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" Obsessing Over Strep Throat in Kids"


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http://www.aftau.org/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=13179

Obsessing Over Strep Throat in Kids

 

A common infection in children, strep throat can lead to problems with a child’s heart, joints or brain if left untreated. And when the brain is involved, motor and mental functioning may be compromised, leading to syndromes such as attention deficit disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD).

 

While scientists have speculated on a link between OCD and childhood infections like strep for more than two decades, Prof. Daphna Joel and her team of researchers at Tel Aviv University’s Department of Psychology have now scientifically demonstrated that strep can lead to brain dysfunction and OCD. Dr. Joel says their breakthrough could lead to new drugs for treating OCD, and may in the future prevent the psychiatric disorder altogether.

 

Conducted by the PhD student Lior Brimberg and in collaboration with Prof. Madelaine W. Cunningham of the University of Oklahoma, the research, recently presented at the 13th Congress of the European Federation of Neurological Societies in Florence, Italy, is expected to be published by the beginning of next year.

 

How strep attacks the brain

 

“It’s almost impossible to show how strep can lead to OCD in humans ― almost all of us, even very young children, have been exposed to the bacterium at one time or another,” says Prof. Joel. “But childhood seems to provide a distinct window of opportunity for the disorder to take root through strep infection,” she warns.

 

Working with the world’s leading specialist in strep-related heart disease, Prof. Cunningham, the researchers developed a new animal model to show how exposure to strep affects the brain and leads to a number of physical and mental ailments.

 

In her Tel Aviv University laboratory, Prof. Joel and Brimberg created an animal model using rats exposed to the strep bacteria. Comparing them to a strep-free control group, Prof. Joel measured a distinct difference in behavior in the strep-exposed animals.

 

First, the strep-exposed rats developed a strep antibody which deposited in their brain, confirming the suspicions of previous researchers. Those exposed also developed balance and coordination difficulties, as well as compulsive behaviors such as increased and repetitive grooming.

 

More important, they also found that the strep antibody binds itself to dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the brain. This finding is in harmony with the fact that one of the main drugs for treating Sydenham's Chorea, a motor disorder associated with strep, targets these same dopamine D2 receptors.

 

“We were able to show that these antibodies are binding to receptors in the brain and changing the way certain neurotransmitters operate, leading to brain dysfunction and motor and behavioral symptoms,” Prof. Joel says.

 

Prevention before the cure

 

This breakthrough finding could lead to new modes of diagnosis of the disease and provide a new platform for drug developers seeking to treat or cure OCD.

 

According to the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, OCD affects up to 2% of all children and adolescents in the U.S. The disorder is characterized by recurrent intense obsessions and/or compulsions that may cause severe discomfort, anxiety and stress, and interfere with day-to-day functioning.

 

Prof. Joel stresses how important it is for parents who notice signs of strep throat to ensure that their children get treated with the appropriate antibiotics in a timely fashion.

 

Strep-induced OCD will likely continue to be a major problem in the developing world where strep is not treated adequately, she concludes.

 

 

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Thanks for the article, Vicki, I can't wait for the paper to come out. So, I'm wondering if maybe this could be considered a replication of results from the Columbia study that came out in August ,09? I guess we won't know really until it is released, but it sure would be great to have another confirmation.

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It's been mentioned on here before that we needed to wait for one more study to be published before the NIMH white paper is released. Do you think this is it?

 

I had to read the article a few times before posting to make sure there wasn't misinformation. I kept thinking "the mouse model by Columbia" and was a little confused at first. So, I think what you said (a replication of results) may be the case.

Edited by Vickie
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More important, they also found that the strep antibody binds itself to dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the brain. This finding is in harmony with the fact that one of the main drugs for treating Sydenham's Chorea, a motor disorder associated with strep, targets these same dopamine D2 receptors.

 

What is this drug they're talking about for treating SC?

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It seems like OCD is mentioned throughtout, then SC is specifically mentioned. However, it does add the small fill ins like

"brain dysfunction and OCD"

"strep affects the brain and leads to a number of physical and mental ailments"

“We were able to show that these antibodies are binding to receptors in the brain and changing the way certain neurotransmitters operate, leading to brain dysfunction and motor and behavioral symptoms,” Prof. Joel says.

 

I also noticed they did not exclude other infections as being the trigger,even though strep was what was the emphasis. They stated "childhood infections like strep".

 

So, I think the article may emphasis the OCD component of it and how it can help the OCD community, but I think they know there is much more than that involved. It is interesting that they don't mention the acronym PANDAS.

 

It would have been nice in the second to last sentence, if it would have been added that many can have strep w/o symtpoms as well.

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More important, they also found that the strep antibody binds itself to dopamine D1 and D2 receptors in the brain. This finding is in harmony with the fact that one of the main drugs for treating Sydenham's Chorea, a motor disorder associated with strep, targets these same dopamine D2 receptors.

 

What is this drug they're talking about for treating SC?

 

I was wondering the same thing.

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Strep can occur in the throat, gut, in the sinuses, vaginal strep, anal strep, strep on the skin, ear infections can be strep. On this forum, I believe some have swabbed + for strep with anal strep and vaginal. Gut is through a stool test. I think you can only test ear infection if the ear drum perforates and the fluid leaks. As for sinuses, I can't remember if anyone had swabbed the nose and got a + strep, but then the infection can be very high up in the sinuses as well. However, it is on medical websites that sinus infections can be caused by strep, not always the case but can.

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Strep can occur in the throat, gut, in the sinuses, vaginal strep, anal strep, strep on the skin, ear infections can be strep. On this forum, I believe some have swabbed + for strep with anal strep and vaginal. Gut is through a stool test. I think you can only test ear infection if the ear drum perforates and the fluid leaks. As for sinuses, I can't remember if anyone had swabbed the nose and got a + strep, but then the infection can be very high up in the sinuses as well. However, it is on medical websites that sinus infections can be caused by strep, not always the case but can.

 

Yeah, I'm not sure you can swab the sinuses (at least not easily). I think any sinus infection is suspect, doubly suspect if combined with high titers (is this what Worried Dad had?)

 

And even if a sinus infection isn't strep, it could still cause symptoms (pitands).

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YES now i'm obsessing over...what is that drug they're talking about?

 

I wonder if they're talking about drugs like Haldol and Orap? Those are supposed to be dopamine antagonists and were mentioned as meds for treating SC in a lot of the literature I read back when our son was diagnosed ARF/SC. Dr. K told us that he'd seen haldol in particular really put PANDAS kids "over the edge" though, so seems like this is pretty risky for PANDAS.

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Wasn't that what Dr Cunningham listed as a possibility for PANDAS in the future when P.Mom visited them? So, should we be nervous/scared?

 

YES now i'm obsessing over...what is that drug they're talking about?

 

I wonder if they're talking about drugs like Haldol and Orap? Those are supposed to be dopamine antagonists and were mentioned as meds for treating SC in a lot of the literature I read back when our son was diagnosed ARF/SC. Dr. K told us that he'd seen haldol in particular really put PANDAS kids "over the edge" though, so seems like this is pretty risky for PANDAS.

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