Dr. Jennifer Frankovich is a pediatric rheumatologist and clinical professor in the Department of Pediatrics, Division of Allergy, Immunology and Rheumatology at Stanford University and the Lucile Packard Children's Hospital. Dr. Frankovich is known around the world for her groundbreaking research and clinical work in PANS and PANDAS. She has directed the Stanford Immune-Behavioral Health Program since 2012.

Dr. Frankovich explains emerging work on blood brain barrier disruption using brain endothelial cell models, and how immune phenotyping across T cells, B cells, and other subsets may help match the right patient to the right treatment. We also talk about why some kids improve with NSAIDs or Azithromycin, what that suggests about inflammation pathways like MMP9, and why B cell activation is especially linked to psychiatric symptom severity in her data.

We also get practical about what clinicians can actually look for right now in their patients, including subtle arthritis patterns, enthesitis, and nail pitting as empirical evidence that suggests an inflammatory driver when you can’t biopsy the brain. From there, we unpack imaging realities (why standard MRI reports often miss microstructural change, and why pediatric PET research is so hard), plus what the field needs next: randomized clinical trials, better outcome measures, the Aurora Network, microbiome research, and carefully documented brain tissue studies, to mention just a few things.

Learn what keeps this top PANS clinical researcher up at night and what gives her hope. Please share this with someone who still thinks “it’s only behavioral.”

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Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.

Credits: Music by Kingsley Durant from his "Convertible" album

To learn more about PANDAS and PANS and The Alex Manfull Fund, visit our website: TheAlexManfullFund.org

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Your kid gets a routine cold, and a week later they can’t sleep, can’t eat, can’t speak normally, can’t control their body, and the hospital tells you it’s “psychiatric.” That gap between what families see at home and what many clinicians are willing to consider is where PANS and PANDAS patients get stranded, and it’s why this conversation matters.

We’re joined by journalist and author Jessica Slice, whose major New York Magazine article brought infection-associated neuroimmune disorders to a massive audience. Jessica walks us through her daughter Rose’s sudden crash after illness, the lack of medical curiosity she encountered in emergency care, and the moment antibiotics and NSAIDs offered the first real signal that inflammation and immune dysfunction might be driving the chaos. We also talk candidly about what it feels like to leave the “safe” system and chase care out of pocket when your child is in crisis.

From there, we zoom out to the science and the stakes: what PANDAS and PANS actually are, why the psychiatry vs neurology split keeps slowing progress, and how medical skepticism becomes policy through guidelines. Jessica describes her call with the American Academy of Pediatrics, the questions families need answered, and how reports can influence insurance coverage denials for treatments like IVIG. We end with a grounded update on Rose, the realities of recovery, and what advocacy looks like when you’re still living it.

If you found this helpful, subscribe, share with a friend who needs it, and leave a review so more families and clinicians can find these stories and the science behind them.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.

Credits: Music by Kingsley Durant from his "Convertible" album

To learn more about PANDAS and PANS and The Alex Manfull Fund, visit our website: TheAlexManfullFund.org

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In this episode, we trace Dr. Swedo’s path from pediatrics to the National Institute of Mental Health and the early clinical observations that linked Sydenham chorea, rheumatic fever, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Along the way, she explains why OCD is often hidden for years unless clinicians ask the right questions, and why structured checklists can change everything for families searching for answers. We also confront the reality of scientific pushback: how skepticism shaped stronger research, why medicine can take decades to accept an infectious or autoimmune mechanism, and what the autoimmune encephalitis era has taught the wider field of immunopsychiatry.

Then we look forward. Dr. Swedo lays out the research roadmap she wants to see now: multi-center collaboration across major PANDAS and PANS clinics, prospective studies that capture kids within days of symptom onset, better testing for rheumatogenic and potentially “pandasogenic” strep strains, and smarter use of models to evaluate immunomodulating treatments like IVIG and plasmapheresis. We also talk about safety and the urgent need to take self-harm intrusions seriously, especially when inflammation, impulse control changes, and demoralization collide.

If you care about PANDAS, PANS, pediatric OCD, tics, neuroinflammation, autoimmune brain disease, or the future of mental health diagnosis, this conversation will give you history, clarity, and practical next questions. Subscribe, share this with someone who needs it, and leave a review so more families and clinicians can find the science, faster.

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program are those of the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of any entities they represent.

Credits: Music by Kingsley Durant from his "Convertible" album

To learn more about PANDAS and PANS and The Alex Manfull Fund, visit our website: TheAlexManfullFund.org

Follow us on:
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LinkedIn