PANS / PANDAS education

Understanding sudden neuropsychiatric flare patterns.

PANS and PANDAS can involve sudden changes in behaviour, anxiety, sleep, school functioning, mood, eating, tics, and other symptoms. RubyHealth helps organise biometric and journal context for review.

PANS and PANDAS symptom wheel infographic

What is PANS / PANDAS?

PANS, or Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome, describes a clinical syndrome where children experience sudden, dramatic onset of symptoms such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, severe anxiety, emotional lability, behavioural regression, cognitive changes, or other neuropsychiatric symptoms.

PANDAS, or Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal Infections, is generally described as a subset associated with Group A streptococcal infection. In this framework, immune activity may affect brain pathways involved in behaviour, movement, emotion, and regulation.

Why early context matters.

Flare-ups are often reported after infections, immune challenges, stressors, or environmental changes. Earlier recognition of rising patterns can help families prepare better notes and contact the treating clinician sooner.

RubyHealth focuses on structured context: biometric trends, symptom notes, medication changes, sleep disruption, diet, activity, and parent observations over time.

Why monitor biometrics?

Before the full behavioural symptoms of a flare are visible, the body may already be responding to immune activation, infection, stress, or sleep disruption. RubyHealth is being designed to track objective signals against the child's own baseline.

The early-warning concept looks for combinations of shifts, such as lower HRV, higher resting heart rate, disrupted sleep, temperature changes, and parent-observed context. A single abnormal reading is not treated as a flare-up.

View Garmin monitoring

HRV

A sustained drop below personal baseline may indicate autonomic stress or immune activation.

Resting Heart Rate

Elevation above baseline can appear during infection, stress, heat, or exertion.

Sleep

Total sleep, deep sleep, REM sleep, and night waking help show changes in recovery and regulation.

Temperature

Temperature shifts are reviewed as context, not as standalone diagnosis.