Strep caused OCD in this boy.....

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Link is Strep-Induced Obsessive Compulsive Disorder - AOL Health
Boy Diagnosed With Strep-Caused OCD
By Jordan Lite

Beth Maloney’s son, Sammy, had everything going for him. But seemingly overnight, the smart 12-year-old became a different person: He walked around with his eyes closed, feeling everything in front of him. He wouldn’t sleep in his bed or sit in his seat at the kitchen table. He wouldn’t eat unless he first held his breath. He held his ears and hopped everywhere he went. Eventually, he could not bring himself shower.

A psychiatrist diagnosed Sammy with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), in which patients are plagued by persistent, uncontrollable thoughts and behaviors. Later, the diagnosis changed to Tourette’s syndrome, characterized by compulsive tics. Sammy went to therapy and took medication, neither of which helped, Maloney says.

“The diagnosis never made sense to me,” says Maloney, who’s written a new book about their ordeal, "Saving Sammy." “I had a perfectly normal, healthy child who went to dysfunctional in six weeks. He literally could not get out the front door because the behaviors were so completely debilitating for him. I could not understand how that could be possible.”

Maloney was determined to find another explanation -- and a cure for Sammy. One year and seven doctors later, she got one: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS). The condition is thought to be caused by strep-fighting proteins called antibodies that mistakenly attack the brain, according to the National Institute for Mental Illness (NIMH).

As many as 10 percent of children with OCD may actually have PANDAS, says Paul Grant, M.D., a child psychiatrist in the institute’s pediatrics and developmental neuroscience branch.

Sammy took penicillin, and in a matter of days, his behavior improved. However, after a few weeks, his compulsions returned. He was then prescribed a different antibiotic, augmentin. This time, the improvements stuck. Now 19, Sammy is a freshman at Carnegie Mellon University studying computer science -- happy, well-adjusted and better, his mom says, by “100 percent.” (He does take a low dose of medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, or ADHD that may or may not be related to PANDAS, she says.)

But not everyone is convinced that strep is responsible for these kids’ compulsive behaviors. Because strep is so common in children, it’s tough to prove that it’s related to OCD and Tourette’s, says Stanford Shulman, M.D., head of infectious disease at Children’s Memorial Hospital in Chicago. And, he adds, studies haven’t shown that taking antibiotics long-term reduces compulsive behaviors any more than swallowing a placebo. “There’s an awful lot of emotion involved in this controversy and debate,” Shulman says. “It is very upsetting and in the worse cases, a disruptive illness. But in medicine, before we conclude A causes B, there needs to be scientific evidence. People have really tried and it’s still lacking.”

Grant says that could change once scientists definitively identify a PANDAS antibody and find a blood test for it. “Until a test is readily available, we won’t have enough cases to say this is unequivocally true,” he says.

Maloney says strep may not explain every child’s OCD or Tourette’s, but she urges parents to consider it. “It is really crucial to work with a doctor who can be open to this possibility,” she says. “If not, find a new doctor.”
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Whether or not they manage to find evidence, I hope PANDAS cases help people to understand mental illnesses are a lot like physical illnesses in that they're no more a matter of will than physical illness.
 
jillio said:
Yes, they are showing co-morbidity in some cases of Anorexia Nervosa. Interesting stuff. Really has the probability of changing the way we see these disorders in some cases, and the way we plan treatment for these cases.
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It certainly can and I'm excited to see it.
 
CJB said:
Whether or not they manage to find evidence, I hope PANDAS cases help people to understand mental illnesses are a lot like physical illnesses in that they're no more a matter of will than physical illness.
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Amen to that!
 
Wow... this is weird.

I do agree with the article though... on the part where PANDAS may not be the case.

In the past, we've often found reasons for specific disorders. Later, those reasons have been broken down into parts and become more specified. That might be the case for PANDAS in the future.
 
PANDAS certainly wouldn't be the cause of all cases of OCD, or even most cases of OCD. However, for the few that would have this etiology, treatment will be quite different than those with more usual causes. This will lead to greater effectiveness of treatment, as they will actually be treating the cause rather than just the symtoms.
 
jillio said:
PANDAS certainly wouldn't be the cause of all cases of OCD, or even most cases of OCD. However, for the few that would have this etiology, treatment will be quite different than those with more usual causes. This will lead to greater effectiveness of treatment, as they will actually be treating the cause rather than just the symtoms.
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It's like this phrase...

Bob has brown hair. Bob is mean to you. Therefore, all men with brown hair are mean.

... something that is often misinterpreted.
 
jillio said:
PANDAS certainly wouldn't be the cause of all cases of OCD, or even most cases of OCD. However, for the few that would have this etiology, treatment will be quite different than those with more usual causes. This will lead to greater effectiveness of treatment, as they will actually be treating the cause rather than just the symtoms.
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Exactly. I think we're talking a fraction of cases where PANDAS is implicated as causative, but even if it's just a small percentage, I really believe it's worth investigating. This is especially true of cases of anorexia nervosa. People are suffering needlessly, and in the case of EDs, people are dying. If they can catch this early enough and treat PANDAS where indicated, it could alleviate alot of suffering.

But, I would agree with you and Vampy that we also shouldn't start giving these people antibiotics indiscriminately. That would create an even bigger problem of antibiotic resistance which can also prove deadly.
 
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Interesting article. Since my twin has tourettes and ODC. But I do not believe PANDAS is the cause of his problem. Since puberty his tics are not as bad as they used to be.

It does seem interesting how scientist say that some peoples tourettes do go away unexplained. Perhaps they had a couple good doses of antibiotics and their tics went away. Unknowing that they had PANDAS. Makes me wonder if they were misdiagnosed.
 
CJB said:
Whether or not they manage to find evidence, I hope PANDAS cases help people to understand mental illnesses are a lot like physical illnesses in that they're no more a matter of will than physical illness.
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You are absolutely correct. That is one of those myths that just continue to be spread around.:roll:
 
Oceanbreeze said:
Exactly. I think we're talking a fraction of cases where PANDAS is implicated as causative, but even if it's just a small percentage, I really believe it's worth investigating. This is especially true of cases of anorexia nervosa. People are suffering needlessly, and in the case of EDs, people are dying. If they can catch this early enough and treat PANDAS where indicated, it could alleviate alot of suffering.

But, I would agree with you and Vampy that we also shouldn't start giving these people antibiotics indiscriminately. That would create an even bigger problem of antibiotic resistance which can also prove deadly.
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Absolutely, it is worth investigating. I would even go so far as to say it should be ruled out in any client that suddenly begins to manifest symptoms of OCD. OCD is one of those disorders that gets progressively worse, and it is not unusual at all for a 2 or 3 year old to begin to show very mild symptoms. But when they come on all at once later in childhood, PANDAS should be a rule out before making a diagnosis.
 
jillio said:
Absolutely, it is worth investigating. I would even go so far as to say it should be ruled out in any client that suddenly begins to manifest symptoms of OCD. OCD is one of those disorders that gets progressively worse, and it is not unusual at all for a 2 or 3 year old to begin to show very mild symptoms. But when they come on all at once later in childhood, PANDAS should be a rule out before making a diagnosis.
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:gpost: I agree it would definitely be wise to rule out PANDAS.
 
jillio said:
Absolutely, it is worth investigating. I would even go so far as to say it should be ruled out in any client that suddenly begins to manifest symptoms of OCD. OCD is one of those disorders that gets progressively worse, and it is not unusual at all for a 2 or 3 year old to begin to show very mild symptoms. But when they come on all at once later in childhood, PANDAS should be a rule out before making a diagnosis.
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Usually Tourette Syndrome does not show up until they are around the age of 6 to 8 years old.

It does show up all of a sudden with a child developing several tics in a short time frame on many of the people that are diagnosed with Tourettes.
 
Babyblue said:
Usually Tourette Syndrome does not show up until they are around the age of 6 to 8 years old.

It does show up all of a sudden with a child developing several tics in a short time frame on many of the people that are diagnosed with Tourettes.
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Correct. But the behaviors associated with OCD manifest much earlier. I have a great nephew who has been showing tendencies for about 6-8 months, and he just turned 3. His grandfather (my bro) had OCD, and his great-grandmother (my mom) had OCD. If he comes to visit, when he gets ready to leave, he has to have a kiss, hug, high 5, low five all in that order every time, or he will have a melt down and not be able to leave. The same when you are at his house. When you get ready to leave, the same routine has to be done. And he does it with everyone: mom, dad, sibs, friends of the family.

I have never developed full blown OCD, but do demonstate some tendency toward the obsessive part. For instance, I would obsess over my grades, and get really upset over anything less than an "A". I am very detail oriented, too. And one of my nephews has the obsessive part without the compulsions. I think that there is a genetic neurological component to OCD.
 
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