Blood Test Can Identify Some Children With Strep-Related Behavioral...( eresearchers found that 85 percent of ...)

e researchers found that 85 percent of the children with strep-associated OCD and tics and 89 percent of youngsters with Sydenham's chorea were D8/17 positive compared to 17 percent of the healthy children. The typical number of D8/17 positive cells were similar in the two groups of patients and much higher compared to the healthy children.

The blood test is still a research tool that may be a few years away from regular clinical use, said Henrietta Leonard, M.D., the study's second author. But the findings suggest that a subset of children exist--those who may be genetically predisposed to involuntary actions of OCD and tics--whose sudden and acute onset is associated with strep throat. This allows clinicians to consider prevention of the abrupt appearance of OCD and tic disorders, she said.

"If we could potentially screen children at risk when they're young, we could watch the children who have this trait marker for rheumatic fever more closely and catch them right away if they begin to show OCD or tic symptoms," said Leonard. "We can also see if there is a way to prevent illness onset in the children, possibly through the use of preventative antibiotic treatments. Some kids with OCD or tic symptoms never get over how they're treated by others. Our hope is that with more research, we can change the outcome for these children." Leonard is professor and director of training for child and adolescent psychiatry in the Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, Brown University School of Medicine, and director of training in child and adolescent psychiatry at Rhode Island Hospital.

Only a small percentage of strep throat infections are associated with the appearance of OCD or tic disorders. There may be dozens of reasons why a young person develops OCD or tic symptoms. Severe OCD or tic symptoms are treated with drugs, such as Prozac or Anafranil, combined with behavior modification therapy. These treatments target control of symptoms,
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Contact: Scott Turner
Scott_Turner@Brown.edu
401-863-1862
Brown University
18-Feb-1997

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