Press Release:
LE ROY, NY TEENS: UPDATE FROM DR. TRIFILETTI
Ramsey, NJ — February 22, 2012 — Rosario Trifiletti, MD issued the following statement today regarding the teens he is treating in Le Roy, NY. National attention was drawn to the plight of the teens when they were suddenly afflicted with uncontrollable bodily movements sometimes described as tics.
“I continue to work with a PANDAS-like diagnosis. The lab work is now complete on all nine of the patients I examined on January 29, 2012 and has shown evidence of infection by
either Streptococcus Pyogenes (the common strep throat bacterium, found in five of nine
patients) or Mycoplasma Pneumonia (a bacteria-like agent that is a common cause of a mild pneumonia-like illness, found in eight of nine patients). Two patients also meet CDC diagnostic criteria for Lyme disease. They are being treated appropriately according to the infectious agents found and are responding to treatment. In my opinion, these objective findings, which would be exceedingly unlikely to occur by chance alone, support my diagnosis of a PANDAS-like illness.
I must remain open to another possibility such as mass psychogenic illness, which can never be supported or refuted by objective findings. However, given the clinical and laboratory data, I find a PANDAS-like illness a very likely medical diagnosis in these children. I hope to see the teenagers again soon, but given that I am doing house calls from some two hundred miles away, it requires extraordinary planning. In the meantime, I remain in close contact with their parents.
To reach Dr. Trifiletti contact:
Telephone: 201-962-7284 Email: trifmd@gmail.comWebsite: http://www.site.neurokidsr.us
For additional Information about PANDAS:
http://www.pandasfoundation.org
http://www.savingsammy.net
http://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/publications/pandas/pandas-frequently-asked-questions- about-pediatric-autoimmune-neuropsychiatric-disorders-associated-with-streptococcal- infections.shtml
http://ocfoundation.org/PANDAS http://www.askdrsears.com/topics/childhood-illnesses/ocd http://www.pandasnetwork.org
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I swore when all of that news came out, it sounded like PANDAS. I think if it were teenage boys who had had the symptoms, they wouldn’t have gone immediately to a psychosomatic illness, but I hope the girls are being treated the best way they can.
PANDAS was the first thing that crossed my mind. I *hate* that the first place they went when stumped was psychosomatic. Seems to me they would have learned. Can anyone say “refrigerator mothers?”
Dear Michelle,
I’ve never heard of PANDAS. Now I’ll goggle it. Thank you for posting this.
Peace.