Results were just read to me over the phone by a doc who is not an LLMD. I asked her to tell me all of the pos. bands (I recorded what she read to me below).
I know that I have an acute infection because of the pos IgM. So I have lyme. Is there anything else these results tell us? My LLMD is out of town this week so I'm on my own until then to understand this better.
As always, thanks to each of you for your time and caring.
"With most infections, your immune system first forms IgM antibodies, then in about 2 to 4 weeks, you see IgG antibodies. In some infections, IgG antibodies may be detectable for years. Because Borrelia burgdorferi is a chronic persistent infection that may last for decades, you would think patients with chronic symptoms would have positive IgG Western blots.
But actually, more IgM blots are positive in chronic borreliosis than IgG. Every time Borrelia burgdorferi reproduces itself, it may stimulate the immune system to form new IgM antibodies. Some patients have both IgG and IgM blots positive. But if either the IgG or IgM blot is positive, overall it is a positive result.
Response to antibiotics is the same if either is positive, or both. Some antibodies against the borrelia are given more significance if they are IgG versus IgM, or vice versa."
Doc C of MO
-------------------- --Lymetutu-- Opinions, not medical advice! Posts: 96239 | From Texas | Registered: Feb 2001
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SForsgren
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 7686
posted
Relevant Bb specific bands:
18 23 30 31 34 37 39 83 93
This you have 23 very positive You have 30 You have 34 You have 39
On the IgG, you still have 30 and 31 which are both very very specific.
This, from an LLMDs perspective, is a positive test.
Whether you can tell anything from IgG and IgM for Lyme is debated, but I would argue that it isn't very useful. Some people say IgM makes IgG and others say that you may also see high IgM in late stage Lyme without a high IgG. So, from what I know, doesn't say much.
-------------------- Be well, Scott Posts: 4617 | From San Jose, CA | Registered: Jul 2005
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bpeck
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 3235
posted
Could you have been infected in Europe? Only 24% of the North American strain expresses OspD (28 kDa). It might be something you want to talk to you LLMD about- as some abx work better depending on the strain you're infected with.
J. Bacteriol., Aug 1994, 4572-4582, Vol 176, No. 15 Copyright � 1994, American Society for Microbiology
Analysis of the distribution and molecular heterogeneity of the ospD gene among the Lyme disease spirochetes: evidence for lateral gene exchange RT Marconi, DS Samuels, RK Landry and CF Garon Laboratory of Vectors and Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, Hamilton, Montana 59840.
Analysis of the ospD gene has revealed that this gene is not universal among Lyme disease spirochete isolates. The gene was found to be carried by 90, 50, and 24% of the Borrelia garinii, B. afzelii, and B. burgdorferi isolates tested. Size variability in the ospD-encoding plasmid was also observed. Sequence analysis has demonstrated the presence of various numbers of a 17-bp repeated sequence in the upstream control (promoter) region of the gene. In addition, a region within the coding sequence where various insertions, deletions, and direct repeats occur was identified. ospD gene sequences from 31 different isolates were determined and utilized in pairwise sequence comparisons and construction of a gene tree. These analyses suggest that the ospD gene was the target of several recombinational events and that the gene was recently acquired by Lyme disease spirochetes and laterally transferred between species.
-------------------- Barb Peck (Elder LymeNet user). Lyme since 1975 Transfusion Posts: 1882 | From VT | Registered: Oct 2002
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