Can someone explain this for me? What are considered bad #s and what are considered good #s? Is high or low good? What is considered high and what is considered low? Thanks.
Posted by Nancy L (Member # 42733) on :
The KillerCellCD57 test is by LabCorp and counts the number of these CD immune cells you have operating.
As far as I have read, Lyme is the only disease/condition that depresses this particular immune system cell. I think the LabCorp range is under 60 is not good, and under 30 is very bad.
If your whole immune system has been depressed, then the CD57 count is not meaningful.
One other thing, my understanding is that it takes time for this immune system cell to get depressed, and it will not show depression until later, perhaps a year.
It is good for chronic or long-term Lyme people to take this, because most of the antibody tests are difficult to get positives on, even though they have Lyme.
Posted by Summer3 (Member # 35286) on :
Most doctors use it purely as a supportive test to help confirm a diagnosis. Some still use it to gauge when it's safe to stop abx treatment. Anything under 100 is considered low. Under 60 is "chronic Lyme." Not sure what high numbers would indicate. Some people have a normal number and still have Lyme so it's not 100% accurate either.
Dr. B. has mentioned that people with a number under 20 most likely have mycoplasma.
I've never been able to get mine over 20. After several years of aggressive treatment, mine dropped further. However, I do still feel very sick so in my case it does correlate with my symptom severity. In others it may not due to co-infections and other immune factors.
Posted by jlf2012 (Member # 36002) on :
Thank you Nancy and Summer. I've been sick for four years, diagnosed after 2 1/2 of those yrs. with Lyme and was very, very sick by that time. I took high dose, multiple abx for over a yr and then couldn't handle them anymore. Just had CD57 results come in at 94. Dr. said this showed my immune system is working. That was the best news I've heard in years. However, I'm still achy and tired. Maybe it's candida from all the abx so we're going after that. I'm also having the MTHFR test done.
Posted by PatriotM (Member # 38493) on :
Another way to say it is that a low CD57 number corresponds to a high chance of relapse if treatment is stopped. In my case, that was exactly what happened. I had to stop treatment for 10 days due to some minor kidney stone surgery late this summer and my lime disease absolutely exploded. My CD57 is 34. I've had lyme since about 1989 but wasn't initially diagnosed until 2001.
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
Up.
I am interested in what Patriot said.
Has anyone had a low CD57 and stopped treatment and DIDN'T relapse?
Thanks
Posted by canefan17 (Member # 22149) on :
Mine is 12 Mothers is 15
:/
Posted by MichaelTampa (Member # 24868) on :
HIV/AIDS and mold and chlamydia pneumonia have also been shown to depress CD57 in some cases.
Posted by mlg (Member # 35383) on :
Low Cd 57 could also be mycoplsama fermentans. It could be parasites coming from LLMD.
Posted by Ellen101 (Member # 35432) on :
It is no longer considered a valid test by many LLMD's. When I saw my LLNP she said the most recent training symposiums she has attended have covered the CD57 and it is now felt it is not at all reliable and many no longer utilize it.
Your CD57 can change often and other factors can influence the number. How you are feeling is what matters, not the test result.
Posted by Notti (Member # 43843) on :
What I understand is that the CD57 cells are low in number because they are in the tissues and therefore to a lesser extend found in the bloodstream. This is called 'homing'. They are directed to the place(s) where they are needed to fight a specific infection, in this case the Borrelia bacteria. So they are not actually destructed or gone. You could say they are 'at work'. When it is war you won't find many soldiers lounging in the barracks, because they are all at the front. The tissues are the battlefield, that's where the bacteria hide. So when you have a low number, that's bad news, because there is obviously a lot of work to do and that probably means the infection is active and widespread. On the other hand it's good news, because your cells are actually doing their job, which will hopefully lead to eradication of the bacteria and better health. Some say treatment has to continue until the numbers are well above 100, otherwise a relapse may occur. I don't know from experience if this is true. (Edited by Notti to remove some personal info.)
[ 07-15-2014, 01:26 AM: Message edited by: Notti ]
Posted by SickSci (Member # 43849) on :
Greta -
My CD57 was 15 in March. I had been mildly improving or at least holding steady with no treatment for whatever that's worth.
My Llmd also did not consider this low number Lyme-specific.
(As my orthopedic and cardiac symptoms reemerge despite tx, I'm not sure I agree...)
Posted by GretaM (Member # 40917) on :
Thanks so much, you guys.
Learned a lot about this test from my doc.
One thing mentioned is parasites (blood borne) can lower the CD57, as can increased/continued mold exposure. (Plus the usual offenders, lyme, cp, mycoplasma and retroviruses.)