Gift Supports Research on Neuroimmune Psychiatric Disorders
At age 19, Alexandra “Alex” Manfull developed a strep throat infection. She then suddenly developed signs of mild obsessive-compulsive disorder and other neuropsychiatric symptoms—anxiety, weight loss, and sleep difficulties—which she and her family attributed to the pressures of college life and being a full-time athlete.
Over the next several years, Alex and her parents searched for a doctor who could help her. Unfortunately, the help Alex needed came too late to save her life.
“Most doctors aren’t familiar with neuropsychiatric disorders triggered by infections, inflammation in the brain, and dysregulation of the immune system,” says Susan Manfull, Alex’s mother. “No physician asked the right question about the source of her symptoms: ‘Have you had an infection recently?’”
As executive director and co-founder of The Alex Manfull Fund, Manfull is now dedicated to supporting research and education into the potential medical causes of neuroimmune psychiatric disorders. Manfull’s foundation has made a $225,000 commitment to establish The Alex Manfull Neuroimmune Psychiatry Program Fund at Dartmouth Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC), which supports three years of funding for an education and research coordinator job in the Department of Psychiatry. The position is responsible for facilitating faculty, residents, medical students, and other learners participating in research in the Neuroimmune Psychiatric Disorders (NIPD) program, led by Juliette Madan, MD, MS, MED ’00, professor of psychiatry, of pediatrics, and of epidemiology at the Geisel School of Medicine at Dartmouth.
In the NIPD, a translational research-based clinic, Madan studies PANDAS (pediatric acuteonset neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcus) and the broader category of PANS (pediatric acute-onset neuropsychiatric syndrome), which is linked to infections such as flu or COVID-19. Although PANS and PANDAS are most commonly diagnosed in children, Madan says young adults like Alex Manfull, who died at age 26, can also develop these conditions, making them an important group to study and care for as well.
“The Manfulls are funding this position so we can have a fellowship to train more experts to diagnose and treat children and young adults who may have neuroimmune psychiatric conditions,” Madan says. “We need more physicians trained to evaluate and treat patients quickly and correctly.”
Manfull is eager to contribute to research that will help others who develop these conditions. “We feel privileged to work with this top-notch group; they’re going to make a difference,” she says. “Our vision is to have no more deaths due to PANDAS and PANS—and no more years wasted looking for a diagnosis and treatment.”
