Sláinte Healthcare are delighted to be supporting the inaugural PANDAS Ireland Conference which takes place in Dublin's Convention Centre on Wednesday 22nd October 2014. Speakers will include neurologist and PANDAS specialist, Dr Rosario Trifiletti and developmental Paediatrician, Dr Catherine Nicolaides, all with expertise in treating children with PANDAS in their clinics in the US and Denmark.
PANDAS (Paediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections) was first identified in the US in 1998 and latest research states that it affects 1 in 200 children in the US. It is a neuropsychiatric disease which can strike young children following an infection and causes a range of debilitating symptoms including severe anxiety, paranoia and obsessive compulsive disorder. The Conference in Dublin has been organised by PANDAS Ireland and led by Irish mother, Karen Cafferky whose five year old boy, Ethan is affected by the condition.
Karen says, “Although PANDAS is more common than was initially thought, the reality is that the condition is not well recognised and in Ireland especially, treatment is hard to find. My son was finally diagnosed with PANDAS this year after 15 months of consultations with various specialists in Ireland and still receives no treatmentThe purpose of this Conference is to raise awareness of PANDAS with medical professionals and the general public so that we can get the care that we need for our children in Ireland.”
The Conference will take place in Dublin’s Convention Centre from 2.00 pm – 6.00 pm. Parents, physicians, nurses, therapists, teachers, and anyone interested in learning more about this condition and treatment are encouraged to attend. Attendance is free of charge to doctors with a charge of €25 for other individuals.
For more information on PANDAS Ireland and the upcoming conference email PANDASIreland@gmail.com, log onto www.pandasireland.ie or visit Karen Cafferky’s blog at http://kcbloggs.wordpress.com/2014/03/05/my-son-and-p-a-n-d-a-s/