PANDAS

Folate, or vitamin B9, plays a vital role in the functioning of the body. It is essential for the synthesis of DNA and RNA, regulates methylation, and supports normal cell growth and development. A deficiency of folate in the brain can lead to serious consequences, including cognitive and neurological disorders.

Upon consumption, folates are absorbed in the intestine and transported to various organs via the folate receptor alpha (FRα). Under normal conditions, the folate level in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) should be 2-3 times higher than in blood. However, in some individuals, blood folate levels may remain within the normal range while the delivery of folate to the brain is inadequate.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is a neurological condition that affects behaviour and attention in children and adolescents.

In recent decades, its prevalence has risen significantly, making ADHD one of the most common psychiatric disorders in childhood. This article explores the nature of the condition, common signs and symptoms, diagnostic approaches, treatment options, and how parents can best support children living with ADHD.

The modern generation of children spends more time indoors than any previous generation. Remember your own childhood; going outside was always a joy for us. We had friends, games, and couldn’t be dragged back home in winter or summer. Now you can’t even persuade children to leave the house!

It’s no longer a punishment when you say, “Don’t go outside today!” It’s exactly what children want - not to go anywhere and sit in front of their phone, computer, tablet, or television screen. But there is an opinion that this is one of the main reasons for the high prevalence of health problems among today’s youth.

Many would agree with me that medicine has changed significantly over the past decades. Doctors have stopped approaching patients’ problems individually and now only listen to the patient for a few minutes, whereas in the past, the initial visit could last an hour or more. Previously, a doctor could make a house call if a patient was feeling unwell, but now patients have to wait for hours in the hospital queue, even if they can barely stand and are on the verge of losing consciousness.

We understand the situation well when the cause of our illness is an infection. So, we need to find a way to kill this infection, and we will recover immediately. Of course, this is a simplification. We cannot always kill viruses, for example. Moreover, an infectious disease can trigger an autoimmune disease. To avoid any confusion, let’s break down the issue in detail.

This article is written for parents of special needs children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), which I will refer to as autism for brevity. In this article, I won’t delve into explaining what autism is. Even if you are not a parent of such a child, you likely encounter these children in various settings. Unfortunately, autism has ceased to be a rare condition.

Many years ago, I first heard about this strange abbreviation, PANDAS. It was about children who were no different from their peers except that they would occasionally have fits of hysteria. In this state, these children could destroy everything around them and cause harm to themselves and those around them. Of course, when this happened in front of their peers, it had a highly negative impact on the socialization of these children. Their peers avoided them, and teachers also felt tension and often requested the presence of an assistant to help control these children. After all, a child could start behaving uncontrollably again at any moment.