Abstract
Background: Pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections (PANDAS) are immune-mediated diseases characterized by obsessive-compulsive symptoms and/or tics triggered by group A Streptococcus infections. Despite the well-known action of 25-hydroxyvitamin D [25(OH)D] on different conditions driven by systemic inflammation, there are no data about the 25(OH)D status in patients with PANDAS. Aims: To evaluate plasma 25(OH)D levels in a large cohort of children and adolescents with PANDAS and comparing the results with healthy controls. Methods: We have evaluated plasma 25(OH)D levels in 179 Italian patients with PANDAS (49 females, 130 males, mean age at diagnosis: 101.4 ± 30.1 months) and in an age-, gender-, and body mass index-matched control group of 224 healthy subjects. Results: Patients with PANDAS have shown more frequently reduced 25(OH)D levels (<30 ng/mL) in comparison with controls (94.6% vs. 82.5%, p = 0.0007). Patients with PANDAS had also lower levels of 25(OH)D than controls (20.4 ± 6.9 ng/mL vs. 24.8 ± 7.3 ng/mL, p < 0.0001). This difference was observed during both winter (13.7 ± 3.25 ng/mL vs. 21.4 ± 5.9 ng/mL, p < 0.0001) and summer (21.8 ± 6.5 ng/mL vs. 32.5 ± 8.7 ng/mL, p < 0.0001). Notably, serum 25(OH)D levels correlated with both number of streptococcal (strep) infections before diagnosis of PANDAS (p < 0.005) and with infection recurrence (p < 0.005). Conclusions: PANDAS patients have reduced 25(OH)D levels, which appear related to streptococcal infections and the probability of recurrence. Further long-term studies with higher number of patients are needed to investigate and confirm this relationship.
Original language | English |
---|---|
Pages (from-to) | 124-129 |
Number of pages | 6 |
Journal | Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology |
Volume | 28 |
Issue number | 2 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Mar 1 2018 |
Keywords
- 25(OH)D
- group A beta-hemolytic Streptococcus
- obsessive-compulsive disorder
- PANDAS
- tic
- Vitamin D
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Pediatrics, Perinatology, and Child Health
- Psychiatry and Mental health
- Pharmacology (medical)