I had my bart tets done over a year ago and it came back at 1:256...which is very high. My dr re ran it again...same lab and everything and it came back exactly the same...
since i havent been on any good bart meds yet i expected it to be higer/different...
what does this mean?
it makes the test seem unreliable in a way...
what do you think
diana
Posted by momlyme (Member # 27775) on :
Are you treating lyme?
Some of the antibiotics for the other infections keep bart from growing too quickly but you will need an abx specific to bart to get rid of it completely.
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
I do believe for B. Henselae 1:256 is the highest titer used for diagnosis.
Posted by TF (Member # 14183) on :
You have to understand that a titre (the ratio of 1:256) is NOT measuring how much bart is in your body.
These tests are not looking for bart or babs germs. Instead, they are looking to see if your immune system made antibodies to bart or babs.
The test found that your body had made antibodies to bart germs. The only reason you would make antibodies is if the germ was present in your body. That's how they know you were exposed to bart.
Then, the lab diluted your blood sample a number of times to see if the antibodies would still show up. They still showed up at a dilution rate of 1:256.
Here is what a medical website says about that aspect of the test:
"Antibody titers are sometimes used to evaluate how significant a positive antibody level is. These titers involve diluting the sample � creating and testing serial (increasing) dilutions. The highest dilution that is still positive is reported out as a "1 to dilution rate" ratio (for instance 1:40 or 1:320, etc.)"
So, the titre does not reflect the severity of the infection. Rather, it reflects the amount or strength of the antibodies present, you might say. See this statement on the same page:
"Patients with compromised immune systems may not be able to respond normally, producing fewer antibodies."
So, I guess you could say that at both tests you had a fair or good antibody response to the bart, not just a very weak response. So, your immune system is working. That's about all I would take from the titre.
Posted by lululymemom (Member # 26405) on :
It is true that you had a strong antibody response to the bartonella pathogen.
Here is what the American Journal of Tropical Medicine states about the titre:
Thus, an IgG titer of 1/256 for B. henselae and 1/512 for B. quintana and an IgM titer of 1/20 or higher for both Bartonella spp. could indicate current or recent infection.