Antibodies to strep throat bacteria linked to obsessive compulsive dis

[colleenrn]

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/200...s-ats081009.php

 

Maybe we are finally, once and for all, going to get this "controversial" disorder recognized!

 

Colleen

[Chemar]

I just posted a PsychCentral News review of this work on the TS forum as well

 

 

 

http://psychcentral.com/news/2009/08/12/an...r-ocd/7699.html

 

A new study indicates that pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), Tourette syndrome or tic disorder may begin as a common bacterial throat infection. Researchers believe an errant immune response to the bacteria may trigger an autoimmune cascade. The mouse model findings are published online in this week's Molecular Psychiatry.

[dcmom]

Thank you Colleen! It is so great to see researchers studying pandas. I just hope they take the next step in working on treatments. Of course, to us it is a no brainer that it exists. I kind of wish the $$ could go toward researching a cure. I know it is one step at a time- I am just short on patience.

[dcmom]

I emailed the researching doctor, and just rec'd an email back! She said they have been contacted by many other families as well. Right now, they hope the study fosters awareness, which will lead to future research. She said they are hoping at some point to have the budget to work with children, but right now do not. They are continuing to work with Dr Swedo and the NIH.

 

Nancy- maybe this study could be what you need to get some TV interest. I have an aquaintance who works for NPR, I think I will contact her...

[ShaesMom]

Great Article! I am going to print this and share it with everyone who has doubted Pandas and the school!

[kim]

Does anyone have any other links? I'm dying to know what was different about that mouse!!!!!

[Suzan]

Do you think this implies that they are still only looking for elevated antibodies? Or am I reading too much into a short article?

 

"Until now, scientists have been unable to convincingly document the association between the appearance of antibodies directed against Group A beta-hemolytic streptoccoccus (GABHS) in peripheral blood and the onset of the behavioral and motor aspects of the disorder. As a result, treatment strategies were restricted to targeting symptoms rather than causes."

 

Susan

[EAMom]

Thank you for posting Colleen!!! This study is absolutely awesome!

 

Suzan...I think the problem with many docs/scientists is that when they look at "anti-bodies" they are talking about ASO/anti-dnase B (the commonly measured strep anti-bodies) which aren't the actual problem in PANDAS. I would imagine that these researchers used anti-brain antibodies (like the kind that Dr. Cunningham tests for) and that is why they were able to find a convincing association.

[kim]

My guess is that they created or obtained a mouse that would have an abnormal recognition of a component of the strep which would then recognize brain tissue in normal mice.

 

bolding mine

 

Using a mouse model of PANDAS, Mady Hornig, MD, associate professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, and colleagues demonstrate this suspected link between GABHS antibodies and the psychiatric symptoms of the disorder. Immunizing mice with an inactivated form of the bacteria, CII researchers found that the mice exhibited repetitive behaviors reminiscent of children with PANDAS. Injection of antibodies from the immunized mice into the bloodstream of non-immunized mice replicated these behaviors.

 

edit

opps...not normal mice, just non immunized, to show that the antibodies were what caused the symptoms

[kim]

Further investigations in this strep-triggered, autoimmune mouse model of PANDAS will promote the discovery of more effective interventions for these disabling disorders and guide the development of robust prevention strategies."

 

 

Maybe a mouse that is known to be prone to an autoimmune response that was immunized with GlcNAc? They call it an autoimmune mouse model.

[T_Mom]

Oh my!!! Colleen, how did you find this?!? Fantastic article--

I have an eery sense that this is but the "tip" of an iceberg--Way to go Dr. Hornig.

T.

[colleenrn]

My sister sent the article to me. She received it via google alerts, which I did not even know existed. You type in key words that you are interested in and you get an alert if any of those key words are posted on the internet.

Colleen

[NancyD]

Excellent idea, dcmom. I think I will email Ian Lipkin (Columbia) about it first.

 

Nancy

 

I emailed the researching doctor, and just rec'd an email back! She said they have been contacted by many other families as well. Right now, they hope the study fosters awareness, which will lead to future research. She said they are hoping at some point to have the budget to work with children, but right now do not. They are continuing to work with Dr Swedo and the NIH.

 

Nancy- maybe this study could be what you need to get some TV interest. I have an aquaintance who works for NPR, I think I will contact her...

[NancyD]

Here's a link to the entire article:

http://www.sarnet.org/doc/PANDAS_Mol_Psychiatry_2009.pdf

 

Nancy

 

Does anyone have any other links? I'm dying to know what was different about that mouse!!!!!

[lurker]

I'm confused. Kim?

 

Doesn't "immunizing mice with an inactivated form of the bacteria" sound like a strep vaccine? Aren't they working on a strep vaccine now? for children? In my personal opinion, some vaccinations are harmful and some are useless. This could have the potential to be the worst one yet.