Re: NEW: Strep_agalactiae_30

http://www.nimh.nih.gov/about/director/2010/microbes-and-mental-illness.shtml


It is already clear that 90% of “our DNA” is microbial, not human. “We” are, in fact, “super-organisms” made up of thousands of species, many of which are being identified for the first time. And there are persistent individual differences in our microbial ecology established early in life.

Yet, there are many clues linking microbiology and mental disorders, such as epidemiologic evidence of increased risk for schizophrenia associated with prenatal exposure to influenza. Probably the most compelling case for such involvement is children who develop obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) and/or tic disorders “overnight,” following a strep infection. Despite continuing debate over its parameters, evidence is mounting in support of Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections (PANDAS) — or at least a syndrome modeled on it.