PANS PANDAS Diagnosis & Testing

PANS/PANDAS is a clinical diagnosis, made by a physician based upon a patients presenting symptoms and examination, personal and family history, not simply laboratory tests. The history must show abrupt onset of OCD and concurrent neuropsychiatric symptoms. Other syndromes must be excluded i.e. general OCD, tic disorders, Sydenham chorea, general anxiety, etc.

Once a clinical diagnosis is made or suspected, lab tests can show if there are current or past infection to address. Note that the patient need not present with an illness, and some patients need only be exposed to a pathogen to be affected.

PANS/PANDAS Testing

• Strep throat culture, 48 hour culture or perianal culture

• Bacteria & Virus Blood Work:

  • Anti-Streptolysin O - ASO

  • Anti dNase B

  • Streptozyme

  • Lyme Disease and co-infections

  • Mycoplasma Pneumonaie IgA & IgM

  • Pneumococcal Antibody

  • Epstein Barr Virus Panel

  • Coxsackie A & B Titers

  • HHV-6 Titers

Cunningham Panel* – autoimmune auto-antibody levels: Dopamine D1 receptor, Dopamine D2L receptor, Lysoganglioside GM1, Tubulin, & CaM Kinase II

*The Cunningham Panel™ can help identify the level of autoimmune antibodies associated with Neuropsychiatric Disorders and the capability they have to stimulate and trigger neurologic behavior. Elevated levels of these antibodies indicate that a child’s symptoms may be due to an infection-induced autoimmune response.