Why shouldn PANDAS be treated “like any other case of OCD or tics” like the NIMH website recommends?
PANDAS is thought to have a different cause than non-PANDAS OCD and tics. Research studies thus far indicate that children with PANDAS had higher behavioral activation rates on SSRIs see http://mbldownloads.com/0806PP_Murphy.pdf. Anti-psychotics have many serious side effects and there are not controlled studies on the use of these medications on children in the PANDAS subgroup. There has been studies of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that has shown some efficacy with older PANDAS children; however, the main benefit raised in the report was that parents learned techniques for managing exacerbations. There are not controlled clinical studies on Exposure Response Prevention, but some parents on this forum have tried this technique. Anecdotal reports are mixed on the effectiveness for PANDAS children.
PANDAS is thought to have a different cause than non-PANDAS OCD and tics. Research studies thus far indicate that children with PANDAS had higher behavioral activation rates on SSRIs see (this study). Anti-psychotics have many serious side effects and there are not controlled studies on the use of these medications on children in the PANDAS subgroup. There has been studies of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy that has shown some efficacy with older PANDAS children; however, the main benefit raised in the report was that parents learned techniques for managing exacerbations. There are not controlled clinical studies on Exposure Response Prevention, but some parents on this forum have tried this technique. Anecdotal reports are mixed on the effectiveness for PANDAS children.
