rheumatic fever --

[smartyjones]

does anyone have links/articles/statements from professionals or in a study that likens PANDAS to rheumatic fever?

 

thanks!

[Mary M]

Hardly a scientific research article but the Dr (was his name Dr Sears???) in the episode of The Doctors the other day made exactly that reference.

Mary

from Michigan

[MMC]

This one looks good...

 

http://www.pedrheumonlinejournal.org/April/reviewarti.htm

 

It mentions RF, PANDAS and SC. "inflammatory disorders have been associated with preceding streptococcal infections"

[norcalmom]

Most of the research is on the people who had Sydenham's Chorea - which by definition is found only in people that had Rheumatic fever. So, any pandas research you find on Syndenham's chorea - and most of the research talks about it in some way - cunninghams, swedos...means that RF is also involved.

 

Also they think - Rheumatic Fever is no longer common in US because of different strains of strep - and the use of anitbiotics immediately if strep is suspected. That is not the case in other areas of the world. RF and SC are still relatively "common".

 

so - Strep is to RF is to SC as

-Strep is to PANDAS is to tic- disorder

 

RF creates auto-antibodies that attack the heart and can lead to heart damage, even death. Pandas kids don't have heart involvement as far as they can tell. It attacks the brain primarily.

 

The question is - did the strep bacteria change? They are pretty sure that RF/SC have a genetic component - entire families would get it after getting the same strep as the rest of the community - so a certain strain, plus genetic disposition, leads to RF, so is it the same with PANDAS?

 

Its almost exactly the same, but it different in that there is no heart involvement in pandas. This is how Cunninhgam started to get interested in all this - he major area of research was/is strep and what the auto-antibodies produced by some people that get strep attack the heart. Most of her background is in that. The Heart Association fund a lot of her research.

 

Also, in RF, OCD - isn't t a major presenting symptom (although "emotional issues" is a symptom, and I did read a study of SC patients that cited a relative high percentage had refractory OCD in adulthood - I think the percent was 25%.

 

The relationship is also perplexing because I'm pretty sure that if you had RF or SC you would be on anti-biotics NO QUESTION until you are 20 years old, and if you are older when you got it - a minimum of 5 years. In order to protect your heart .

 

So if RF is to the heart as PAndas is to the Brain...why aren't our kids given long term antibiotics?

 

here's a link to a good summary of treatment for RF:(antibiotics and anti-inflamatories)

http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/rheumatic-fever/DS00250/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs