What is PANDAS? with Mara Myers, R.N. | EDB 277

Exploring Different Brains

Mara Myers shares her son’s journey with the autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder known as PANDAS. Mara Myers is a registered nurse, and the mom of a young son with PANDAS: Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections. According to the NIMH: “a child may be diagnosed with PANDAS when: obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), tic disorder, or both suddenly appear following a streptococcal (strep) infection, such as strep throat or scarlet fever; or, the symptoms of OCD or tic symptoms suddenly become worse following a strep infection. The symptoms are usually dramatic, happen “overnight and out of the blue,” and can include motor or vocal tics or both and obsessions, compulsions, or both. In addition to these symptoms, children may become moody or irritable, experience anxiety attacks, or show concerns about separating from parents or loved ones.” Mara can be contacted through her family’s practice: http://www.spinesolutionsfl.com/ For more on PANDAS: https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/pandas Follow Different Brains on social media: https://twitter.com/diffbrains https://www.facebook.com/different.brains/ https://www.instagram.com/diffbrains/ Check out more episodes of Exploring Different Brains! http://differentbrains.org/category/edb/