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New Lyme culture test?


eljomom

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This was in an e-mail I received from a yahoo group "Virginia lYme" today. Anyone heard of this? Won't be able to use, because we have to stay on antibiotics for pandas too. Quote below:

 

This is from Dr. Burrascano:

 

http://www.researchednutritionals.com/information.cfm?id=255

 

September 5, 2011

 

Joe Burrascano, Jr., MD has announced a new lab test available for Lyme

doctors to use in determining if Lyme is present.

 

There is no need to wait for antibodies to form since this is a

culture-based test. This should provide much faster and more accurate detection,

and allow Lyme patients to receive treatment as soon as possible.

 

Please read below for Dr. Burrascano's description of the new test:

 

In my work as a consultant, I have been working with a private lab located near Philadelphia, Advanced Laboratories, Inc. They wanted to develop a unique and high value test, and, with my interest in Lyme, I naturally encouraged them to work on a better Lyme Disease test.

 

As a result of some very intensive work on the part of a group of some very brilliant scientists, they have succeeded in developing a reliable and rapid blood culture for Borrelia! See the attached press release....at TOP of this post.

 

They actually have rolled out two separate panels- a basic one and an advanced one. In the basic panel, the blood sample is cultured and the positives are identified by histology and growth characteristics, and confirmed by fluorescent immunostaining. Positive reports will include a picture of the Bb growing in that very culture. Positive reports will include a picture of the Bb growing in that

very culture.

 

The advanced panel will do [all] this, but will also do PCR using well characterized and published DNA primer sets, and then all positive PCRs will be confirmed by DNA sequencing.

 

Remarkably, turn-around time can be as brief as ten days for the basic test, and seven to ten more days for the advanced panel.

 

This test is being rolled out gradually, with no big public announcements yet. That is why I am e-mailing you, so you can be among the first to be able to order this testing, before the lab gets swamped.

 

Apparently you have to contact the lab to have test kits sent to you. The blood must be sent out the same day it is collected, and

the lab provides a prepaid return FedEx mailer. As the lab is not yet accepting specimens over weekends, please do

not collect blood on Fridays.

 

The bad news- New York being New York, this culture will not be available to NY State practitioners for several months. The States of California and Florida may [also] have a delayed availability- I am not sure, so please contact the lab to get this info.

 

However, all other states are OK. I have no idea on pricing or on insurance issues- again, you will

have to contact them for this info. The lab plans to have a booth at the conferences at LDA and at

ILADS, so hopefully their presence will allow all to field questions.

 

The next step in their research is also equally exciting and ground breaking, but I am not at liberty to say yet what is being planned.

I will be travelling over the rest of this week, so I am afraid that I may not be able to answer any calls or e-mails until I get back, so if I do not

respond to any contact efforts, please be patient.

 

As many of you recall, I learned the basics of true, clinical Lyme over 25 years ago thanks to Bb culturing that was available to me by Dr. Alan MacDonald. The new methods being used by this Pennsylvania lab go far beyond what MacDonald was able to do, so I am very excited to not only share this news with you, but I also cannot wait to see how it will change how we practice.

 

I also predict that Bb will be found in a lot of people, from mildly to severely ill, and that will redefine the role of the immunologist in

Lyme to find out why some people recover and why others do not. Strain info as provided by the DNA sequencing data will be equally

fascinating to follow.

 

So, enjoy the good news, and PLEASE, if you are going to begin culturing your patients, keep good records of your results. Data collection and tabulation has never been as important as it is now, with a quantum advance in testing technology.

 

Best wishes, from Dr. Burrascano

 

To read the press release with contact information:

http://researchednutritionals.com/Announcements/LymeCultureTest.pdf

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I saw Burrascano speak at a lyme forum this spring and he discussed this test and hoped it would be available by year's end. He feels it should end the controversy associated with a lyme diagnosis because it will provide direct evidence of the spirochette instead of indirect evidence. It works in a manner similar to a strep throat culture - if the sample grows in the dish, it's strep. Of course, you know that strep cultures aren't definitive either - I suppose you could get a negative culture of anything and still have that disease, but I don't have the science background to speculate. But most physicians "should" accept a picture of a positive culture much more readily than requiring a certain number of positive bands of antibodies.

 

I don't see any requirement that you be off of antibiotics to do this test. It only says you don't have to rely on antibody formation. It says nothing (that I can see) about antibiotic therapy. But you can certainly contact the lab for a definitive answer. Sounds very promising. Hopefully it will be affordable.

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If you look at the bottom of my post (press release) there is a link, but here's what it says:

 

Bb culture nuts and bolts

Sensitivity exceeds 80% if the patient is symptomatic at the time of blood draw and not on

antibiotics for at least four weeks

 

 

We have found that the success of culturing Borrelia can be increased by following these simple

recommendations:

The patient should not have been exposed to any antibiotics, even those not known to affect

this organism, for a minimum of four weeks prior to the blood sample being drawn.

Borrelia are more likely to be recovered from patients who are symptomatic at the time of

blood sampling.

 

 

 

 

 

Where does it say you need to be off abx for 4 weeks? Can't find that.

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And of course there's still the co-infections. I think I will call to inquire for myself.

Let me know what you find our re: costs. DH is headed to an integrative MD in a few weeks for chronic fatigue etc. Had a tick bite last summer before we knew the nastiness of lyme. Our GP only gave 2 days of doxy initially and then after I kept nagging for a week, gave another two weeks. So an Igenex basic panel is less than ideal for him. He hasn't been on abx, so a culture is very intriguing if affordable.

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And of course there's still the co-infections. I think I will call to inquire for myself.

Let me know what you find our re: costs. DH is headed to an integrative MD in a few weeks for chronic fatigue etc. Had a tick bite last summer before we knew the nastiness of lyme. Our GP only gave 2 days of doxy initially and then after I kept nagging for a week, gave another two weeks. So an Igenex basic panel is less than ideal for him. He hasn't been on abx, so a culture is very intriguing if affordable.

Will do! I called today to order a kit (like the article mentioned) but was told at this time it needs to be ordered by a physician. I was hoping it would be like Igenex where you can order the kit yourself to take to your doctors office. I was asked for my doctor's info which threw me off guard - I didn't know which one to use (lol). So I opted for our DAN doctor, and when I got off the phone I quickly called their office to tell them they would be receiving a call or shipment of a kit for a new lyme test. I'm pretty sure they thought I was cuckoo! So hopefully, this goes somewhere.

 

2 days of doxy!?!

Edited by philamom
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  • 2 weeks later...

Home | News | NEWS: Clarification on new Lyme culture test

NEWS: Clarification on new Lyme culture test

16 September, 2011 Font size:

 

Click Above to Share ArticleNews that Advanced Laboratories plans to release a blood culture test for Borrelia has ignited lots of interest in the Lyme community. Apparently these tests will be available within the next several weeks in all states except New York, California, and Florida. (Those states require a longer approval process for lab tests.) What follows is an update from the lab, answering a number of questions that have been raised recently.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Press release from Advanced Laboratories:

 

 

 

BORRELIA CULTURE UPDATE

 

 

 

 

September 15, 2011

 

 

There has been a great deal of interest in our Spirochete/Borrelia culture test, and we appreciate that. In order to help answer many of the questions posed, we thought an update would be in order. The most frequently asked questions are addressed below:

 

 

• Advanced Labs is a CLIA and COLA certified reference lab that offers a variety of quality tests for the detail oriented clinician. AL consists of two divisions--the clinical laboratory and the research lab.

 

 

• At the clinical division we focus on both basic as well as advanced testing, including hematology, chemistry, urinalysis, serologies, immunology, cytometry, PCR and histopathology. We also are known for the creation of customized testing panels designed to meet the needs of a busy practice.

 

 

• The research division supplies a pipeline of new testing services to the clinical lab after they are fully developed. Our soon to be released Borrelia culture is an example of this. The methods involved in this culture are complex and proprietary and are still a trade secret, but many details will be outlined in upcoming publications.

 

 

• We are finalizing the Spirochete/Borrelia culture test and hope to have it available in most states in the coming weeks.

 

 

• When the test becomes available we will provide supplies for blood draws directly to physicians' offices and possibly to some private labs. We ask that interested patients contact their doctors in order to be tested. There is no initial charge for the blood drawing supplies, and these supplies can not be sent directly to patients.

 

 

• In terms of pricing we are aiming for a price under $500 for the basic test; extended culture tests will be approximately $200 more.

 

 

• Testing must be paid for in advance, but patients may submit their paid receipt to their own carriers for reimbursement.

 

 

We appreciate your interest in Advanced Labs and look forward to being of service to you and your patients.

 

 

Thank you again!

 

Advanced Lab

 

501 Elmwood Avenue

 

Sharon Hill, PA 19079

 

www.advanced-lab.com

 

questions@advanced-lab.com

 

 

 

Here is the original press release announcing the new test:

 

 

 

PRESS RELEASE

 

Sharon Hill, PA, September 5, 2011

 

 

BORRELIA CULTURE NOW AVAILABLE TO EVALUATE LYME DISEASE PATIENTS

Research breakthrough promises a new Gold Standard in Lyme Disease testing

 

 

Lyme Disease blood testing has been notorious for its unreliability This has been responsible for misdiagnoses and inappropriate patient care, as well as confusion on the part of both patient and physician alike. Now, as a result of intensive research, Advanced Laboratory Services Inc. is able to offer what will rapidly become the new gold standard of Lyme tests, the Borrelia Culture.

 

 

Until now, the most widely used confirmatory tests for Lyme disease have been serologies. Being indirect tests, at best they can only indicate possible exposure to this organism at some previous point in time. It has been variously reported that the sensitivity of these assays is low and may miss anywhere from 30% to as many as 70% of cases of Lyme. Once positive, these serologic tests tend to remain positive for variable periods, even years, even after treatment. Therefore they do not and cannot be used as a marker for progress during treatment or for success of treatment. In addition, some acute viral infections may potentially give a false positive result.

 

 

How are most other infectious diseases diagnosed? Traditionally, a culture is taken to see if an infection is present, and if so, what specific bacterium is causing it. Unfortunately, because Lyme Borrelia are symbionts, meaning that they need a living host to survive, trying to get them to thrive in vitro has been a nearly impossible task. In addition, they are noted for their very slow growth. Because of these difficulties, Borrelia culture until now has not been available to clinicians.

 

 

Advanced Laboratory Services Inc. is proud to announce that they have overcome many of these technical difficulties and is able to offer Borrelia cultures. While still considered investigational, the new methods employed allow these advantages:

 

 

• By definition, culture is a direct test and if positive, indicates that an infection was present at the time the specimen was taken

• Cultures may be positive even in a patient who is seronegative

• In theory, any fluid or tissue that is infected can be cultured

• All known strains of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato can be detected

• When combined with PCR and DNA sequencing, the exact identity of the Borrelia can be ascertained

• Advanced methods have the promise to increase yield and decrease turn‐around time

• Culture positivity fulfills even the strict CDC surveillance case definition

• Will become the new Gold Standard for laboratory testing

 

Currently, Advanced Labs is offering two Borrelia blood culture panels. The Basic Panel consists of culturing, with confirmation of identity by histology and by specific immunostaining. The report, if positive, will include a picture of the actual immunostained culture result. The expected turnaround time for this is approximately ten to fourteen days. However, some do grow more slowly, so all cultures will be held in the lab for a minimum of six weeks.

 

 

We also offer the Extended Panel. In addition to histology and immunostaining, the identity of all positive cultures will be further studied by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) and by nucleic acid sequencing. These extra steps will generally require an additional ten to fourteen days. However, if the initial histology with immunostaining is positive, a preliminary report will be issued while the nucleic acid studies are pending.

 

 

Bb culture nuts and bolts:

• Sensitivity exceeds 80% if the patient is symptomatic at the time of blood draw and not on antibiotics for at least four weeks

• All negative controls have remained negative so far

• As with all blood cultures, may need several sets to be sure Any positive test is significant, even if it is the only positive out of a set of three

We have found that the success of culturing Borrelia can be increased by following these simple recommendations:

• The patient should not have been exposed to any antibiotics, even those not known to affect this organism, for a minimum of four weeks prior to the blood sample being drawn.

• Borrelia are more likely to be recovered from patients who are symptomatic at the time of blood sampling.

• A higher yield may be seen if the blood is drawn in the early afternoon, when most infected patients feel especially ill.

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  • 4 weeks later...
  • 2 months later...

bumping for lyme mom

 

I'm not lyme mom but thanks for the bump. I had forgotten about this. I'm so used to reading about promising things that never come about I don't even bother to try to follow them anymore.....

 

So has anyone had this test? What were the results? Is this test what it promises to be?

Never mind, just saw the other thread.

 

thanks, bill

 

 

Edited by Bill
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  • 4 months later...

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