PANDAS Network Newsletter - March 2020
Dear PANDAS Network Subscribers,

First a wish for your strong good health and well being during this difficult time for our world.

P/P/AE research will continue and we want you to know your efforts, donations, and voice have made a difference. Please consider saving this newsletter if you don't have the energy to read it now.

Below are three posts:
1) An interview with Dr. Kenneth Bock , Integrative Medical Practitioner, New York, and well known author), on the impact of COVID-19 on P/P/AE children.
2) IMPORTANT RESEARCH PAPER AND VIDEO of Basic Science by Columbia Univ. Agalliu Lab proving Strep Bacteria can cause brain inflammation (aka PANDAS or Basal Ganglia Encephalitis). We have hired a Medical Animation company to make this research readily understandable and narrated for a broad audience of doctors and families. This study helps to justify treatment for our children. It will be available in May 2020.

3) Link to February Newsletter $100K in research & 3 Special Fundraisers . Many people hadn't received this newsletter and we want you to know work will continue on -- TONSIL, IMMUNE, Gut Microbiome research once the trials of Covid have passed.

THANK YOU FOR BEING A COMMUNITY OF LOVE AND SUPPORT TO ONE ANOTHER. Please stay safe at home and we will continue to stay in touch.........The PANDAS Network Board of Directors
We know PANDAS/PANS families are worried about the Coronavirus because of their own personal journey watching a pathogen wreak havoc on their child’s immune system.

The Coronavirus, or COVID-19, the name of the disease caused by the virus called SARS-CoV-2, is giving the rest of the world a sampling of what strep and other pathogens have put our children through for years. The race to find the culprit, a cure and quality care is underway on a global scale. 

But what does it mean for children with PANDAS / PANS? click 'Learn More'
READ THIS IMPORTANT NEW PAPER in PNAS, published March 24, 2020. It lays the foundation for autoimmune processes in the Blood Sera of PANDAS/PANS/AE children. It explains how strep bacteria has the ability to ignite autoimmune misdirected Th17 Cells, Lymphocytes and Cytokines allowing the entry of autoantibodies. These immune cells irritate many things such as microglia and neural circuits that impact brain, immune function and psychological behaviors, amongst other things that we see in P/P/AE. Please note this paper is copyrighted and, therefore, it needs to be purchased for $10 .

Th17 lymphocytes drive vascular and neuronal deficits in a mouse model of postinfectious autoimmune encephalitis
Maryann P. Platt, Kevin A. Bolding, Charlotte R. Wayne, Sarah Chaudhry, Tyler Cutforth, Kevin M. Franks, and Dritan Agalliu
Proceedings of the National Academy of Science, PNAS,  March 24, 2020 117 (12) 6708-6716; first published March 11, 2020  https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1911097117

WATCH THE VIDEO of Maryann Platt, PhD Fellow, explaining her work with slides !! (It is the last video on the conference link below). The Olfactory Bulb is parallel to human frontal brain interactions. Also, research points to lymphoid tissue activation of the tonsils/adenoids but more research is required. Disruption of "smell" equates to disruption of neurological functions in humans. Just keep this in mind as you watch.

February Newsletter BRINGING HOPE with $100K for Research
Dedicated to improving the diagnosis and treatment of children with PANDAS and PANS