Family calls attention to rare pediatric disorders

“If a parent comes to you and describes a sudden and acute change in their child, that is a medical red flag,” Sleepy Hollow resident Bianca Gersten wrote in a letter to her son’s former pediatrician.

Gersten was referring to PANDAS, the acronym for pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections. The condition is linked to the sudden onset of behavioral changes following a strep infection. PANS, or pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome, is a broader condition with other possible triggers.

October 9 was World PANS/PANDAS Awareness Day, and this year the bridge that spans the Tappan Zee was illuminated in green as part of #LightUp4PANS, a global initiative to bring attention to the illnesses. ASPIRE (Alliance to Solve PANS & Immune-Related Encephalopathies) was the nonprofit behind the initiative.