Tics/Tourettes/PANDAS

[woody]

Back in July we took to seen an immunologist at UCLA Medical Center for tics. They did a blood test and he had a high titer for strep antibodies. Immediately he prescribed Azithromycin...2 pills a week at 250 mg...a very low dose. Tics vanished almost immediately. In the middle of October, this same doctor sent our son for the pneumovax vaccine. He also had us get the flu shot. He wanted to get the flu shot and the vaccine because he said there would be in indirect benefit. He said by treating the viral, there would be an indirect benefit to bacterias. Our son was tested and although he had a high strep antibody, he didn't have a high auto antibody. For 4 1/2 months, it seemed that the antibiotic was working. In October, the pneumovax shot. Approximately 7 weeks after we got the pneumovax shot, the tics gradually returned over the course of 3 days. By the third day, we were right back where we started. My thought is that since he had issues with a variety of bacterias and an elevated antibody response, that this could be what's occurring right now.He is having an antibody response to an access of pneumoccocal antibodies. Has anybody out there had the same situation after getting the pneumovax shot? If so, how long did it take for the antibodies to start diminishing and possibly the symptoms diminishing as well?

 

You can email me at rmwoody1@yahoo.com or call my cell at 708-271-3720

 

Thanks!

 

Ron

[sf_mom]

Simple science behind PANDAS......... I would definitely pursue daily antibiotic or perhaps IVIG or PEX for your child. If you go over to the Pandas section of this website you'll find some very interesting information. I've attached a couple links for your review too that will be extremely helpful.

 

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6265

 

http://www.latitudes.org/forums/index.php?showtopic=6266

 

 

The behavioral symptoms usually persist for several days to weeks. The tics or OCD then seem to go away, and the children often enjoy a few weeks or several months without problems. However, for reasons described below, these children remain vulnerable to relapses.

 

How Does Strep Lead to Psychiatric Symptoms?

 

The discovery of PANDAS came through observing the reactions of patients. Initially, Swedo's team noticed a group of patients who were ill with infections and then suddenly developed dramatic psychiatric symptoms. At first, they were not sure streptococcus was the culprit but research soon isolated the strep antibodies as an important focus of interest.

 

PANDAS is controversial in medical circles with some physicians questioning whether such extreme psychiatric symptoms can be triggered by strep antibodies. However, according to Dr. Swedo, there is little doubt that the body's efforts to fight the strep bacteria set off a chain of events leading to PANDAS symptoms. "The science is clear now," Swedo asserts. "We not only have a direct relationship between the anti-strep antibodies and the anti-neuronal antibodies, but also have demonstrated that the antibodies interact with receptors in the brain that could produce the symptoms observed."

 

Normally when the strep bacteria enter the body, they defend themselves by mimicking healthy cells and elude detection by the immune system. Using the stealth strategy, the strep bacteria create an infection. In response, the body naturally creates antibodies - cellular components designed to find the bacteria, bind with them and direct the immune system to destroy the bacteria. When this happens as designed, the antibodies find the strep bacteria and the immune system wins the battle.

 

However, antibodies are not terribly discriminating and sometimes cannot tell a streptococcus bacterium apart from a healthy cell. In some children, these antibodies pass into the brain and look for something to connect with. In PANDAS, the strep antibodies are unable to discriminate between strep and healthy brain cells. However, the union of strep antibody and neural tissue is not a match made in heaven. Recent research, reported last fall by University of Oklahoma researcher, Madeleine Cunningham, suggests that the antibodies connect with parts of the brain which regulate repetitive behaviors and movement, such as compulsions and tics. According to Dr. Swedo, such autoimmune actions may have the direct result of producing obsessions, compulsions and tics; and in addition, they might indirectly offset the critical balance of brain chemistry which regulates mood and emotion.

 

Compounding the problem is the durability of strep antibodies. They can remain on the prowl for a hook up weeks after the strep is gone. Subsequent infections or even colds can stimulate the immune system to produce more of the same kind of antibodies which the triggered the original symptoms. PANDAS children can then abruptly re-experience the same symptoms after a symptom-free span of time. Dr. Swedo explained, "We see a saw-toothed pattern of symptoms, extreme outbursts of behaviors for a brief period in response to the infections and then the child may be relatively symptom-free for a period of time."

 

 

Back in July we took to seen an immunologist at UCLA Medical Center for tics. They did a blood test and he had a high titer for strep antibodies. Immediately he prescribed Azithromycin...2 pills a week at 250 mg...a very low dose. Tics vanished almost immediately. In the middle of October, this same doctor sent our son for the pneumovax vaccine. He also had us get the flu shot. He wanted to get the flu shot and the vaccine because he said there would be in indirect benefit. He said by treating the viral, there would be an indirect benefit to bacterias. Our son was tested and although he had a high strep antibody, he didn't have a high auto antibody. For 4 1/2 months, it seemed that the antibiotic was working. In October, the pneumovax shot. Approximately 7 weeks after we got the pneumovax shot, the tics gradually returned over the course of 3 days. By the third day, we were right back where we started. My thought is that since he had issues with a variety of bacterias and an elevated antibody response, that this could be what's occurring right now.He is having an antibody response to an access of pneumoccocal antibodies. Has anybody out there had the same situation after getting the pneumovax shot? If so, how long did it take for the antibodies to start diminishing and possibly the symptoms diminishing as well?

 

You can email me at rmwoody1@yahoo.com or call my cell at 708-271-3720

 

Thanks!

 

Ron