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PANDAS in Discover Magazine


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Just finished reading the April issue of Discover Magazine. It included an interview with Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Lipkin was involved in the ground-breaking study that announced in 2009 the re-creation of PANDAS (essentially) using a mouse model ( http://www.mailman.columbia.edu/news/antibodies-strep-throat-bacteria-linked-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-mice ).

 

Toward the end of the interview, Dr. Lipkin specifically mentions PANDAS as "one of the most fascinating links between infection and mental disease." Here's the excerpt:

 

An infection like strep throat provokes an antibody response, but the antibody created to fight the strep also recognizes proteins that are part of your body. Antibodies don't typically traffic much in the central nervous system. But if you have any one of a number of other infections or an insult like head trauma, the blood-brain barrier (which normally protects the brain from pathogens) opens transiently. Depending on how long and where the opening is, the antibodies get access to part of the central nervous system or brain. We are studying this process now in mice, using drugs to open up a portion of the hindbrain or the forebrain or the hippocampus and tracking the effect.

 

Thought it was interesting that he mentions "other infections" as likely culprits in opening the blood-brain barrier. (I know a number of the PANDAS specialists have theorized about that, too.)

 

Anyway, in the past few months, PANDAS has been mentioned by leading docs in both Scientific American and Discover. Pretty encouraging!!!

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Thanks so much for sharing this. I am going to email and thank the Dr. (if I can find an email) and the magazine for the article. I think as much as we try to advocate and spread awareness, it is equally as important to thank those that have helped in this regard. They may also be more prone to do more stories or dive further in.

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Thanks, WD!

 

I tried to see if I could read the whole interview on line (doesn't look like I can), but in the effort I came across this 2005 story, it also includes Lipkin. Looks like this guy has been on board for quite some time! (The story leads off with lyme, even!)

 

Microbes in the Brain

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Hi

What if you don't have head trauma? How is this happening? My theory is vaccines. Vaccines are most likely the cause of autism, also, which is blood brain barrier.

 

 

Just finished reading the April issue of Discover Magazine. It included an interview with Dr. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health. Dr. Lipkin was involved in the ground-breaking study that announced in 2009 the re-creation of PANDAS (essentially) using a mouse model ( http://www.mailman.columbia.edu/news/antibodies-strep-throat-bacteria-linked-obsessive-compulsive-disorder-mice ).

 

Toward the end of the interview, Dr. Lipkin specifically mentions PANDAS as "one of the most fascinating links between infection and mental disease." Here's the excerpt:

 

An infection like strep throat provokes an antibody response, but the antibody created to fight the strep also recognizes proteins that are part of your body. Antibodies don't typically traffic much in the central nervous system. But if you have any one of a number of other infections or an insult like head trauma, the blood-brain barrier (which normally protects the brain from pathogens) opens transiently. Depending on how long and where the opening is, the antibodies get access to part of the central nervous system or brain. We are studying this process now in mice, using drugs to open up a portion of the hindbrain or the forebrain or the hippocampus and tracking the effect.

 

Thought it was interesting that he mentions "other infections" as likely culprits in opening the blood-brain barrier. (I know a number of the PANDAS specialists have theorized about that, too.)

 

Anyway, in the past few months, PANDAS has been mentioned by leading docs in both Scientific American and Discover. Pretty encouraging!!!

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