Childhood Post-infectious Autoimmune Encephalopathy Center of Excellence (Part of Arkansas Children's Hospital)

The Childhood Post-infectious Autoimmune Encephalopathy Center of Excellence at Arkansas Children’s Hospital, developed in partnership with UAMS and in cooperation with the National Institutes of Health / National Institute of Mental Health utilizes a multidisciplinary approach to implement an integrated model of basic science and clinical research, clinical care and teaching to address a spectrum of neuropsychiatric disorders that are often misdiagnosed, underdiagnosed or undiagnosed in children.

Post-infectious autoimmune encephalopathy is a condition where an infection triggers an autoimmune reaction that targets the brain, leading to changes in neurologic function, mood and behavior. Post-infectious autoimmune encephalopathy includes disorders such as pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome and pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection.

The Childhood Post-infectious Autoimmune Encephalopathy Center of Excellence has three goals:

• To deliver multidisciplinary, state-of-the-art care to children who experience behavioral and neurological changes after an infection.
• To investigate the causes of post-infectious autoimmune encephalopathy.
• To find new treatments to improve outcomes and eventually cure children with post-infectious autoimmune encephalopathy.

Affiliation

Arkansas Children’s Hospital Neurosciences Center

Appointments are made after information is collected via e-mail by our clinic coordinator. Please e-mail cpaeclinic@uams.edu to begin the appointment process.

What to Expect at Your Appointment

Clinical services are provided at Arkansas Children’s Hospital and children treated at the center will be offered a multidisciplinary evaluation, recommendations to your primary care provider and care team, and ongoing support to you and your primary care provider.

Patients are not offered medical interventions or treatments at the time of their visit. We are not able to offer acute inpatient psychiatric care or transportation to/from our clinic. We are also unable to guarantee insurance coverage.