PANDAS is an acronym for Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric with
Streptococcal Infections. Children and adolescents who suffer from PANDAS
develop sudden onset OCD and/or tic disorders. With PANDAS, OCD and tics may
develop rapidly and may reach full scale intensity within 24 to 48 hours. With
non-PANDAS OCD the development is gradual. The diagnostic criteria for PANDAS are:
1) Anxiety in general. 2) Seperation anxiety. 3) Mood swings and/or depression. 4) Irritability, aggression, and/or oppositional behavior.
5) Behavioral regression (e.g.; talking baby talk, temper
tantrums, etc.). 6) Deterioration in school performance. 7) Sensory or motor abnormalities (e.g.; sensitivity to light or
sound, distortion of visual perceptions and occasionally visual or
auditory hallucinations). 8) Somatic symptoms (e.g.; sleep disturbances, bedwetting,
or increases in urinary frequency.
Cognitive behavior therapy treatments, which are used to treat OCD in
general, are also effective in treating children with PANDAS who
exhibit obsessive-compulsive symptoms.
Wartel Behavioral Services, P. C. 6346 Orchard Lake Rd., Suite 107 West Bloomfield, Michigan 48322 Phone: (248) 626-1330 Fax: (248) 626-9170 E-mail: drwartel@gmail.com
