Unfortunately, many people do not convert from IgM to IgG, so it can be difficult to decifer between the two.

frenchbraid

The "m" I remember as "m"ore recent. The "g" and the "m" by no means mean if the infection is gone or not. It's more of an indicator of how long the patient has been infected.

frenchbraid

I thought IgM was indicative of an old infection.

It is my understanding that some bands can still remain. Which ones off hand, I do not know. I would have to do some searching to find that answer.

dll,

iGm definately stands for a more recent infection. Like I stated in an earlier reply, some people never convert from IgM to IgG. Why, I just don't know. Just another of life's mysteries I guess.

frenchbraid

There is question, as to whether IgM antibodys can kill Lyme or not.

An IgG antibody is much much bigger antibody and it is the antibody that can do major battle with a pathogen. It has a much longer life than IgM.

IgMs life span in measured in weeks - IgG's months and years and sometimes decades.

Barb

PS- in chronic Lyme - The body isn't vaery good at making enough IgG antibodies - (for various reasons) so over the years, IgM spikes at various times....i.e.when ever the bacteria or it's DNA is in the blood.

[This message has been edited by bpeck (edited 07 June 2004).]

Once the initial infection has occurred, the B-lymphocyte that recognized the infectious antigen is selectively stimulated to hone in on the infectious antigen. It starts making antibodies much more specific, more able to seek out and bind the infectious antigen, and more lethal in their signaling for help and in their own killing potential. These antibodies are the IgG.

It's these "memory" B-lymphocytes that then stay around in your body forever, constantly reproducing as others die off. And it's these "memory" B-lymphocytes that make only that SPECIFIC IgG TO THAT ONE INFECTIOUS ANTIGEN. The original IgM is not so specific and only functions to hold off the infection until the body's machinery of war starts to crank out the more specific and deadly IgG.

IgM is the first response team - and they can be called up at any time - and they act quickly - but are not as efficient as the IgG
team - who have slower response time, better killing power, and around the war zone longer.

Remember - Lyme changes it's outer (protein jacket) all the time to evade the immune system - so that's how you can have both IgG and IgM - they're responding to the differnt proteins expressed by the bug.

Barb