Research Categories: Neurological Research

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In 2018, the Mayo Clinic reported that Autoimmune Encephalitis,  PANDAS/PANS being a subset of this, affects 90,000 people worldwide, annually.  Most of these people are undiagnosed and are left to suffer.  PANDAS/PANS has been criticized because some of the direct immune mechanisms were not clarified.  Thankfully,Columbia University and Yale University Neuroscientists will publish in late 2022… Continue reading When the Body Attacks the Brain: Immune System Often to Blame for Encephalitis, Study Finds

A Yale study of 27 children provides critical evidence that PANDAS/PANS is a type of autoimmune encephalitis. Testing for autoimmune antibodies is one part of making a PANDAS/PANS diagnosis, and a study found misdirected autoimmune antibodies in the brains of children who have had PANDAS.  These antibodies irritate and bind to specific neurons in the… Continue reading YALE University: Harmful, Misdirected Autoimmune Antibodies Found in Children with PANDAS/PANS

A PNAS study explains the role Th17 lymphocytes play in the formation of central nervous system autoimmune diseases such as autoimmune encephalitides. Central nervous system (CNS) diseases such as autoimmune encephalitides (AE) are associated with antibodies against neuronal receptors and synaptic proteins. The question has been how the antibodies enter the brain in the first… Continue reading Th17 Lymphocytes Play Critical Role in Autoimmune Encephalitides Syndromes

Brain scan abnormalities found in children with PANS In total, 34 patients (median age 12, 17 boys, 17 girls) with acute onset PANS before initiation of treatment were compared with 64 pediatric control participants. The current working model suggests a unifying inflammatory process involving the central nervous system, particularly the basal ganglia.  Using and experimental… Continue reading Brain Scan Abnormalities Found in Children with PANS

Group A strep bacteria in mouse model promotes CNS infiltration by Th17 (an autoimmune disease specific cell) Infection with group A Streptococcus (GAS) causes the common and treatable pharyngitis known as strep throat; however, these infections are also associated with autoimmune diseases of the central nervous system (CNS). A subset of children are at risk… Continue reading Group A Streptococcus intranasal infection promotes CNS infiltration by strep-specific Th17 cell

Structural & functional features of the CNS lymphatic system connect brain to immune system An important discovery connecting the brain to the immune system was made in 2015 by researchers at the University of Virginia.  It overturns decades of textbook teaching that considered the brain impermeable to the immune system and its changes.  The brain… Continue reading Structural and Functional Features of Central Nervous System Lymphatic Vessels