Solon Student Hosting Benefit To Raise Awareness For Rare Condition

Editor's Note: This story was submitted by Patch Reader Natasha Davidson, Greg Davidson's mother.

Seventh Grader Hosting a Unique Benefit Concert To Encourage Awareness and New Treatments to Fight a Difficult Pediatric Disorder

‘Songs of Broadway – a P.A.N.S. Benefit Concert’ will be held Sunday at 2 p.m. at the . Local area teens and adults will showcase their talents. Admission is free, but donations are appreciated to help fund much needed awareness and research of this newly discovered condition.

Greg Davidson's interest in planning this event stems from his own recent diagnosis of P.A.N.S, or Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome.

Greg has had an eight-year history of common illnesses bringing on unusual body movements, compulsions and the like. Only this fall following his most severe episode, was he diagnosed with P.A.N.S., also known as PANDAS, likened to rheumatic fever of the brain.

Researchers believe the condition is caused when antibodies mistakenly attack a part of the brain known as the basal ganglia, causing dramatic, "overnight" onset of neuro-psychiatric symptoms, such as motor or vocal tics, obsessions, compulsions, anxiety and ADHD.

This concert is Greg’s own creation and is open to the public. Music and singing have always been a big part of Greg’s life so a benefit concert seemed a perfect fit.

The condition was first described by Dr. Sue Swedo in 1998 and focused on strep as the causative agent. Recently the National Institute of Health (NIH) found that while strep throat may be a trigger, it is likely not the only trigger. The condition can be triggered by many other infections, including Lyme, Mono, Mycoplasma and the flu virus (such as H1N1).

At this time P.A.N.S. diagnosis is in its infancy and very few people, including doctors, know anything about this condition. There are only a handful of doctors in the country that treat P.A.N.S. It is not yet well understood and has not been well studied.

One of the leading P.A.N.S. researchers, Dr. Madeline Cunningham, emphasizes the importance of this effort: "PANS provides a window into a whole new way of treating mental illness as a faulty immune response.  If auto-antibodies are proven to play a role in mental disorders, then it will change the way mental illness is diagnosed and treated forever. Being a part of this change - whether you are a treating physician, a researcher, a parent or a donor – might change your life forever too."

Increasing public awareness and encouraging research into new treatments and a cure is critical to save thousands of kids from needless suffering.

For more information about P.A.N.S. or to make a donation, visit www.PandasResourceNetwork.org