Episode 101. PANS and PANDAS with Nancy O'hara, MD.

Pediatric Acute Onset Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococcus Infection and Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome is a troubling condition that involves sudden onset of OCD, anxiety, tics, sometimes aggression, sometimes ADHD, sometimes depression, sometimes dysgraphia.. that abruptly happens almost overnight. In some cases like PANDAS it follows a streptococcus infection in other cases like PANS it may follow a virus, vector-borne-illness, or mycotoxin exposure. In this episode a legend in functional medicine Nancy O'hara, MD joins us as she is an expert in this topic and author of Demystifying PANS/PANDAS: A Functional Medicine Desktop Reference on Basal Ganglia Encephalitis.

In this episode we cover:

Dr. O'Hara's approach and Philosophy work.
The life and tribulations of a family with a medically challenged child.
3-pronged approach (Treat symptoms, treat inflammation, treat-infection)
Making a diagnosis. The challenges of testing and the importance of the clinical diagnosis.
How Sars-Cov-2 spike protein has impacted PANS/PANDAS due to its impact on latent viruses and vector borne illness.
Dr. O'hara's membership and mentorship programs.

See detailed show notes at https://www.onethingpod.com/panspandasohara

About Dr. O'Hara

Dr. Nancy O’Hara is a board certified Pediatrician. Prior to her medical career, Dr. O’Hara taught children with autism. She graduated with highest honors from Bryn Mawr College and as a member of the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Society from the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. She earned a Master’s degree in Public Health from the University of Pittsburgh. After residency, chief residency and general pediatric fellowship at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. O’ Hara entered general private practice in 1993, and in 1998 began her consultative, integrative practice solely for children with special needs. Since 1999 she has dedicated her functional medicine practice to the integrative and holistic care of children with chronic illness and neurodevelopmental disorders such as ADHD, PANDAS/PANS, OCD, Lyme and ASD. She is also a leader in the training of clinicians, both in the United States and abroad. Dr. O’Hara has written a comprehensive guidebook, “Demystifying PANS / PANDAS: A Functional Medicine Desktop Reference on Basal Ganglia Encephalitis”, which is available on Amazon in e-book or soft-cover formats. For more information on her membership and mentoring program, please visit www.drohara.com. Additionally, Dr. O’Hara’s research on Folate Receptor Auto Antibodies and PANS/PANDAS was recently published. (https://doi.org/10.3390/jpm14020166)

Resources mentioned in the episode

1.    Spellers  https://spellers.com/

2.   Medical Academy of Special Needs: About Us - MAPS

3.  Neurobiology of Everyday communication https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27284021/

4.      Helminth Therapy Human helminth therapy to treat inflammatory disorders- where do we ...

5.      Toxicant Load in Liver disease https://www.ifm.org/news-insights/addressing-body-burden-discussion-lyn-patrick-nd-toxicants/

6.      Sidney M. Baker, MD

7.      Socio-medical studies of individuals self-treating with helminths ...

8.      Hymenolepis diminuta Cysticercoids Production and Use of Hymenolepis diminuta Cysticercoids as Anti ...

9.      Biome Restoration https://biomerestoration.com/

10.  Demystifing Pans and Pandas book by Dr. O’Hara https://www.amazon.com/Demystifying-PANS-PANDAS-Functional-Encephalitis/dp/1939794269?ref_=ast_author_dp

11.  Mentorship program by Dr. O’hara https://www.drohara.com/membership

Related episodes

Panda/Pans with Jill Crista, ND https://www.onethingpod.com/s5e84

The Immune System and Mental Health with Dr. Emily Gutierrez https://www.onethingpod.com/s6e93

Mitochondrial Dysfunction and Autism with Richard Bolles, MD
https://www.onethingpod.com/mitochondrial-dysfunction-and-autism-with-dr-richard-g-boles/

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