Mustang Carole

HI, Gluten free diet recipies here........tasty and healthy! Happy cooking. http://www.geocities.com/HotSprings/Spa/8672/stjreci1.htm Carole

HI, Try...Stephanie Cave, M.D. cypressintegrativemedicine.com 10562 S Glenstone Pl Baton Rouge, LA 70810-2875 (225) 767-7433 She GETS it!! DAN Dr...met her on her lecture circuit.. M.C.

HI Folks, This article was in the New York Times on Mother's Day.......just found it on line... an answer for all of us. Chocolate Probiotics to take orally. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/10/nyregion/10chocolate.html Happy Belated Mother's Day to all! Mustang Carole

HI Folks, Interesting new info regarding bacteria and a new generation of antibiotics... maybe help is coming in the near future for our sick kids. http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles...o-Harm-You.aspx Carole

HI, My Holistic Dr says to pay close attention to studies and articles outside the U.S. that are not pharma driven... Here we go Kimster>>>>>>>>>> Review Immunopathogenic mechanisms in tourette syndrome: A critical review Davide Martino, MD, PhD 1 *, Russell C. Dale, MRCPCH, PhD 2, Donald L. Gilbert, MD, MS 3, Gavin Giovannoni, MBBCh, PhD 4, James F. Leckman, MD 5 1Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Bari, Bari, Italy 2Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, Children's Hospital at Westmead, University of Sydney, Sydney, Australia 3Division of Neurology, Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center, The University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio, USA 4Queen Mary University London, Neuroimmunology Unit, Neuroscience Centre, Institute of Cell and Molecular Science, Barts and The London School of Medicine and Dentistry, London, United Kingdom 5Departments of Psychiatry, Pediatrics and Psychology, Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA email: Davide Martino (davidemartino@virgilio.it) *Correspondence to Davide Martino, Department of Neurological and Psychiatric Sciences, University of Bari, Piazza Giulio Cesare 11, I-70124 Bari, Italy Potential conflict of interest: None reported. Keywords group A beta haemolytic Streptococcus; tic • tourette syndrome • autoimmunity • antineuronal antibodies Abstract Tourette syndrome (TS) has a multifactorial etiology, in which genetic, environmental, immunological and hormonal factors interact to establish vulnerability. This review: (i) summarizes research exploring the exposure of TS patients to immune-activating environmental factors, and (ii) focuses on recent findings supporting a role of the innate and adaptive immune systems in the pathogenesis of TS and related disorders. A higher exposure prior to disease onset to group A -haemolytic streptococcal (GABHS) infections in children with tics and obsessive-compulsive (OC) symptoms has been documented, although their influence upon the course of disease remains uncertain. Increased activation of immune responses in TS is suggested by changes in gene expression profiles of peripheral immune cells, relative frequency of lymphocyte subpopulations, and synthesis of immune effector molecules. Increased activity of cell-mediated mechanisms is suggested by the increased expression of genes controlling natural killer and cytotoxic T cells, increased plasma levels of some pro-inflammatory cytokines which correlate with disease severity, and increased synthesis of antineuronal antibodies. Important methodological differences might account for some inconsistency among results of studies addressing autoantibodies in TS. Finally, a general predisposition to autoimmune responses in TS patients is indicated by the reduced frequency of regulatory T cells, which induce tolerance towards self-antigens. Although the pathogenic role of immune activation in TS has not been definitively proven, a pathophysiological model is proposed to explain the possible effect of immunity upon dopamine transmission regulation and the generation of tics. © 2009 Movement Disorder Society --------------------------------------------------------------------------------

HI, Just my 2 cents here... if any child has an infection...WHY are our highly trained pediatric physicians giving vaccine and booster shots when they are recently symptomatic ..and why not just wait until infection is cleared!!! Your child had a very obvious infection, sore neck, fever and lethargy......steps to meningitis...hello......... Your pedi gives him a chickenpox booster...????? Please read and and remember ..you are the Mom and need to be educated about symptoms, and advocate for your child...tell dr to wait till child is well again.............check it out at ... http://www.emedicinehealth.com/meningitis_...en/page3_em.htm His immune system is on overdrive, hopefully he will balance out and be well again soon. Hope for fast healing for your son! C. Alex hasn't been diagnosed as anything yet...mainly because my Ped. thinks I'm a nut...so I'm still trying to get my ducks in a row...Psychologist next week, neurologist April 13th, Here's the time line: Jan 19th--Gland pops out on neck, sore neck (not throat), feverish, lethargic...(called ped, said to treat with motrin) goes away in a day or so. Jan 21st-- notice elaborate counting of steps...everything must be even. Jan 24th--eczema flares up, more emotional than normal...cries easily. Jan 26th--Well Visit, given Chicken Pox booster, using Eucerin for eczema. Feb 11th--Seasonal allergies flare up. Notice incessent finger wiggling for first time...very figity. Feb 12th--Complex tics at breakfast table, involving fingers, arms and elbows. Interfering with eating. Full body tics by the time he got home from school. Test positive for strep...NO STREP SYMPTOMS other than tics...and gland issue weeks prior. Put on 10 day Amoxicillan, and zyrtec for allergies.

Management of Streptococcal Pharyngitis Reviewed CME/CE News Author: Laurie Barclay, MD CME Author: Désirée Lie, MD, MSEd Disclosures Release Date: March 10, 2009; Valid for credit through March 10, 2010 Credits Available Physicians - maximum of 0.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™ for physicians; Family Physicians - up to 0.25 AAFP Prescribed credit(s) for physicians; Nurses - 0.25 ANCC contact hours (0.25 contact hours are in the area of pharmacology) To participate in this internet activity: (1) review the target audience, learning objectives, and author disclosures; (2) study the education content; (3) take the post-test and/or complete the evaluation; (4) view/print certificate View details. Learning Objectives Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to: Describe the prevalence, presentation, and diagnosis of group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus pharyngitis. Describe treatment and follow up guidelines for acute, chronic, and recurrent group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus pharyngitis Authors and Disclosures Laurie Barclay, MD Disclosure: Laurie Barclay, MD, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Désirée Lie, MD, MSEd Disclosure: Désirée Lie, MD, MSEd, has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Laurie Scudder, MS, NP Disclosure: Laurie Scudder, MS, NP, has disclosed no relevant financial information. Brande Nicole Martin Disclosure: Brande Nicole Martin has disclosed no relevant financial information. March 10, 2009 — Best practices to diagnose and treat streptococcal pharyngitis in the primary care setting are reviewed in an article published in the March 1 issue of American Family Physician. "Pharyngitis is diagnosed in 11 million patients in U.S. emergency departments and ambulatory settings annually," writes Beth A. Choby, MD, from University of Tennessee College of Medicine in Chattanooga. "Group A beta-hemolytic streptococcus (GABHS), the most common bacterial etiology, accounts for 15 to 30 percent of cases of acute pharyngitis in children and 5 to 20 percent in adults....The infection is transmitted via respiratory secretions, and the incubation period is 24 to 72 hours." In addition to sore throat, signs and symptoms frequently associated with streptococcal pharyngitis include fever with temperature greater than 100.4°F (38°C), tonsillar exudates, and cervical adenopathy. Viral pharyngitis is more likely than streptococcal pharyngitis to be associated with cough, coryza, and diarrhea. The gold standard for streptococcal pharyngitis is throat culture. However, there have been significant improvements in sensitivity and specificity of rapid antigen detection testing (RADT). To facilitate management, the modified Centor score can help clinicians determine which patients should need no testing, throat culture/RADT, or empiric treatment with antibiotics. The Centor clinical decision rule allowing clinicians to determine appropriate management of patients with sore throat assigns 1 point for each of the following: absence of cough, swollen and tender anterior cervical nodes, elevated temperature of more than 100.4°F (38°C), tonsillar exudates or swelling, and ages 3 to 14 years. One point is subtracted for age 45 years and older. For a score of 0 to 1, the risk for GABHS pharyngitis is 1% to 2.5% (score ≤ 0) or 5% to 10% (score 1), and no further testing or antibiotics are indicated, although throat culture or RADT may be performed for a score of 1. Other factors should be considered, such as recent family contact with documented streptococcal infection, which would lower the threshold for testing and/or treatment. For a score of 2 or 3, the risk for GABHS pharyngitis is 11% to 18% (score 2) up to 28% to 35% (score 3), and throat culture or RADT should be performed and antibiotics given if culture results are positive. For a score of 4 or more, the risk for GABHS pharyngitis is 51% to 53%, and empiric treatment with antibiotics should be considered. "Although GABHS pharyngitis is common, the ideal approach to management remains a matter of debate," the review authors write. "U.S. guidelines differ in whether they recommend using clinical prediction models versus diagnostic testing. Several international guidelines recommend not testing for or treating GABHS pharyngitis at all." Complications of GABHS pharyngitis may be either suppurative or nonsuppurative. The suppurative complications may include bacteremia, cervical lymphadenitis, endocarditis, mastoiditis, meningitis, otitis media, peritonsillar or retropharyngeal abscess, and/or pneumonia. Nonsuppurative complications may include poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis or rheumatic fever. The treatment of choice for streptococcal pharyngitis is penicillin (10 days of oral treatment or 1 injection of intramuscular benzathine penicillin) because of cost, narrow spectrum of activity, and efficacy. However, amoxicillin tastes better and is equally effective. In patients with penicillin allergy, reasonable options are erythromycin and first-generation cephalosporins. There have been reports of increased GABHS treatment failure with penicillin. Therefore, some guidelines recommend use of cephalosporins in all nonallergic patients, and not just in persons with penicillin allergy, because of improved eradication of GABHS and greater efficacy against chronic carriage of GABHS. Despite appropriate antibiotic treatment, chronic GABHS colonization is common. There is generally no need to treat chronic carriers because they are thought to be at low risk of transmitting disease or developing invasive GABHS infections. Persons or situations in which antibiotic treatment of chronic GABHS colonization may be appropriate include recurrent GABHS infection within a family; personal history of or close contact with a person with acute rheumatic fever or acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis; close contact with a person with group A streptococcal infection; community outbreak of acute rheumatic fever, poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, or invasive group A streptococcal infection; healthcare workers or patients in hospitals, chronic care facilities, or nursing homes; families who cannot be reassured without antibiotic treatment; and children who are at risk for tonsillectomy for repeated GABHS pharyngitis. It is still unclear whether tonsillectomy or adenoidectomy reduces the incidence of GABHS pharyngitis, but the potential benefits are thought to be too small to outweigh the associated costs and surgical risks. Specific clinical recommendations for practice, and their accompanying level of evidence rating, are as follows: Use of clinical decision rules to diagnose GABHS pharyngitis is associated with better quality of care, less unnecessary treatment, and lower overall cost (level of evidence, A). In persons who are not penicillin-allergic, penicillin is the treatment of choice for GABHS pharyngitis (level of evidence, A). Chronic carriers of pharyngeal GABHS typically do not require treatment (level of evidence, C). "Differences in guidelines are best explained by whether emphasis is placed on avoiding inappropriate antibiotic use or on relieving acute GABHS pharyngitis symptoms," the review authors conclude. "Several U.S. guidelines recommend confirmatory throat culture for negative RADT in children and adolescents." Dr. Choby is an assistant editor of The Core Content Review of Family Medicine. Am Fam Physician. 2009;79:383-390. Clinical Context Streptococcal pharyngitis is diagnosed in 11 million patients in US emergency and ambulatory settings annually, and GABHS infection accounts for 15% to 30% of acute pharyngitis in children and 5% to 20% in adults. Late winter and early spring are peak GABHS seasons, and the incubation period is 24 to 72 hours. One in 4 children with acute sore throat has serologically confirmed GABHS pharyngitis, and 43% of families with an index case have a secondary case. The incidence of rheumatic fever has decreased dramatically in developed countries, but it remains a problem in low-income and middle-income countries, with an annual incidence of 5 per 1000 persons. This is a review of current guidelines for the diagnosis and management of acute recurrent and chronic GABHS pharyngitis. Study Highlights No single history or physical examination finding reliably confirms or excludes GABHS pharyngitis. Sore throat, sudden-onset fever with an elevated temperature greater than 100.4°F (38°C), and exposure to streptococcus within 2 weeks suggest infection. Common physical signs include cervical adenopathy and pharyngeal or tonsillar inflammation or exudates; palatal petechiae or scarlatiniform rash are specific but uncommon. Cough, coryza, conjunctivitis, and diarrhea are more common with virus infection. The Centor score uses 4 signs and symptoms and a scale of 0 to 4 for diagnosis. A score of 0 to 1 indicates low risk. A score of 2 to 3 indicates a need for testing with RADT or throat culture and treatment for positive test results. A score of 4 indicates that empiric treatment is indicated, even without positive results on cultures. A single throat culture is 90% to 95% sensitive. RADT allows for earlier treatment vs culture, with specificity and sensitivity ranging from 90% to 99% in the newer enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays and a sensitivity of approximately 70% with the older latex agglutination assays. Whether a negative RADT result requires confirmatory culture is controversial. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends confirmation in children unless RADT sensitivity is similar to throat culture. Back-up cultures are sometimes not performed because of concerns about false-positive results and unnecessary antibiotic use. Several US practice guidelines recommend confirmatory throat culture for negative RADT result in children and adolescents because this method is 100% sensitive and 99% to 100% specific in children. GABHS is self-limiting and resolves within a few days. The rationale for antibiotic treatment is prevention of suppurative infection, prevention of rheumatic fever, and reduction of communicability. Antibiotics shorten symptoms by 16 hours, with a number needed to treat of 4 in those with a positive result on throat culture. Children with GABHS may return to school after 24 hours of antibiotic treatment. The antibiotic of choice is penicillin because no increase in resistance has been seen for the past 50 years. Oral penicillin, a single dose of intramuscular penicillin G, penicillin congeners (ampicillin or amoxicillin), clindamycin, and some cephalosporins and macrolides are effective against GABHS. Oral amoxicillin is well tolerated and has an 85% eradication rate. Once-daily dosing of amoxicillin in children aged 3 to 18 years is not inferior to twice-daily dosing but is not approved by the US Food and Drug Administration. Erythromycin is recommended for patients with penicillin allergy, but resistance rates to erythromycin in the United States and Canada can approach 8% to 9% First-generation cephalosporins may be used for patients with penicillin allergy who do not have immediate-type hypersensitivity to beta-lactam antibiotics. Recurrence of GABHS within 1 month may be treated with antibiotics or intramuscular penicillin. Chronic carriage of GABHS can occur up to 1 year after infection, but the risk for transmission is low. Antibiotic treatment may be appropriate in the following persons or situations: recurrent GABHS in the family, history or contact with someone who has rheumatic fever or acute poststreptococcal glomerulonephritis, close contact with someone who has invasive group A streptococcal infection, or healthcare workers. Although children with tonsils are 3 times more likely to have GABHS pharyngitis, the effect of tonsillectomy on decreasing the risk for chronic or recurrent tonsillitis is poorly understood. Pearls for Practice The diagnosis of GABHS pharyngitis is made by a combination of clinical symptoms and signs, RADT, and throat culture. Antibiotic treatment is indicated to reduce communicability, prevent suppurative infection, and prevent rheumatic fever. Penicillin is the preferred initial treatment of GABHS. CME/CE Test

AAHA Updates Advice on Strep Throat, Preventing Rheumatic Fever CME News Author: Lisa Nainggolan CME Author: Laurie Barclay, MD Disclosures Release Date: March 6, 2009; Valid for credit through March 6, 2010 Credits Available Learning Objectives Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to: Describe recommendations for primary prevention of acute rheumatic fever, as described in an updated American Heart Association scientific statement. Describe recommendations for secondary prevention of acute rheumatic fever, as described in an updated American Heart Association scientific statement. Authors and Disclosures Lisa Nainggolan Disclosure: Lisa Nainggolan has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. March 6, 2009 — New advice on preventing rheumatic fever by the appropriate diagnosis and treatment of acute streptococcal pharyngitis has been published in a scientific statement from the American Heart Association (AHA) [1]. Lead author Dr Michael A Gerber (Cincinnati Children's Hospital, OH) told heartwire this is an update to a statement issued in 1995 by the same committee and that there are a few key differences between the two, namely in certain issues regarding the diagnosis of strep throat and serologic testing for antistreptococcal antibodies and in some of the treatment recommendations for primary prevention of rheumatic fever. The statement was published online February 26, 2009, in Circulation. In an accompanying editorial [2], Dr Alan L Bisno (University of Miami, FL) says: "The task facing the primary-care physician is to identify and appropriately treat the minority of sore-throat patients suffering from strep throat and to avoid unnecessary and potentially deleterious treatment for the remainder, who likely suffer from self-limited viral pharyngitis. The most appropriate methods to accomplish this task are, in my opinion, well enunciated in the [new] AHA statement." Rheumatic Fever Rare in Developed World Gerber — a pediatrician who specializes in infectious diseases — serves on the AHA Rheumatic Fever, Endocarditis, and Kawasaki Disease Committee, which has issued the statement. He said the new guidance would primarily be of interest to primary-care physicians, rheumatologists, pediatricians, and cardiologists. Rheumatic heart disease is the most important sequela of acute rheumatic fever, which is caused by group A streptococci (GAS) and usually presents in childhood, affecting five- to 15-year-olds — although it can strike people up to the age of 30. In 20% to 30% of cases, there is no cardiac involvement, but people often contract rheumatic fever more than once, and the damage is cumulative. Gerber explained that in developing areas of the world, acute rheumatic fever and rheumatic heart disease are estimated to affect nearly 20 million people and are the leading cause of cardiovascular death during the first five decades of life. However, in the developed world, the incidence of acute rheumatic fever has decreased dramatically. "If our whole hospital has four or five cases a year, that would be a lot," said Gerber, adding that the usual number of cases his institution encounters annually is one or two. But there have been occasional "focal outbreaks" of the disease, he noted, such as the one that occurred in Salt Lake City in the 1980s. Culture Backup Needed for Children Suspected of Having Strep Throat The prevention of initial attacks of rheumatic fever (primary prevention) requires accurate recognition and proper antibiotic treatment of strep throat, which is best accomplished by combining clinical judgment with diagnostic test results, say the experts. "Although this is not new, one of the most important parts of the statement is that you really cannot accurately diagnose strep throat on the basis of clinical findings; you still need some form of microbiological confirmation," Gerber told heartwire. "If you treated everybody with antibiotics based on a clinical assessment, the predictive value would be no better than 70%, so 30% of people would be getting antibiotics unnecessarily, contributing to the huge problem of bacterial resistance," he notes. Gerber said the so-called "rapid strep test" has now replaced throat cultures in the US, and the new statement has some particular advice on this. "It's unusual to get a false-positive rapid strep test," says Gerber, "so if you do this test and it's positive, you can be pretty confident the person has strep throat." But false negatives "are not uncommon," he says, and the new advice if the rapid strep test is negative differs depending upon the age of the patient. In a child, a negative rapid stress test "is now recommended to be confirmed by a throat culture," he says. But in adults, this is not necessary for two reasons. First, adults are much less likely to have strep throat, and second, initial attacks of rheumatic fever are rare in adults. Bisno points out in his editorial that the statement does not indicate the age at which culture backup can be abandoned, however. Issues Surrounding Serologic Testing Other new information in the statement includes a discussion of some of the problems surrounding serologic testing for antistreptococcal antibodies. "This is performed not so much in making a diagnosis of strep throat but to confirm a previous GAS infection, ie, that someone who is suspected of having rheumatic fever or poststreptococcal glomerular nephritis has a serologic response, because by that time, their throat culture would be negative," Gerber explained. The most commonly used assays for serologic testing are now automated tests such as antistreptolysin O (ASO) and antideoxyribonuclease B (ADB), which are much quicker than the older, labor-intensive neutralization assays, Gerber says. "However, it is important for physicians to understand that these newer tests haven't been standardized and are not established as being reproducible, so the results are very hard to interpret relative to the standard [neutralization assays] done in the past," he points out. Also, a commercially available slide agglutination test, known as Streptozyme (Wampole Laboratories, Stamford, CT) "has always been regarded by the World Health Organization as not accurate," says Gerber, but "physicians continue to use it because it's inexpensive and easy to perform." But this "should not be used as a test for evidence of a preceding GAS infection," the statement asserts. Changes to Treatment Recommendations Finally, the new statement contains updated information on recommended antibiotic treatment schedules for strep throat. The treatment of choice is oral or intramuscular penicillin, but Gerber said one of the main changes is the acknowledgment that once-a-day amoxicillin is a suitable alternative, particularly for young children who cannot take pills and who can instead take amoxicillin suspension, which also has the advantage of being more palatable than penicillin, he noted. For those who are allergic to penicillin, apart from severe type 1 allergic reactions, "the new recommendations deemphasize the use of macrolides such as azithromycin," said Gerber, because there is increasing resistance of GAS to this group of antibiotics "and they are not as well tolerated, often provoking gastrointestinal symptoms." So the recommendation now is to start with a narrow-spectrum cephalosporin or clindamycin, he says. For those with severe type 1 allergies to penicillin, "clindamycin should be the first choice," he says, because there is a 10% crossover [for allergy] with narrow-spectrum cephalosporins. Finally, individuals who have had an attack of rheumatic fever are at very high risk of developing recurrences after subsequent GAS pharyngitis and need continuous antimicrobial prophylaxis to prevent such recurrences (secondary prevention), the AHA statement notes. The recommended duration of secondary prophylaxis and agent depends on a variety of factors that are outlined and have not changed significantly since the 1995 statement. Dr. Gerber has disclosed no relevant financial relationships. Coauthor Dr. Stanford Shulman (Children's Memorial Hospital—Northwestern University, Chicago, IL) has received a research grant from and being a consultant on the advisory board of Quidel Corp. A complete list of disclosures for the other authors is available in the original article.

Melanie, You'v got mail. Carole

HI, Thought this website might help you to work with your kids symptoms of ocd in a fun way. They have to suffer enough with ocd thoughts...now they can make a game of same...capture the ocd. http://www.jjsplace.org/ Kids space has games to capture the ocd, etc. I like to play myself. Mustang Carole

Goodmorning, Detroit Newspaper finally has a PANDAS article buried back on page 2 section D under Dr Molly. Says...Quirky behavior, tics may not be Tourettes.. www.detnews.com/drmolly Three cheers for Dr Molly! She is a real doctor. M.C.

Hi, From Autism E Newspaper Article Today... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Much High Fructose Corn Syrup Contaminated With Mercury, New Study Finds Brand-Name Food Products Also Discovered to Contain Mercury Minneapolis – Mercury was found in nearly 50 percent of tested samples of commercial high fructose corn syrup (HFCS), according to a new article published today in the scientific journal, Environmental Health. A separate study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy (IATP) detected mercury in nearly one-third of 55 popular brandname food and beverage products where HFCS is the first or second highest labeled ingredient—including products by Quaker, Hershey's, Kraft and Smucker's. HFCS use has skyrocketed in recent decades as the sweetener has replaced sugar in many processed foods. "Just published in the peer-reviewed scientific journal, Environmental Health, is the bombshell that commercial HFCS appears to be routinely contaminated with mercury. It turns out the contamination isn't so much accidental as newly recognized, given the fact that much HFCS has been made and continues to be made using 'mercury-grade' caustic soda." HFCS is found in sweetened beverages, breads, cereals, breakfast bars, lunch meats, yogurts, soups and condiments. On average, Americans consume about 12 teaspoons per day of HFCS. Consumption by teenagers and other high consumers can be up to 80 percent above average levels. "While the FDA had evidence that commercial HFCS was contaminated with mercury four years ago, the agency did not inform consumers, help change industry practice or conduct additional testing." “Mercury is toxic in all its forms,” said IATP's David Wallinga, M.D., and a co-author in both studies. “Given how much high fructose corn syrup is consumed by children, it could be a significant additional source of mercury never before considered. We are calling for immediate changes by industry and the FDA to help stop this avoidable mercury contamination of the food supply.” Click here to learn more Click here for IATP site Click here for Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy report, "Not So Sweet: Missing Mercury and High Fructose Corn Syrup"

Hi, Yes, interesting ending..without meds...gotta read it. Pick it up at your local library, it is a fast reader, as are all his books... this just came out mid October. Selling already in Costco, probably book stores, too. M.C.

HI Folks, A new book out by James Patterson, called Against Medical Advise is a true story about a kid and his family, enduring all the symptoms, merry go round of drs, rounds of many, many meds good explanions of tics, ocds sufferings, all over a 13 yr time table. The story mirrors much of what we all see in our own families and children to certain degrees. The book is a wonderful tool to hand to a teacher, neighbor, relative or friend to give them an insite to Tourette Syndrome. Thank you Mr. Patterson! Mustang Carole

HI, Recent article from Schaffer report: A brochure from Safe Minds to look up the flu vaccine and addi..tives...with or with out mercury,etc. http://www.safeminds.org/alert-flu-vaccine-2008.pdf Mustang Carole

HI, Pycogenol ? M.C.

HI Listmates, I got this info from the Tourette Society of Michigan...a conference at Children's Hospital on Sat , Oct 12/ FREE http://www.tsa-michigan.org/Tourette_Syndrome_News.php Looks good, see you there. Mustang Carole

Oops sorry...try this copied one>>>>>> Basal Ganglia Stimulation Reduces Tic Severity in Tourette Syndrome NEW YORK (Reuters Health) Jul 29 - Basal ganglia stimulation may offer substantial improvement for some patients with Tourette syndrome, according to a report in the July issue of the Archives of Neurology. Previous attempts at stimulation of the thalamus and internal part of the globus pallidus have yielded variable effects on tics, the authors explain. Dr. Marie-Laure Welter from Hopital de la Salpetriere, Paris, France and colleagues evaluated the efficacy of high-frequency stimulation of two associative-limbic relays (the centromedian-parafascicular complex of the thalamus and the ventromedial part of the internal globus pallidus) in three patients with severe, medically refractory Tourette syndrome. All three patients experienced a marked improvement in tic severity within hours to days after the operation, the authors report. The best improvement in tic severity was obtained with ventromedial internal globus pallidus stimulation. With stimulation, one patient was able to discontinue dopamine antagonist medication and another was able to reduce the dosage of such medication by 66%. Stimulation also dramatically reduced self-injurious behaviors in one patient and resolved the moderate generalized anxiety disorder in another patient, the report indicates. Neuropsychological status remained stable in all patients. The effects of stimulation were sustained or increased during the 2-month study period in two patients, the investigators say, but the improvement decreased or disappeared after 2 months in the third patient. "This study suggests that high-frequency stimulation of the ventromedial part of the internal globus pallidus can produce a marked reduction in tic severity in patients with Tourette syndrome," the authors conclude, "which is in the process of being tested in a large patient population." Arch Neurol 2008;65:952-957.

HI, Maybe our experience will help you a bit. Our last child has autism, and later diagnosed with TS, severe PANDAS, all the difference that can cause people, ie. friends and even family members, ie cousins, to shy away from him and you as a family...rejection is the word. We found acceptance of new friends that are now our family thru the organization of Special Olympics/USA. Kids/ people with disabilities ages 8 to 60 are on many teams of sport, even bowling, riding, etc....the coaches and parents are all very weathered and experienced , having raised their kid with the disability, so we are all on the same page..having been there and done that. Everyone accepts each other, all are friends. There is no making fun of each other, etc. Instead of the rejection of lonliness and oneness, now there are a multitude of friends, and usually see each other at school, church, shopping, get invited to birthday parties, graduations, prom dates and even some romance blooms...to group homes, or On My Own group...private group adults live in appts with supervision, etc. Friendships and love gives life meaning, acceptance, and purpose for all involved. Try it and see. Happy Trails, Mustang Carole

Hello, New Pubmed enews article in my mail today 7/31...out of France Basal ganglia stimulation for TS http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/578240...1&src=nldne Mustang Carole

HI Folks, I found an EXCELLENT lecture that explains Autism and PANDAS, PANDAS is toward the middle of talk, so can fast forward to same. Wording is clinical, but keep listening. He explains alot of questions, ex. PANDAS affecting older kids, etc. Go to the following site , scroll down to last lecture. https://www.neurorelief.com/index.php?optio...6&Itemid=48 Mustang Carole

HI, When you go to your pedi /family dr, take this article with you, written by Dr Murphy last year about PANDAS. There are some other drs mentioned in same..maybe located closer to you..and also have knowledge about PANDAS. http://news.ufl.edu/2007/02/06/strep-tic/ Mustang Carole

HI, Try Dr Bock, there may be a waiting period, just call and see his associate with him as a consultant to get in faster...he just wrote a book and pandas is mentioned...he knows... http://www.rhinebeckhealth.com/rhc/bio_kbock.php Good luck, Carole

HI, Just out today, a flash look at side effects of some meds that our kids are perscribed and parents should be aware. http://www.autism.com/ari/adverse_reactions.html C.

HI, I follow Dr McCandless...Children With Starving Brains book and she advocates the zinc picolinate. Mustang Carole