LymeNet Flash: question about cd57 and pcr test

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»	LymeNet Flash » Questions and Discussion » Medical Questions » question about cd57 and pcr test

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Topic: question about cd57 and pcr test

Kaseyyy
LymeNet Contributor
Member # 43797

posted

Can you have lyme and still get a negative PCR test? And how signficant is cd57? (or cd56?)

also should i ask my doctor to get tested for viruses? i am always so tired but i don't remember ever having a viral infection such as ebv. i always associated hhv6 with cold sores passed from saliva, but can you have it and not know it?

Posts: 315 | From Allentown | Registered: May 2014 | IP: Logged |

Tincup
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 5829

posted

Hey Kaseyyyyyy,

Yes, most definitely you can have Lyme with a negative pcr. Happens all the time.

As for asking your doc to get tested for viruses, do you think the doc is infected? Hope not!

[Eek!]

But, yes. Having an Epstein Barr and other tests could give you some answers, or not. But, I would want them to rule out other stuff.

As for the CD57, here is a quote that may interest you. Link to the full article is below it. Written by a good Lyme treating doc. Sorry about the formatting.

It is important to remember that the CD57 result is just a number;
far more important is the patient’s clinical status.

An old professor
of mine used to say, “treat the patient, not the lab test!”

There is
still much we do not know about the CD57 marker and what other
factors may lower or raise it. However, overall, the CD57+ NK count
is a useful tool in diagnosing and treating chronic Lyme disease in
most patients.

As a measure of immune status, it provides an indirect
measure of bacterial load and severity of illness. Furthermore, in a
patient who has a negative or indeterminate Lyme test but is highly
suspect for the disease, the clinician may utilize the CD57+ NK count
as one more piece in the complex puzzle of a Lyme disease diagnosis.

https://sites.google.com/site/marylandlyme/lab-tests/cd-57

--------------------
www.TreatTheBite.com
www.DrJonesKids.org
www.MarylandLyme.org
www.LymeDoc.org

Posts: 20353 | From The Moon | Registered: Jun 2004 | IP: Logged |

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