<BillNo> <Sponsor>
HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION 73
By Lynn
HJR0073
000446
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A RESOLUTION to commemorate PANDAS Awareness Day,
October 9, 2025.
WHEREAS, PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated
with Streptococcal Infections) and PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome)
are serious illnesses that affect one in every 200 children in the United States, with 8,000 of
those affected children residing in Tennessee; PANDAS/PANS is likely as common as pediatric
cancer and pediatric diabetes; and
WHEREAS, a diagnosis of PANDAS or PANS means a child has a sudden, dramatic
change in personality displayed as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) together with
accompanying symptoms following a strep, bacterial, or viral infection; the OCD can display as
intense fear or anxiety, and accompanying symptoms may include tics, anxiety, depression,
behavioral regression, deterioration in school performance, sensory sensitivities, severely
restricted food intake, and more; and
WHEREAS, researchers have begun to substantiate that this syndrome involves a
misdirected autoimmune process that affects or weakens the blood brain barrier; the
inflammatory process irritates a region of the brain that manages a variety of functions, such as
movement, cognitive perception, habit, executive "logic-based" thinking, emotions, and the
endocrine system; and
WHEREAS, PANDAS/PANS is often misdiagnosed and undertreated; treatment varies
by the needs of the individual child but may include antibiotics, steroids, plasmapheresis,
cognitive behavioral therapy, anti-inflammatory medications, and IVIG (intravenous
immunoglobulin therapy), which is not covered by insurance; and
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WHEREAS, PANDAS/PANS has been described as a tsunami that devastates families
through financial distress resulting from lost wages and out-of-pocket medical expenses; and
WHEREAS, it is fitting that the members of this General Assembly pause to reflect on
this serious health issue; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF THE ONE HUNDRED
FOURTEENTH GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF TENNESSEE, THE SENATE
CONCURRING, that we commemorate PANDAS Awareness Day, October 9, 2025.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that an appropriate copy of this resolution be prepared
for presentation with this final clause omitted from such copy and upon proper request made to
the appropriate clerk, the language appearing immediately following the State seal appear
without House or Senate designation.