Milwaukee, Wisconsin, April 22, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- It can attack without warning, causing wild swings in behavior. But what appears to be severe psychiatric issues are actually caused by inflammatory conditions of the brain. 

 

That’s the message they’re hoping to spread to more researchers and doctors at The Foundation for Children With Neuroimmune Disorders’ Inflammatory Brain Disorders Conference, to be held online May 13-14. Thanks to an anonymous donor, all physician registrations in the U.S. will be FREE OF CHARGE. Continuing Medical Education credits will be available for physicians.

 

The inflammatory brain disorders known as PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections) are only beginning to be properly understood.

 

“The majority of children as well as adults who present with neuropsychiatric symptoms are automatically given one of a handful of psychiatric diagnoses and sent on their way,” says Anna Conkey, Director, The Foundation For Children With Neuroimmune Disorders.

 

“Few medical providers consider that there may be an immune-mediated or inflammatory component to the illness that can be treated with something other than psychotropic medications. Misdiagnosis is a huge problem for those impacted, their families, schools, and society at large.”

 

This event will help further a dialogue that is progressing, even when COVID demands so much medical attention.

 

“It took decades for handwashing to be accepted as a reasonable way to stop the spread of infection, so I think it is not surprising that PANS and PANDAS are still not adequately understood,” says Conkey.

 

“One of the silver linings of COVID-19 is the extremely rapid acknowledgment and acceptance of the notion that an infection can result in neurologic and psychiatric symptoms even after the infection is gone. Suddenly, a great deal of money is being poured into research that I believe will help not only families struggling with PANS, PANDAS, and encephalitis, but also patients with psychiatric illness where there has never been any consideration that perhaps there could be an underlying immune or inflammation-related illness driving the symptoms.”

 

The conference will bring together many of the world’s foremost experts on inflammatory brain disorders, including post-COVID-19 syndromes in the hopes of disseminating their knowledge further. The intended audience includes both primary-care medical providers (pediatric and adult) as well as specialists in the fields of neurology, psychiatry, immunology, and rheumatology.

 

The keynote speaker is Dr. Sam Pleasure, a neurologist from University of California—San Francisco (UCSF). Another featured speaker is Dr. Souhel Najjar, known for his role in the best-selling book “Brain on Fire: My Month of Madness” by Susannah Cahalan, which was also adapted into a film for Netflix.

 

“We want medical providers to leave empowered to diagnose and treat these conditions, knowing where they can receive ongoing support after the conference is over,” says Conkey.   

 

About the Foundation for Children with Neuroimmune Disorders

 

The Foundation for Children With Neuroimmune Disorders is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to improving outcomes for children with children with Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS) and Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS), as well as infectious, post-infectious, and autoimmune encephalitis. The Foundation holds Guidestar's Platinum Seal of Transparency, an honor held by fewer than 1% of nonprofits. For more information: neuroimmune.org.

 

 

Saul Markowitz
Markowitz Communications
412-977-8517
Saul@MarkowitzCommunications.com