When the Body Attacks the Brain: Immune System Often to Blame for Encephalitis, Study Finds

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 evidence of immune mechanisms in PANDAS PANS Children that can be identified by doctors. 

“Previously, we did not know how common autoimmune encephalitis was, as no prior studies evaluated this,” Dr. Flanagan says. “This study allows us to estimate that approximately 1 million people worldwide had autoimmune encephalitis in their lifetime. We also estimate that, currently, about 90,000 people around the world develop autoimmune encephalitis each year.”

When the Body Attacks the Brain: Immune System Often to Blame for Encephalitis, Study Finds