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When the immune system targets the brain

Treatment resistant symptoms

As many as 60% of patients worldwide suffering from neurologic, psychiatric and behavioral disorders do not respond to treatment. 1 Now, there is growing evidence indicating that, in some of these cases, treatment resistance may be due to an undiagnosed immune dysfunction, triggered by infection(s).

The role of immune dysfunction

The role of immune dysfunction in the development of psychiatric disorders is well recognized. Recently, researchers suggest, “In the context of COVID-19, cognitive, emotional, and behavioral symptoms may be associated with the effects of infection-related immune changes on the brain.” 2 In fact, studies by the National Institutes of Health found that brain inflammation triggered by a COVID-19 infection may lead to mood and cognitive symptoms reported in patients with long-COVID. 3

Reclaim your life

Cutting-edge tests that look beneath the surface

If medications, therapy or other types of treatment haven’t alleviated your symptoms, there’s still hope. The Autoimmune Brain Panel™ is the only test of its kind that helps determine whether neurologic and/or psychiatric symptoms may be due to an underlying autoimmune dysfunction. Identifying an autoimmune process is imperative, since treatment focuses on eradicating the infection(s) and treating the immune system, rather than simply treating with psychotropic medications. And with proper treatment, symptoms can be completely resolved or substantially reduced.

Case Study: Initially diagnosed with schizophrenia

A 15-year-old girl who developed multiple neuropsychiatric symptoms failed to respond to various treatments and was hospitalized four times. She was initially diagnosed with schizophrenia. The Autoimmune Brain Panel™ helped determine that symptoms were actually due to an underlying autoimmune process, rather than a psychiatric illness.

Symptoms resolved

Testing with the Autoimmune Brain Panel™ (formerly known as the Cunningham Panel™) revealed that she had elevated levels of autoimmune antibodies, suggesting an autoimmune basis for her symptoms. After she was treated properly with immunomodulatory therapy, her symptoms resolved completely. 4

  60% of patients with neuropsychiatric and behavioral disorders don’t respond to treatment. 1

Autoimmune Brain Panel™

Insights that give you answers.

If medications, therapy or other types of treatment haven’t alleviated your symptoms, there’s still hope. The Autoimmune Brain Panel™ is the only test of its kind that helps determine whether neurologic and/or psychiatric symptoms may be due to an underlying autoimmune dysfunction. Identifying an autoimmune process is imperative, since treatment focuses on eradicating the infection(s) and treating the immune system, rather than simply treating with psychotropic medications. And with proper treatment, symptoms can be completely resolved or substantially reduced.

Who can benefit from testing?

Individuals suffering from neurologic and/or psychiatric disorders who have not responded to or whose symptoms worsened on medication may benefit from testing with the Autoimmune Brain Panel™.

In some patients, common infections can trigger an autoimmune reaction, whereby antibodies mistakenly attack health tissue in a region of the brain known as the basal ganglia. This attack can cause brain inflammation in that region and disrupt how receptors and cells normally function, leading to the onset of neurologic and psychiatric symptoms.

Patients with autoimmune-induced neuropsychiatric disorders often do not respond to standard psychotropic medications and require anti-infective and immunomodulatory treatment to alleviate their symptoms.

Why is testing important?

The Autoimmune Brain Panel™ test results can provide a clinician with laboratory evidence of an underlying autoimmune process in patients with neuropsychiatric symptoms and assist clinicians in determining an appropriate treatment regimen.

  1. Identifying an autoimmune component is important, since it typically changes the course of treatment.
  2. Treatment often involves eradicating the infection(s), reducing inflammation, and as necessary treating the immune system with immunomodulatory therapies.
  3. Early diagnosis and treatment has been shown to improve chances for a full recovery. 5
  4. With proper treatment, symptoms/behaviors often significantly improve or resolve completely. 6

Refrences:

  1. Howes, O. D., et al. (2022). “Treatment resistance in psychiatry: state of the art and new directions.” Mol Psychiatry 27(1): 58-72. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8960394/
  2. Bower JE, Radin A, Kuhlman KR. Psychoneuroimmunology in the time of COVID-19: why neuro-immune interactions matter for mental and physical health. Behav Res Ther. 2022;154:104104. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2022.104104. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9075982/
  3. Inflammation pattern in the brain may cause many long COVID symptoms. National Institutes of Health. Updated November 8, 2022. Accessed November 20, 2022. https://covid19.nih.gov/news-and-stories/inflammation-pattern-brain-may-cause-many-long-covid-symptoms
  4. Drew H. Barzman, Hannah Jackson, Umesh Singh, Marcus Griffey, Michael Sorter, and Jonathan A. Bernstein, “An Atypical Presentation of Pediatric Acute Neuropsychiatric Syndrome Responding to Plasmapheresis Treatment,” Case Reports in Psychiatry, June 28, 2018, Vol. 2018, doi.org/10.1155/2018/8189067. https://www.hindawi.com/journals/crips/2018/8189067/
  5. Shin Y-W, Lee S-T, Park K-I, et al. Treatment strategies for autoimmune encephalitis. Therapeutic Advances in Neurological Disorders. January 2018. doi:10.1177/1756285617722347. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29399043/
  6. Brenton JN, Goodkin HP. Antibody-Mediated Autoimmune Encephalitis in Childhood. Pediatr Neurol. 2016 Jul;60:13-23. doi: 10.1016/j.pediatrneurol.2016.04.004. Epub 2016 Apr 12. PMID: 27343023. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27343023/