Band 31?

I'm not sure about that...but my husband had Igenex testing done recently and they wanted to do another test - because he had band 31 + with bands 18 ++ and 41+ - that makes him IND. They said they do another test because band 31 can cross-react with some viruses...and not actually be positive because of Lyme. 18 and 41 aren't good enough for an Igenex Positive.

so, sometimes 31 means something other than Lyme disease.

Up

Utahgal, I think you're right that band 31 is Lyme specific (at least that is what I've read also).

I just had a totally separate question about something I had read (someone said that band 31 indicated you've had Lyme for a year, or that it takes a year for that band to develop). I had never heard that before and didn't know if it was true, so I was just asking about that.

I did read that band 31 means that the Lyme has been around for over a year. People with new Lyme won't show positive for band 31. It's only if you have been untreated for an extended period.

I can't remember where I read it though, sorry!

Well, I was tested 9 weeks after I know I got infected (removed deer tick) and tested positive on Band 31...so, I don't think it's entirely true. There might be trends pointing towards it, but it's important to remember the WB is just an antibody test...everyone is different on detection.

Post Edited (Fronton) : 3/18/2015 1:08:06 PM (GMT-6)

So Trav, so maybe it was my Dr. who requested Igenex to do an additional test on band 31 (my husband's WB) - I assumed it was Igenex.

It is the Epitope test I think...

does anyone know what the extra test determines? What are they doing?


So I just read the Igenex report and because he only had 31 and 41 positive, it's considered IND. And they said confirmation test #488 is recommended. I will go to the website and look it up.

So, here's the link about Igenex and band 31:


/www.hoffmancentre.com/assets/files/pdf/articles/IGeneX-31-kDa-Epitope-Test.pdf

A second criticism of the CDC Western blot criteria is that they fail to include the 31 and 34 kDa bands. This does indeed seem like an odd decision, since antibodies with these molecular weights correspond to the OspA and OspB proteins of B. burgdorferi, which are considered to be among the most species-specific proteins of the organism. So why didn’t Dressler et al. include them? Answer: These bands tend to appear late if at all in Lyme disease patients, and did not show up with great frequency in the patients that the Dressler et al. group studied (though they did show up sometimes). As a result, they weren’t deemed to have much diagnostic value and didn’t find their way onto the CDC hot list. However, while the absence of either of these bands from a patient’s immunoblot result does not rule out Lyme disease, their presence is hardly meaningless. Thus, many Lyme disease experts believe it is a serious mistake to exclude these two antibody proteins from the list of significant bands. The CDC’s decision to do so seems particularly strange in light of the fact that it is the OspA component of Bb that is being used as the stimulating antigen in the ongoing experimental Lyme disease vaccine trials. As one immunologist remarked shortly after the 1994 CDC conference, “If OspA is so unimportant, then why the heck are we vaccinating people with it?”


Link:
http://www.lymedisease.org/resources/children_pdf/brenner%20Understanding%20the%20Western%20Blot.pdf

Sorry about my obsession with band 31, but it is the only positive band I have other than band 41. Although I do have several indeterminate bands.

I think I may spend the extra bucks and get the further IGenex band 31 testing.

Trav - type in Igenex epitope test - that should being up a PDF file you can open.

How about this question: Why are Bands 18, 45,58, 66 even tested, when they're not one of the double-starred bands and means nothing if you have + on them?

Wow Utah...you're on fire!

So there is significance to the positive 31 and 34 bands! It signifies late lyme or long standing infection. I feel that if igenex says that, there is something to it.

So then my only question (bc my mind never stops) is what do they mean by "late" infection. A year? Over a year?

Utah - My husband only had 31 and 41 + of the double starred bands and that makes it IND.
So that is why the Epitope test is being done. This is to ensure that 31 isn't positive because of a virus.

But, it isn't necessary if you have a LLMD who will diagnose you clinically...as we all know...the tests aren't reliable.

My husband is unsure about treating...I may only be able to convince him to treat if Igenex says he is positive.

I think the last paragraph of the Lyme MD link says a lot:

"These (Western Blot) results need to be analyzed based on a physician's clinical assessment of a patient. A positive result does not guarantee that a patient has Lyme disease and a negative result does not guarantee that a patient does not have Lyme disease."