can Lyme be successfully diagnosed with dna testing? I send plant samples to Research Associates Laboratory for confirmation of decay fungi by DNA analysis. They also do veterinary testing - one of those advertised tests is Lyme disease in dogs. I'd call an ask if they would test human blood. if they say "no", I'd be really tempted to send a sample with a dog form. I don't think they need a vial...just a few drops. They only charge $20 for that.
http://www.vetdna.com/test-type/dog-canine
Yes, but it seems to be reserved for those who are testing the effectiveness of treatment rather than diagnosis. Most tests are looking at certain antibodies and not for lyme itself. Since one who is infected can carry the antibodies after lyme is gone, that test is no longer effective. I think they call it a PCR test if I recall correctly.
Armin Lab in germany seems to be much like IGENEX and a fraction of the cost. They will test a tick for lyme for about 42 pounds.. I was told their lyme test is $175 and each co-infection is $75..
The co-infection issue is one I haven't even started on yet. We are not only dealing with Lyme for my wife, but positive labs for Bartonellia, Epstine Barr resurgent infection, Candida, (clinical) babesia and waiting to hear back on some other viral loads. Basically her shit is f-ed up good.
I do agree with Rico. We used the Igenex lab. Which was the second test she took. Lyme is actually a clinical diagnosis and labs should only be used to support the diagnosis. The first test she took was NEG, the CDC requires one to test positive for 5 bands of antibodies. Igenex boasts a much more sensitive test and only requires two bands. Some of these bands are 100% lyme bands, while others I have no idea about. This of course all depends on the immune system of the infected person (lyme suppresses the immune system). Igenex has a bad rep in some western medical circles due to not following the CDC standard 5 as well as they developed a urine test back in the day which had issues (no longer offered).
So my wife is Igenex Postitive for lyme, testing very strongly for 4 out of the 5 bands the CDC looks at. 3 of these 4 bands are very lyme specific.
This gets back into the conspiracy theory land. There is a reason why there is so little attention given to the public about lyme from the Gov/CDC.. It's a huge epidemic and projected to get much much worse in the near future (all very hard FACTS). So why is it that there is so little being done? It's well known that insurance companies have been rejecting lyme's existence due to the difficulty of treatment as well as the COST! Put 1 and 1 together then add a few lobbyists in the mix, you get your answer.
My belief on why those who are infected are not actively doing PSA's and raging war on the system, is because there is such a neurological component to the disease. Don't forget about the fatigue and other major symptoms. As Kevin stated he has or is fighting several forms of cancer, Lyme is harder!
Single payer? medical for all? Lets fucken do it already
