CPAE Center of Excellence

Steele Children’s Research Center
CPAE Center of Excellence

The Children’s Postinfectious Autoimmune Encephalopathy (CPAE) Center of Excellence is one of the leading institutions in the United States providing 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.

Postinfectious autoimmune encephalopathy (PAE) is a condition where an infection triggers an autoimmune reaction that targets the brain, leading to changes in neurologic function, mood and behavior. PAE includes disorders such as PANS (pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome), PANDAS (pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with Streptococcal infection) and Sydenham chorea.

Founded in 2016, the CPAE Center’s team of physician-scientists is deeply immersed in clinical services and basic science regarding the causes and treatment of these conditions. Our mission is three-fold:

to provide basic science and clinical research aimed at discovering answers about PANS, PANDAS and other pediatric autoimmune disorders
to train pediatric residents and fellows and practicing pediatricians to better understand and treat children with these disorders
to offer evidence-based, interdisciplinary multi-specialty clinical care to effectively diagnose and treat children with these conditions

A major component of the CPAE Center is our weekly clinic in partnership with Banner Health, where a multispecialty team of practitioners develops a treatment plan for each child based on a comprehensive assessment: biological, developmental, behavioral, family systems, psychological and psychiatric. Children treated at the center are also offered opportunities to enroll in a patient registry, biobank and/or clinical research trials led by Steele Children’s Research Center physician-researchers.

Since the Center’s inception, thousands of clinical visits have been conducted with patients locally, nationally and internationally.