reported to affect the activity of Treg cells on the basis of FoxP3 and cytokine expression (27). FoxP3 mRNA expression was significantly increased in asthmatic patients receiving inhaled glucocorticoid treatment, systemic glucocorticoid treatment, or both. The frequency of CD25 memory CD4 T cells and transient FoxP3 mRNA expression by CD4 T cells significantly increased after systemic glucocorticoid treatment. In addition, glucocorticoids induced IL-10 and FoxP3 expression in short-term and long-term cultures in vitro. This study showed that treatment with glucocorticoids may promote or initiate differentiation toward Treg cells by FoxP3-dependent mechanism. Thus, targeting these cells that aim to increase the expression of these molecules and their suppressive activity could become one of the tools by which self-tolerance is restored. Here, and in agreement with all the above, we show for the first time that IVIg was proven by a unique mechanism to enhance the suppressive activity of CD4CD25 Treg cells. In this study we demonstrate that the addition of IVIg to CD4 cells increased intracellular expression of IL-10, TGF- and FoxP3 when we gated on CD4CD25high T cells, suggesting that IVIg have the properties of directly affecting Treg cells. We then established that the addition of IVIg to the culture of cells increased the suppressive function of Treg cells by further attenuating TNF secretion by CD4 effector cells when IVIg was added to CD25 cells. The mechanisms by which IVIg could possibly affect the function of Treg cells is still not clear enough. Increased expression of intracellular IL-10 in Treg cells could inhibit the production of proinflammatory cytokines by Th1 such as TNF-. In this regard, IVIg treatment resulted in the down-regulation of the Th1-type cytokine TNF-, and the up-regulation of the Th2-type cytokine IL-10 (28). As supported by several experimental studies, IVIg regulate crucial steps of T cell-mediated immune responses. These effects involve the modulation of activation, proliferation, differentiation, apoptosis, and effector mechanisms of T cells. The pattern of IVIg-T cell interactions is complex, as IVIg may directly

Bonnie, I don't know anything about sovereign silver, but I do know that some things like calcium, magnesium and zinc can latch on to meds and make them ineffective. I would be cautious about using a product like that in conjunction with the antibiotic. Might be fine, but it raised a red flag here. I'd research the heck outta that before I took the two together.

Abbe, Have you tried individual P5P, instead of B6 or B complex? As far as NAC goes, wondering if you or your Dr. utilized the phone consult that is offered with the test (asssuming they still do that). I would try to get their opinion. I'm refering to Great Plains labs. I guess it depends on who you ordered it thru, whether or not they might comment on that.

Carolyn, He is beauuuuutiful! Congratulations. From quickly reading thru your blog, it looks like you are doing/have done so many things that i wished i would have done. Aiden is a lucky boy!

I know we have had parents who were strongly encouraged to have their child with asthma vaccinated against flu. Something new to consider http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/...90519172045.htm and Good poster remarks/links in this article http://www.ageofautism.com/2009/05/flu-vac...ay-experts.html Flu Vaccine Triples Child Hospitalizations, but Won’t Turn Them into Horned, Hairy Apes, say Experts!

I'm wondering if anyone has an opinion on this. Oral surgeon is recommending we start Clindamycin 4 days prior to my 16 yr. old having 4 wisdom teeth extracted. I've posted about my autoimmune "rash" (more than likely guttate Psoriasis). Recently 11 yr. old popped up with a spot of what Dr. called excema on his leg. There are a few drugs that are warned about for skin reactions (certain blood pressure and anti malaria etc. are problem drugs for guttate suffers sometimes). I know many anti biotics can cause rash, but this one specifically says http://www.drugs.com/clindamycin.html Before using clindamycin, tell your doctor if you have kidney disease, liver disease, an intestinal disorder such as colitis or Crohns disease, or a history of asthma, eczema, or allergic skin reaction. Everything that I hold my breath on (other than asthma). Does anyone have an opinion as to whether or not Zith would be a good choice? I know oral bacteria may be different than what you might get for prevention of bacterial infection elsewhere. Any thoughts would be appreciated!

Holly, Just wanted to say that I don't think it's unusual at all for your son to not be bothered by his tics. Many kids hardy seem to notice. I would focus on the tummy/gas issue and maybe try to figure out if there is a sinus infection or allergies (seems tics can develope in area's that are bothering kids) with the runny nose. Has your son's handwritting deteriorated around the time you started noticing the tics or has it always been messy ?

Bonnie, think you caught before I edited out the part about youngest recent wart thing. I decided i was going off in too many directions again and decided to leave that out but i screwed it up and it went with original bet you wondered where that came from at the bottom of the first post!

Bonnie, For me, yes, there are circumstances that I would opt for a vaccine for myself or my children. It wouldn't be a matter of breaking "down though." (i'm not picking on you honestly i know exactly where that type of remark comes from, been there..done that!) An example, i'm still concerned about chicken pox for my boys who are older now and the complications for chicken pox increase as you age. Oldest son has had a couple of staph infections (staph is a danger with pox). I have been putting off titer testing, because I really didn't know what I would do if they came back without a level that is considered to confer immunity ( i don't believe these levels are necessarily the "end all" in "proving" protective immunity, but that's another subject). I have the order for titer testing here. Dr. (young guy, WAY different attitude than older Ped's). He didn't hassle me about "catching up" on immunizations for the boys, and told me if they didn't show immunity, that I might consider jumping right to the shingles vax. As others have pointed out here, the 2nd varicella vaccine is not going to give them long term protection from shingles, might even increase odds. The 2nd dose is not a guarantee that they won't get CP's in their 30' or 40' either. It isn't known how this is going to play out yet. I'm STILL struggling with it. CP vaccine doesn't contain aluminum or thimerosal, but it is a live viral vaccine that is injected rather than passing thru the normal barriers that the human body provides. What normal reactions are changed when that happens? Yet, i have to take (what i can possibly understand) about their immune function, liver health etc. and try to decide the lesser of two evils. My whole point here, is that each child, the history of reactions to other vaccines, the health of the child at the time, the use of anti biotics, the risks that a particular disease poses to a particular child ALL NEEDS to be taken into consideration when it comes to vaccination. That is not likely to happen. Profit potential is enormous when you develope a vaccine that is going to be injected into the masses, not individual children. Children with medical conditions are not allowed into the clinical trials, but once approved, everyone gets them (with rare exception). Does that make sense to anyone???? Wouldn't studies by unbiased (no financial conflicts of interests) be wonderful. Wouldn't it be great if these studies had been ongoing for years. What if it were proven that certain vaccines were safer than the natural illness for people with certain autoimmune conditions. My personal feeling is that there may be a resonable case to be made for certain vaccines for certain individuals, but the program as it stands is insane as far as i'm concerned. Going to leave a copy regarding tetanus here, that I posted on the PANDAS forum recently. I think it spells out why a 6th tetanus containing vaccine is not a priority in my book for my boys. If they were to get a wound that was infected with feces, didn't bleed and had impaired circulatory function AND were severely magnesium deficient, i may consider the risk/reward substantial. As it stands, i'm much more concerned about them not wearing a helmet while riding a bike, them being hit by a driver that's talking on a cell phone, playing a sport on a field when you can hear thunder, or being harmed by a medical error. previous post..... I just have to share some things for your consideration regarding your concern about tetanus boosting. As always, do your own reseach! It used to be that a tetanus/diptheria (TD) vaccine was used for boosting every 10 years. Since they have decided that 5 previous doses of any combo of DTP or the newer DTaP isn't enough to confer any long lasting protection from pertussis, they have gone to using the newer vax which supposedly can (magically ?) be safely given every 5 years instead of 10, regarding the tetanus portion anyway. If your daughter is fully vaccinated, she probably received some combo of DTaP at 2, 4, 6, months then again btwn 15 and 18 months, then again around the age of 5. The good news is that the older TD vaccine when drawn from a multidose vial, still contains mercury. The newer DTaP does not, but does contain alum, used to prompt an unnatural immune response. Alum is a known neurotoxin with no long term safety studies looking at the combined amts. used in the current vax schedule. So..this will be her SIXTH vax in this series. If you consider that the incidence of tetanus was said to be btwn 500 and 600 hundred cases per year, prior to the infant immunization program in the late 1940's, well, it is an incredibly rare disease when considering the size of the population (when you consider the info below, is it really worth it?). I have included some info which is taken from an article talking about the older TD vaccine, but you will see how it talks about reactions being higher in "boosters" given after the primary series. Also, I've included an article which talks about "immunity" possibly being longer lasting than what we're currently lead to believe. If I'm going to inject an neurologically sensitive person with antigen, metals, and other chemicals, I want to know there is a darn good reason for it. I will never forgive myself for allowing the Hep B birth dose and blindly injecting my babies/kids with every stupid thing that was put before me. Sorry, I start out calm and try to be so objective, but I end up angry most times, so I'm going to shut up now! bolding mine http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache:pWvwMf...=clnk&gl=us QUOTE Secular Trends in the United States A marked decrease in mortality from tetanus occurred from the early 1900s to the late 1940s. In the late 1940s, tetanus toxoid was introduced into routine childhood immuniza­tion and tetanus became nationally notifiable. At that time, 500–600 cases (approximately 0.4 cases per 100,000 population) were reported per year. After the 1940s, reported tetanus incidence rates declined steadily. Since the mid-1970s, 50–100 cases (0.05 cases per 100,000) have been reported annually. The death-to-case ratio has declined from 30% to approximately 10% in recent years. An all-time low of 20 cases (0.01 cases per 100,000) were reported in 2003 http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/art...rticlekey=85107 Study: Immune System Has Long Memory http://www.rxlist.com/diptheria-and-tetanus-drug.htm NERVOUS SYSTEM The following neurologic illnesses have been reported as temporally associated with vaccine containing tetanus toxoid: neurological complications14 including cochlear lesion,15 brachial plexus neuropathies,15,16 paralysis of the radial nerve,17 paralysis of the recurrent nerve,15 accommodation paresis, Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS),and EEG disturbances with encephalopathy.18 The IOM following review of the reports of neurologic events following vaccination with tetanus toxoid, Td or DT, concluded the evidence favored acceptance of a causal relationship between tetanus toxoid and brachial neuritis and GBS.9,19 and There is an increased incidence of local and systemic reactions to booster doses of tetanus toxoid when given to previously immunized persons and The occurrence of tetanus in the US has decreased dramatically from 560 reported cases in 1947 to a record low of 48 reported cases in 1987. Tetanus in the US is primarily a disease of older adults. Of 99 tetanus patients with complete information reported to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) during 1987 and 1988,68% were =50 years of age, while only six were < 20 years of age. Overall, the case-fatality rate was 21%.2 In 1992, 45 cases were reported of which 82% were =50 years of age.6 The disease continues to occur almost exclusively among persons who are unvaccinated or inadequately vaccinated or whose vaccination histories are unknown or uncertain. A history of systemic allergic or neurologic reactions following a previous dose of DT is an absolute contraindication for further use.2 Adverse reactions may be local and include redness, warmth, edema, induration, with or without tenderness, as well as urticaria, and rash. Malaise, transient fever, pain, hypotension, nausea and arthralgia may develop in some patients after the injection. Arthus-type hypersensitivity reactions, characterized by severe local reactions (generally starting 2 to 8 hours after an injection) may occur, particularly in persons who have received multiple prior boosters.2 Rarely, an anaphylactic reaction (i.e., hives, swelling of the mouth, difficulty breathing, hypotension, or shock) and death have been reported after receiving preparations containing diphtheria and tetanus antigens.

Lyn, Look at these studies. Dr. Sharp has an affected daughter. Now, i guess he didn't feel like taking the advice that the majority of parents get from Peds/most neuro's. which is, why don't we just wait and see. Most kids just outgrow it. The practical application of some of these studies is just unknown or lost on many of our medical professionals. If only family histories were even asked about it would make me feel better. If you read the PANDAS forum at all, you will see the articles (and wonderful interpret. by buster) of Leckman and Swedo's, etc. studies too. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1848536...Pubmed_RVDocSum No global differences were found between TS and controls. However, expression of many genes and multiple pathways differed between TS and controls within each age group (5-9, 10-12, and 13-16), including genes involved in the immune-synapse, and proteasome- and ubiquitin-mediated proteolysis pathways. Notably, across age strata, expression of interferon response, viral processing, natural killer and cytotoxic T-lymphocyte cell genes differed. Our findings suggest age-related interferon, immune and protein degradation gene expression differences between TS and controls. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1750347...Pubmed_RVDocSum Fourteen genes, primarily Natural Killer Cell (NK) genes, discriminated between TS and all controls. Granzyme B and NKG7 were confirmed using RT-PCR. Five probesets (four genes) reside in chromosomal regions previously linked to familial TS or obsessive-compulsive disorder. Using the 14 genes, a Principal Components Analysis as well as a cluster analysis identified a TS subgroup (n = 10/16) that overexpressed the NK genes. 7/10 subjects within this subgroup were diagnosed with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), suggesting that this expression profile might be associated with TS and co-morbid ADHD. Principal Components Analysis of gene expression in blood may be useful for identifying subgroups of other complex neurodevelopmental diseases, and the gene expression profile identified in this study may provide a biomarker for at least one subgroup of heritable TS. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Granzyme_B Granzyme B (granzyme 2, cytotoxic T-lymphocyte-associated serine esterase 1), also known as GZMB, is a human gene. Cytolytic T lymphocytes (CTL) and natural killer (NK) cells share the remarkable ability to recognize, bind, and lyse specific target cells. They are thought to protect their host by lysing cells bearing on their surface 'nonself' antigens, usually peptides or proteins resulting from infection by intracellular pathogens. The protein encoded by this gene is crucial for the rapid induction of target cell apoptosis by CTL in cell-mediated immune response.[1]

lurker, nope. I had read about that quite a long time ago. I think Caryn mentioned Mercola's article on that subject. This was the site the statement (or something close to it) was in. http://www.textbookofbacteriology.net/kt_toc.html

Myrose, Just quickly wanted to mention that I recently read that strep is many times preceded by a virus. I will try to find the article ( lots of details regarding strep bacteria itself) if you think it would be helpful to you in anyway.

http://www.pnas.org/content/105/43/16755.abstract Induction of group A Streptococcus virulence by a human antimicrobial peptide Struggling to understand this statement in particular (and the rest!)

http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/abstract/152/9/4375 Immunological mimicry between N-acetyl-beta-D-glucosamine and cytokeratin peptides. Evidence for a microbially driven anti-keratin antibody response So this almost has to be a factor in our household. Wondering if it qualifies as a subset of PANDAS and how it would work. The "O linked GlacNac" is a term I've run into researching another (related?) condition. If we have a problem with strep related autoimmunity or abnormal glycan recognition ( i say we, meaning kids AND myself, which i never would have known about without my new year's surprise of the horrid rash, blurry vision, hot flashy, total exhaustion.... RASH in relationship to infected psoriatic elbow). So Cunningham has identified antibodies related to strep and human skin. I can see how that relates to myself, but have a lot of work to do in relationship to kids. Leaky barriers (intestinal and others) relationship to how this might result in tics (antibodies not attacking brain tissue, or are they and can "Cam" be upregulated by this sort of attack also?) kids don't have classic PANDAS symptoms, yet pretty darn close in some ways (or i should say "used to have" more so than now). Have to mention, after my full body outbreak the psoriasis that I have had on my elbow for some 20+ years is GONE. Now, Leckmans T reg theory (which i'm not anywhere near familiar enough with) is starting to become very interesting. I'm wondering how many member's that we have that have children (or close family members) with skin conditions? I know i have read of a few with excema and maybe 1 with scalp psoriasis related to strep infection? So frustrating to read of the wonderful progress and shared info on the research threads regarding PANDAS, yet being in a "separate boat."