Sat 10/12 10AM – 12PM
Welcome to the first-ever PANS/PANDAS Awareness event in Vermont! Join us for a 5K fun run and walk along in Burlington on October 12, 2024 to raise awareness for PANS/PANDAS here in Vermont—an often-overlooked autoimmune disorder said to affect 1 in 200 children. We’re calling on our amazing citizens of Vermont to join us in raising awareness and making the first steps towards change and healing. The 5K starts and finishes at the Burlington Surf Club, located at 50 Lakeside Ave in Burlington.
We are partnering with The Alex Manfull Fund, a New Hampshire-based 501(c)(3) non-profit organization, for our inaugural 5K event. The Alex Manfull Fund (TAMF) supports awareness, education, and research to further understand the incidence, etiology, and best treatment of post-infectious neuroimmune disorders (aka PANDAS, PANS, and Autoimmune Encephalitis) with an emphasis on their manifestation in Adolescents and Young Adults. TAMF has established a fellowship fund at Dartmouth Hospital’s Neuroimmune Psychiatric Disorder (NIPD) clinic. Net proceeds from our event will be given to NIPD in support of their clinic.
PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome) and PANDAS (Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections) occur when a child’s immune response to an infection causes inflammation in the brain. The inflammation can cause the sudden onset of behavioral, neurological, and personality changes. The effects of PANS/PANDAS on children and their families are devastating—yet these conditions are still relatively unknown in Vermont, making diagnosis and treatment extremely difficult. Learn more about this condition and its symptoms.