From Paresis to PANDAS and PANS
By Thomas Insel on March 26, 2012
Dr. Insel discusses the connection between mental disorders and infection in light of pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders PANS and PANDAS.
Topic Page: OCD
NIMH Pages About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Overview of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)…
Find current clinical trials on Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)…
Publications About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder: When Unwanted Thoughts Take Over
-
A brochure on obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) that explains the signs, symptoms, and treatments. En Español - PANDAS: Frequently Asked Questions about Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections
- Overview and FAQs about this illness.
- Anxiety Disorders
-
A detailed booklet that describes the symptoms, causes, and treatments of the major anxiety disorders, with information on getting help and coping En Español
Science News About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
- Twitter Chat on PANDAS/PANS
- Science Update
NIMH experts discuss childhood rapid-onset OCD during our next Twitter chat on May 8, 2013.
- Possible Causes of Sudden Onset OCD in Kids Broadened
- Press Release
The syndrome, Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), includes children and teens that suddenly develop on-again/off-again OCD symptoms or abnormal eating behaviors, along with other psychiatric symptoms – without any known cause. An immune-based treatment study is underway at NIH.
- Adding Psychotherapy to Medication Treatment Improves Outcomes in Pediatric OCD
- Science Update
Youth with obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) who are already taking antidepressant medication benefit by adding a type of psychotherapy called cognitive behavior therapy (CBT), according to an NIMH-funded study published September 21, 2011, in the Journal of the American Medical Association.
- Mice with Autism-related Mutations Replicate Autism-like Behaviors
- Science Update
Mice bred to harbor mutations similar to those discovered in people with autism show autism-like repetitive behaviors and social impairments. The behaviors, triggered by deletions in a gene called SHANK3, implicated in some cases of autism, were traced to weak neural connections for functions disturbed in autism.
- Silenced Gene for Social Behavior Found in Autism
- Science Update
For the first time, inherited disruption of gene expression in a brain system for social behavior has been implicated in autism. NIMH grantee Margaret Pericak-Vance, Ph.D., at the University of Miami and Simon Gregory, Ph.D., at Duke University, and a multinational team of researchers found evidence for such epigenetic effects on the gene for the oxytocin receptor -- part of a brain system that mediates social behaviors disturbed in autism. The findings suggest a potential genetic biomarker for the disorder.
Posts About Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
Microbes and Mental Illness
By Thomas Insel on August 13, 2010
Increasing evidence linking strep infection to OCD in children suggests that microbiomics may prove an important research area for understanding and treating mental disorders.