The references that you cited are out of date and incomplete. There are several more recent scientific publications, which I’d encourage you to read. Here are a few:

Neurocognitive functioning in youth with pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcus. Lewin AB, et al. (September, 2011)

Clinical Factors Associated with Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcal infections. Murphy, TK, et al (2011)

The Immunobiology of Tourette’s Disorder, Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorders Associated with Streptococcus and Related Infections: A Way Forward. Murphy, et al (2010)

Maternal history of autoimmune disease in children presenting with tics and/or obsessive–compulsive disorder. Murphy, et al (2010)

Passive transfer of streptococcus-induced antibodies reproduces behavioral disturbances in a mouse model of pediatric autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders associated with streptococcal infection. Yaddanapudi, K et al (2009)

Are antibasal ganglia antibodies important, and clinically useful? Martino, et al (2007)

Streptococcal Mimicry and Antibody-Mediated Cell Signaling in the Pathogenesis of Sydenham’s Chorea, Kirvan, et al (2006)

There is an IVIG study for PANDAS children currently underway at the NIMH (as well as other related studies). For information regarding the NIMH study – currently recruiting as of this date: http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01281969?term=ivig+pandas&rank=1 In the meantime, I’d encourage you to review this one:

Therapeutic Plasma Exchange and Intravenous Immunoglobulin for Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Tic Disorders in Childhood. Perlmutter, et al (1999)

Denise Greaud Grubbs, RN
PANDAS-PITAND Awareness & Research Support, Director

I don’t see how they arrive at them.

I’ve heard they assume that, as one item increases in price, they swap it out for a substitute item that hasn’t increased in price, so that the CPI only increases for an item in the “basket” if all possible substitutes have increased.

Also, I’ve heard that official inflation estimates are particularly misleading with respect to technology, in that as a piece of tech gets older, its price drops dramatically, and that this is used to offset the increase in prices of other items in the basket. The logic is apparently that you can get a 486 computer with 2MB of RAM pretty cheaply these days, so it shouldn’t matter much if your milk and gas have doubled in price. (This, I’m sure, is a gross exaggeration, but that’s the idea.) If what I’ve heard on this topic has any accuracy at all, then, well, it’s a clear opportunity for “shenanigans.”

Good time to hear Semper Paratus:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R_C7m_5aZXQ