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2021 Impact and Actions

The PPN mission is to maintain the industry standard PPN Guidelines for Diagnostics and Therapeutics, foster continuous education and communication within the multi-disciplinary medical community and to sponsor research for developing diagnostic tests, treatment protocols and a cure for PANDAS/PANS within this generation.

Read below to learn what actions were taken in 2021 to help fulfill the PPN mission.

10,000
CLINICIANS REACHED

through outreach and
educational advertising.

PANDAS Physicians Network’s annual outreach initiative through educational advertising aims to reach clinicians in relevant fields to encourage them to learn about PANS/PANDAS. In 2021, we reached out to the Society of Pediatric Nurses (SPN) and the Pediatric Academic Societies (PAS).

SPN focuses on pediatric nurse leaders, including nursing directors, managers, charge nurses, and pediatric staff nurses.

PAS brings together pediatricians and other health care providers. The PAS Meeting is produced through the partnership of four leading pediatric associations: American Pediatric Society (APS), Society for Pediatric Research (SPR), Academic Pediatric Association (APA), and American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP).

Our 2021 effort put PANS/PANDAS content in front of 10,000+ clinicians.

$150,000
IN RESEARCH FUNDS AWARDED
over the course of 3 years to support building a bio-repository for identifying biomarkers in PANS.

PANDAS Physicians Network is proud to announce $150,000 will be awarded over the course of 3 years to support the PANS research program at Stanford’s Immune Behavioral Health Clinic for their work on building a bio-repository for identifying biomarkers in PANS.

Of particular attention has been Dr. Jennifer Frankovich’s work on collecting matched “healthy controls”. Having healthy controls allows detection of markers in blood or urine that could be indicators of an underlying genetic predisposition (as thought to be the case in Acute Rheumatic Fever) or as triggers that are overexpressed in patients with PANS.

Stanford has a repository of over 100 children with PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome), but needs healthy controls for identifying these markers. Finding healthy subjects in this particular age group is extremely challenging. CLICK HERE to learn how you can help PANS research by serving as a healthy control.

PANS PANDAS Brain

YOUR DONATIONS
MAKE AN IMPACT.

ENGAGED
WITH PEDIATRIC ORGANIZATIONS
to provide resources, communicate, and empower the medical community to diagnose and treat PANS/PANDAS.

American Academy of Pediatrics

For the second year, the AAP in-person meeting was replaced by a fully virtual conference with approximately 15,000 participants. PPN was available to speak with clinicians while providing online resources through a virtual exhibit booth.

Ohio Chapter: AAP

2021 was the first year PANDAS Physicians Network exhibited with the Ohio chapter of the AAP. 2,900 members were given the opportunity to view our resources, “meet” with us virtually, and shown our PSA on PANS/PANDAS during a session break.

International OCD Foundation

PPN is an official educational partner of the IOCDF. In addition to having a virtual booth made available to its 2,500 attendees, PPN helped coordinate a session that included a research update with Kyle Williams, MD, PhD and a community discussion led by Amy Young, Psy.D.

EDUCATED
CLINICIANS AND RESEARCHERS
through free learning opportunities.

PANDAS Physicians Network is committed to providing learning opportunities to researchers and the medical community. In 2021, PPN collaborated with Dritan Agalliu, Ph.D. to develop a CME accredited webinar on The Role of Adaptive Immunity and Genetic Risk Factors in Vascular and Neuronal Dysfunction in Post-Infectious Autoimmune Encephalitis. This webinar was complemented with a supplemental Q and A that answered questions such as whether the olfactory route of coronavirus may be a relevant cause of autoimmune encephalitis and a discussion on the implications of infections and immune stimulating events disrupting Blood Brain Barrier and impacting the Central Nervous System.

Ensured the Dissemination of Accurate Information
by responding to a statement issued by the British Paediatric Neurology Association.

35% increase
in website visits compared to 2020.

“I appreciate your web site so much! It is rare in my field to encounter anyone willing to commit to clear and precise communication. You are great!”

“Thank you for continually updating and sharing your resources.”