Risperidone in the treatment of choreiform movements and aggressiveness in a child with "PANDAS"

The acronym 'PANDAS' (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infections) is used to describe neuropsychiatric symptoms putatively resulting from autoimmune responses to streptococcal infection in vulnerable children. A case of 'PANDAS' is presented to increase physician awareness of this disorder and to document effectiveness of risperidone in chorea and treatment-resistant disruptive behavior associated with this syndrome. To our knowledge, this is the first case report on risperidone in pediatric chorea, although studies on effectiveness of this agent in Tourette's disorders have been previously published.