Healing Children with Neuropsychiatric Disorder

Leading PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated Streptococcus) specialist Dr. Cynthia Keller recently conducted a webinar hosted by Clear Mind Neurofeedback System to reveal how the body’s autoimmune response to an ordinary streptococcal infection can lead to a severe neuropsychiatric disorder.

Keller is a pediatrician in Kirkland, Washington, who has researched the clinical diagnosis of PANDAS for over 17 years. Always in pursuit of the root cause of illness, Keller expanded her studies over the years to include integrative medicine as well as anti-aging and regenerative medicine.

According to Keller, “All illness boils down to inflammation. And that begins in childhood, in some cases infancy or even in utero.” She adds that it is not the strep bacteria that attacks the brain but the antibodies the body makes to fight the strep infection. These antibodies cross the blood brain barrier and cause inflammation in certain areas of the child’s brain like the basal ganglia. The body's immune system continues to build up these antibodies, which attack the brain for unknown reasons.

The treatment protocol of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy works extremely well and most children heal completely.

A telltale sign of PANDAS is the sudden onset of behavior changes, which can include separation anxiety or extreme fear without evident reason. Keller likened the child’s response to that of a frantic feral cat. The fear is completely irrational, while the child cannot express why they are afraid. Obsessive-compulsive disorder is another symptom of PANDAS, as are tics and increased urination. Keller says that many children with autism have PANDAS and advises parents to look for sudden mood changes and loss of cognitive skills that significantly impact their quality of life.

Strep is a self-limiting illness, meaning that within seven to ten days the body makes antibodies to eradicate the infection. Keller says that any type of strep infection can cause the issue, but walking pneumonia is the most common infection to stimulate the production of antibodies that lead to PANDAS. After treatment and when the symptoms fall back to baseline, Keller says anything that irritates the child’s inflammatory process, like pneumonia, allergies, colds, influenza, and mold exposure, have the ability to cause the body to remake the antibodies that attack the brain.

Keller, who has dedicated her life to treating children afflicted with PANDAS, says, “PANDAS, itself, is really simple, but children are not.” She adds that the treatment protocol of medication and cognitive behavioral therapy works extremely well and most children heal completely.

Keller attests that inflammation leads to every form of death but says there is hope in treatment. By resetting the child’s immune system, they can heal, an outcome she has seen time and time again with her own patients. The diagnosis is often a relief because the rollercoaster of emotions and unanswered questions can end. Recovery from PANDAS is possible thanks to the resiliency of children, caring families, and attentive physicians.