What is the Cunningham test?

[Dr_Rosario_Trifiletti]

The "Cunningham test" (the name used on this board, not yet widely accepted in the medical community) refers to a special, and as yet research level, test run in the laboratory of Dr. Madeline Cunningham in Oklahoma City. Dr. C is a well-known and world-reknown researcher on strep.

 

Basically the test involves drawing blood and measuring levels of four particular antibodies in serum. These are antibodies to an enzyme called CaM-kinase2 (CAMK2; calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II) as well as three other antibodies (that seem to be less important).

 

One's level of serum antibodies to CaM-kinase 2 appear to be able to predict whether one has infection-related vs. non-infection-related tics or OCD. The most common cause of "infectious related tics and OCD" seems to be streptococcus, and goes by the name PANDAS, but now other causes, like mycoplasma, are becoming recognized.

 

 

This is the best reference for this tests

 

http://www.pandasnetwork.org/CunninghamJNICaMKinase.pdf

 

See Figure 3 in this paper.

 

Also see www.pandasnetwork.org for more basic information on PANDAS.

 

I hope this is not too technical!

 

Dr. T