Case Review: Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome

History & Diagnosis

A 6-year-old female presented to our medical center who suffered from Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome also referred to as PANS. PANS is a condition where an individual experiences acute obsessive-compulsive disorder and significant cognitive/behavioral changes. For some, this condition can seem to develop overnight with a drastic change in behavior and cognition. During her initial visit, her mother reported acute onset of anxiety, paranoia, intrusive thoughts, insomnia, fatigue, and issues with completing her schoolwork. What was a healthy 6-year-old turned into an entirely different child overnight. Her parents felt as if they had lost their daughter. She could not properly participate in school or spend time with friends and family. What was most concerning to her family was the degree of her intrusive thoughts and the fear that her daughter was a danger to herself. Despite her prior diagnosis of PANS from her general practitioner, there were no interventions that were successful in reversing these erratic changes in her behavior.

Evaluation

A comprehensive analysis of the patient revealed the following:

• Very high tissue toxicity – 15 on Dr. Schimmel’s scale.
  • Dr. Schimmel’s scale involves a toxicity score ranging from 0-21. As a reference, a normal range for a healthy individual is considered 1-8.
• High heavy metal toxicity causing disruption of the autonomic nervous system.
• Significant gastrointestinal dysbiosis in both the small and large intestines.
• Multiple nutritional deficiencies, including minerals (iron, magnesium, silica, phosphorus) and vitamin deficiencies (B, D).
• Multiple pathogens associated with Lyme Disease, including bacterial, fungal, and parasitic co-infections.

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Treatment

A personalized program of treatment was established to reduce the toxic burden, address infections, and restore proper terrain.

With consideration for her age, she started her treatment with a trial of oral remedies only. After reassessing the patient in 6 weeks, she was not experiencing the necessary symptom relief. Reevaluation signified the need to cleanse her body and restore proper function of organs/overall system using both oral and intravenous methods.

She continued taking mineral salts, nutritional supplements, and homeopathic preparations to open her drainage pathways and initiate detoxification. She also started rebuilding her milieu with heavy metal detoxification using oral chelating agents.

Intravenous infusions were combined with oxidative therapies and intramuscular antiviral injections using natural compounds. These treatments were administered three times a week for one week. During her first week of intravenous therapy, energy balancing was performed using the French ACMOS method, an advanced therapeutic system similar to acupuncture but without needles. Following this came three sessions of antimicrobial therapies administered twice a week, separated by two intravenous infusions to support her ability to eliminate pathogens and detoxify. After the main course of her 3-week treatment, the patient began to experience the elimination of many of her initial symptoms, as reported by her parents.  She was beginning to sleep through the night, focusing on her work, and her behavioral episodes, while still present, slowly began to decrease in duration and severity.

While the primary focus of this treatment centered on our patient, its benefits extended to the entire family. Initially threatened by the acute onset of PANS, the family found answers and relief within a few short weeks. Most importantly, by avoiding years of misdiagnosis and employing a successful program of treatment, their child could resume a healthy life.

Nicole Ritieni, NP – Clinical Director

Results

The patient completed all intravenous and oral therapies outlined in her personalized program of treatment. After only three weeks, she felt much better, and many of her initial symptoms improved. Her parents expressed that they began to experience more relief than they have in a long time, as nothing seemed to impact her symptoms previously. After the last treatment, her results showed that all pathogenic organisms were eliminated, her toxicity came down to a 7, regulation of her autonomic nervous system was restored, and she successfully eliminated most heavy metals. She was also free from Lyme disease, which was never considered or diagnosed previously with her PANS diagnosis.

Before leaving our medical center, the patient’s parents were reminded that although she is moving in the right direction, complete healing is a process that requires time. Proper lifestyle habits paired with supportive supplements would be necessary to continue her healing process as she returns home. She was advised to follow up with a repeat assessment in 6 weeks due to the nature of her condition. The follow-up process routinely continued over the next year to ensure that the patient was fully supported and improving. At her one-year follow-up, the patient’s parents expressed immense gratitude that we were able to find the root cause of her disease and fully restore her health. They felt as if they had their daughter back; she was functioning entirely normal, free from any symptoms reminiscent of PANS. She returned to what felt like a normal life of a healthy, 6-year-old girl.

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