Moleculera Labs Highlights Biomarker-Based Tests as Diagnostic Aid for Infection-Triggered CNS Disorders
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OKLAHOMA CITY, Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Increasing evidence points to a relationship between certain bacterial infections and autoimmune attacks that can disrupt normal neurologic functioning, according to researchers at Moleculera Labs. Using a panel of biomarker tests for autoantibodies against specific neuronal antigens and a key enzyme involved in the upregulation of many neurotransmitters can help physicians better diagnose and treat the underlying cause of such conditions, which are often misdiagnosed as psychiatric illnesses, motor tics or autism spectrum disorders and treated inappropriately with psychotropic drugs.
“Infections caused by bacteria such as Streptococci can trigger autoimmune attacks and brain inflammation that result in the sudden onset of severe behavioral disorders or other neuropsychiatric symptoms, especially in young children and adolescents,” said Craig Shimasaki, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Moleculera Labs. “These conditions, referred to as Pediatric Autoimmune Neuropsychiatric Disorder Associated with Streptococci (PANDAS) or Pediatric Acute-Onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome (PANS), are highly troubling to parents and exceedingly difficult for physicians to correctly diagnose and treat. The Cunningham Panel™ provides objective laboratory evidence of a patient’s autoimmune and anti-neuronal status that aids physicians in determining a proper diagnosis and therapy that often enables the child’s symptoms to be quickly reversed with appropriate anti-inflammatory and/or antibiotic treatments.” Launched in 2013, the Cunningham Panel™ has been ordered more than 3,000 times by over 400 physicians worldwide.
Dr. Shimasaki will present additional details on the phenomenon of molecular mimicry and the use of the Moleculera Lab’s Cunningham Panel to help diagnose PANS and PANDAS at the 2016 Personalized Medicine World Congress, taking place from January 24-27 in Mountain View, California. He will also discuss emerging research that suggests a similar relationship between infection and molecular mimicry triggered autoimmune attacks in other neurologic conditions including Lyme disease, Alzheimer’s Disease and Parkinson’s Disease.
Presentation Details
Date: January 25, 2016
Track 3: Neuro Dx
Title: Molecular Mimicry and Infections Causing CNS Disorders
Time: 11:30 AM
About Moleculera Labs
Moleculera Labs is a privately owned company whose objective is to discover and deliver advanced testing services for children and adults suffering from treatable autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders. The company’s initial offering is the Cunningham Panel™, a set of tests aimed at assisting clinicians in the diagnosis of PANDAS and PANS, conditions associated with motor tics, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD), and sometimes Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), that researchers believe to be caused by a harmful autoimmune response triggered by common infections. Moleculera Labs is based at the University of Oklahoma (OU) Research Park in Oklahoma City and operates a full CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment) and COLA (Commission on Laboratory Accreditation) certified clinical laboratory where it performs the Cunningham Panel™ for physicians and clinicians throughout the United States and globally. For more information, please visit our website at http://www.moleculera.com.
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