Lyme?

[charli]

Hi everyone…
I have a question about a western blot lyme panel I had done in Nov of 2011. I was told the test was negative over the phone and didn’t really think anymore about it. Today I had a doctors appt and just happened to stop by lab and got a print out of my results. It doesn’t read like the Igenex tests but this is what it said:

LYME DISEASE PANEL

B BURGDORFERI TOTAL 0.48 REFERENCE RANGE 0.00 TO 1.20

B BURGDORFERI ANTIBODY, IGM NEGATIVE
BAND(S) PRESENT 23 kDa
BURGDORFERI ANTIBODY, IGG NEGATIVE
BAND(S) PRESENT 41 kDa

I understand that this is a negative test but is it significant in anyway, does it warrant more testing?

What do you guys think? Maz?

Charli

[Maz]

@charli wrote:

It doesn’t read like the Igenex tests but this is what it said:

I understand that this is a negative test but is it significant in anyway, does it warrant more testing?

What do you guys think? Maz?

Hi Charli,

Band 23-25 is a double-starred band for OSP C (outer surface protein of borelliosis) and is highly specific for the bug. I think if it was me, I’d probably splash out on the $200 IGeneX western blot to get more sensitive testing run.

Band 41 is a protein found on the tail of spirochetes (not just borreliosis) so isn’t considered too specific unless found in conjunction with other specific bands.

IGeneX includes other antibody bands that were not returned to the standard CDC-approved tests after the LymeRix vaccine failed – these are bands 31 and 34 and highly specific for borreliosis. Many patients never get a diagnosis of late stage Lyme (when these bands show up) as they just aren’t being tested for on standard tests.

It’s smart to get the standard test run first…after all, it’s covered by insurance and some folks get lucky….but a negative standard test shouldn’t be conclusive for “no Lyme” if symptoms are suggestive of this serious set of infections.

Hope something here helps, Charli?

[notabene]

Maz – I plan to get the full $200 kit from IGeneX, but am curious about the other labs listed on rheumatic.org. These include Medical Diagnostic Lab in Mt. Laurel, NJ and Central Florida Research. What is your assessment?

[charli]

Thank you Maz…

I know I need to get the Igenex testing done and hope to do it sometime in April. To be honest I really didn’t think Lyme was in my mix but now I am really questioning this. I have read that band 23 is specific for lyme and was actually floored to see this band show up on my results. Is there anything else that could cause this band to be present?

Thank you so much for all your help!

Take care!

Charli

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