posted
I was thinking about having this test done. It does look good, and I have spoken to loads of people with positive results when they were seronegative.
quote:Department of Immunology, Laboratory Center Bremen, 28205 Bremen, Germany.
Diagnosis of active Lyme borreliosis (LB) remains a challenge in clinically ambiguous, serologically indeterminant, and polymerase chain reaction-negative patients. Lymphocyte transformation tests (LTTs) have been applied to detect specific cellular immune reactivity, but their clinical application has been severely hampered by the poorly defined Borrelia antigens and nonstandardized LTT formats used. In this study, we describe the development and clinical relevance of a novel LTT using a validated format (MELISA(R)) together with well-defined recombinant Borrelia-specific antigens. From an initial screening of 244 patients with suspected Borrelia infection or disease, 4 informative recombinant antigens were selected: OspC (Borrelia afzelii), p41-1 (Borrelia garinii), p41-2 (B. afzelii), and p100 (B. afzelii). Thereafter, 30 seronegative healthy controls were tested in LTT-MELISA(R) to determine specificity, 68 patients were tested in parallel to determine reproducibility, and 54 lymphocyte-reactive symptomatic patients were tested before and after antibiotic therapy to assess clinical relevance. Most (86.2%) of the 36.9% (90/244) LTT-MELISA(R) positive patients were seropositive and showed symptoms of active LB. Specificity was 96.7% and reproducibility 92.6%. After therapy, most patients (90.7%) showed negative or markedly reduced lymphocyte reactivity correlating with clinical improvement. This novel LTT-MELISA(R) assay appears to correlate with active LB and may have diagnostic relevance in confirming LB in clinically and serologically ambiguous cases.
posted
This was one of the bad tests identified in that blast a while back from our wonderful federal health agencies. They give us lousy tests that frequently don't identify lyme, require them to report the disease officially, neglect telling clinicians that the surveillance criteria shouldn't be required for a patient to get treatment, and then issue proclamations badmouthing the tests from the few labs that do work better, and try to shut them down.
Pretty much a clean sweep of malignant incompetence.
And these are the people standing between us and plagues, bioterrorism. All they seem able to do in response is build germ palaces to employ more incompetents. Alright, so maybe not all of em are incompetent, but the ones in high places are allowing this to happen.
Posts: 8430 | From Not available | Registered: Oct 2000
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Where have all these people gone for this test? I would like more information but could not find it on the Melisa site.
Posts: 465 | From New York, NY | Registered: Aug 2005
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Where have all these people gone for this test? I would like more information but could not find it on the Melisa site.
Posts: 465 | From New York, NY | Registered: Aug 2005
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posted
You would need to contact them and ask them to send the test kit, then I guess you would send it to the lab using Fedex 24 hour or something...
I think you need to email [email protected] for any questions on the test.
Chris
Posts: 263 | From UK | Registered: Mar 2006
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
Only one laboratory in Germany does this testing routinely Dr Elizabeth Valentine-Thon at Laboratory Center Bremen.
The test blood has to be at the lab in 24hrs and its in Germany not a good choice for USA.
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
posted
I called the only US lab on the list. They were adamant about not having a Melisa Lyme test. But its on your web site I said. Where? Which Site? We dont do that, only metals. Contact the Lab in Sweden, maybe they can help you ???
Anyway Chris I guess all those people that you spoke to sent labs to Germany? or live there?
Gigi, Have you had this test done?
Posts: 465 | From New York, NY | Registered: Aug 2005
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
If I wanted to take the LTT here, which is done in Germany regularly by most Lyme suspects, and couldn't get a satisfactory response from the lab listed in the US, e-mail Vera Stejskal and tell her that you have heard about the LTT from a Klinghardt patient. And where should you go to get it done on this side of the world? Dr. K. and Prof. S. have mentored for many years, and all of MELISA tests were discussed thoroughly at a Lyme/Metal Seminar here a number of times.
I think I read recently that they are not responding during August/September. Good for them ---These people in Europe still know when to shut things down -- right now everybody is on vacation! (More or less) So try and try again, if you don't get a response right away.
P.S. No, I did not have the MELISA tests. The LTT came into being after I was already close to well a number of years ago. My doctor and members of his family had the tests. Most people in Europe do that test and it is recognized by insurance carriers.
[ 10. September 2006, 02:10 PM: Message edited by: GiGi ]
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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treepatrol
Honored Contributor (10K+ posts)
Member # 4117
posted
quote:Originally posted by MarsyNY: I called the only US lab on the list. They were adamant about not having a Melisa Lyme test. But its on your web site I said. Where? Which Site? We dont do that, only metals. Contact the Lab in Sweden, maybe they can help you ???
Anyway Chris I guess all those people that you spoke to sent labs to Germany? or live there?
Gigi, Have you had this test done?
I called the only US lab on the list. They were adamant about not having a Melisa Lyme test. But its on your web site I said. Where? Which Site? We dont do that,
Something fishy about that!!!
-------------------- Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Remember Iam not a Doctor Just someone struggling like you with Tick Borne Diseases.
posted
While this test may be valid and beneficial, unfortunately most US docs have never heard of any of the MELISA tests. Since MELISA testing has not been put through any clinical trials in the US, it is hard to find anyone who understands these tests, let alone treatment implications based on the outcomes. Some insurance companies will not pay for them as they are considered investigational.
Posts: 23 | From Camp Hill. PA | Registered: Dec 2005
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
Treepatrol, I can assure you there is nothing "fishy" about MELISA. They have done superb work for years and years and years. Maybe you talked to the wrong person.
Take
P.S. No, I did not have the MELISA tests. The LTT came into being after I was already close to well a number of years ago. My doctor and members of his family had the tests. Most people in Europe do that test and it is recognized by insurance carriers.
Posts: 9834 | From Washington State | Registered: Oct 2000
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posted
If I read Tree's post right, I think the reference to fishiness was that the US MELISA lab was "adament" that they do not perform the test here.
-- has there been some kind of restriction placed upon them on the US? - is what I would wonder. I wouldn't be surprised.
However, it's good to know the test is available at all - where there's a will, there's a way --
Gotta find our from patients who have had it done, and/or Docs who are ordering it - how they do it and if they deal only with Germany.
Mo
[ 10. September 2006, 10:30 PM: Message edited by: Mo ]
Posts: 8337 | From the other shore | Registered: Jul 2002
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posted
I called the lab. I think this was just a simple case of a receptionist not having all the information, it happens. Obviously part of her training did not include reading their own web page.
She claimed they only test for metals when actually they test Gluten, Candida, Thimerosol Drugs and LD. She did not have all the facts, thought she did and was rather snotty so I hung up.
Posts: 465 | From New York, NY | Registered: Aug 2005
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Truthfinder
Frequent Contributor (1K+ posts)
Member # 8512
posted
Perhaps I am just too simple-minded.
The initial screening test for Lyme should be the Bowen Q-RIBb test to determine if you have ``Bb involvement''.
Then, a good Western Blot (like Igenex) would be in order to give a doctor some idea of what your antibodies are doing with the Bb.
Beyond that, it is a question of what the Lyme bug has DONE TO YOU, and there are a few tests out there that may be helpful (like the CD-57 test) and, of course, tests for co-infections. But symptoms are still the best indicator of how the bacteria and co-infections have affected you. It will be many years in the future before the ``Lyme Disease complex'' will be anything other than a clinical diagnosis.
Instead of hoping for new mainstream tests that are more accurate, I would like to see money spent on either VALIDATING or DISPROVING the Bowen test. So far, the distrust of the Bowen test by LLMDs, the CDC and the IDSA is based on rumor, politics, and skepticism that Lyme could be so widespread - NOT FACT.
Validating the Bowen test could finally put the medical community on the right track, with money being spent on more important things, like figuring out WHY so many people have the Lyme bug in their system. It has to be more than just tick bites, trans-placental passage, and probably blood transfusions.
Anyway, that's my 2 cents worth.
Tracy
-------------------- Tracy .... Prayers for the Lyme Community - every day at 6 p.m. Pacific Time and 9 p.m. Eastern Time � just take a few moments to say a prayer wherever you are�. Posts: 2966 | From Colorado | Registered: Dec 2005
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Mo
Posts: 8337 | From the other shore | Registered: Jul 2002
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GiGi
Frequent Contributor (5K+ posts)
Member # 259
posted
quote:like figuring out WHY so many people have the Lyme bug in their system. It has to be more than just tick bites, trans-placental passage, and probably blood transfusions.
With that - I totally agree.
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