Laboratory_LHS_LabAutoimmune neuropsychiatric disorders are clinical diagnoses made by a physician based upon a patient’s presenting symptoms, personal and family history, and various infection-identifying or confirming laboratory tests. When the clinical diagnosis of an autoimmune neuropsychiatric disorder is made or suspected, the clinician can turn to the results of the Cunningham Panel™ for objective laboratory evidence to support their diagnosis. The Cunningham Panel™ measures the level of autoantibodies associated with certain neuropsychiatric illnesses and the capability these autoantibodies have in causing neurologic and psychiatric symptoms.

This testing panel was developed based on years of research conducted by Dr. Madeleine Cunningham at the University of Oklahoma with the help of Dr. Susan Swedo at the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH). The technology for these tests is exclusively licensed from the University of Oklahoma and was validated and made clinically available in April 2013 through Moleculera Labs. The Cunningham Panel™ is a composite panel of five independent assays or tests.

The collective result of this panel was developed to assist physicians in their diagnosis, and can support an appropriate treatment decision.

Due to the high complexity of these tests, the Cunningham Panel™ testing currently requires approximately 2-3 weeks. Once complete, the physician is provided a report containing five test results, each compared to normal controls. The collective results can aid the physician in determining a proper diagnosis and supporting treatment.

Moleculera Labs is based at the University of Oklahoma (OU) Research Park in Oklahoma City, and is currently the only clinical laboratory offering the Cunningham Panel™. Moleculera Labs is accredited by CLIA (Clinical Laboratory Improvement Amendment) and COLA (Commission on Laboratory Accreditation) and is authorized to receive physician test orders from all 50 states in the U.S.

Prescribers in New York may order the Cunningham Panel™, however at this time, patients in New York must have their blood specimen drawn at a facility outside of New York state. (There may be cases in which a patient can have a New York facility perform the blood draw but that facility would need to request and receive an approved waiver directly from the NY State Department of Health.)