Low CD57 but negative Elispot

Neither test is good in finding out if you have LD. You need a Western Blot. Elisa misses up to 70% of the infected people. It should be outlawed IMHO.

As per this link, it defines the difference between the Elispot and the ELISA and points out that the Elispot is more sensitive and better it seems.

http://www.elispot.biz/ebz_el01.htm

Sorry I don't know what Elispot is. CD 57 was thought years ago to be a good indicator, but new studies show it's not a good indicator. In other words, someone may have a normal CD 57 and a positive WBlot. Personally I don't trust it and there are drs that don't trust it either.

Igenex western blot is as good as it gets. Nothing else beats it right now.

Post Edited (Simela1) : 5/8/2015 9:49:16 AM (GMT-6)

Hi Matthew,

I had all of the same tests done that you're having done. They all came back negative: Elispot, ELISA, Urine & Blood PCR, even the Western Blot through less accurate but insurance-covered labs. Finally, I got a Western Blot that was positive from Stony Brook Labs, and then a much more detailed positive Western Blot from IGeneX (see my signature below). The tests through IGeneX start at $200. Well worth it for their accuracy.

You will quickly learn with this disease that the CDC and IDSA put out a ton of false & misleading information regarding the testing and treatment of lyme. Most of us on this forum have been through some real battles to get diagnosed. Save yourself the trouble and go with IGeneX.

Matthew333 - I'm wondering whether you might be in Europe, as Elispot is used in Germany. It's regarded as a very sensitive test, because it is reflecting actual T-cellular activity, rather than antibodies.

My understanding is that low CD57 can be caused by any bacterial infection which suppresses the immune system, not just borrelia.

I'm in Australia.

So if ANY kind of bacterial infection can cause low CD57 how do I find out what it is?

Is it likely to be in the co-infection category are it could be any kind of bacteria from anywhere at all?

Mat:

CD57 used to be trusted by some llmd as an indicator and measure of improvement in Lyme. It was a lot of buzz around it years ago. However, it proved unreliable.

Since you are not in US, I don't know how many strains the elispot tests for. No test for Lyme is 100% accurate. That is all I am saying. We had a person here that tested negative through igenex but positive through a German lab for Lyme and co-infections. See what I mean? Birds travel, people travel, and there is no way to know what strain of Lyme one has. It doesn't matter how sensitive the tests are: if you have Lyme but the test doesn't test for the strain YOU have, does it matter?

Some people test positive only after a month of abx. The test looks for antibodies. Some people don't make enough antibodies to be detected by tests. That's why even igenex misses some cases. There is no test 100% accurate when it comes to Lyme. It is very complicated. Dr H has a questionnaire you can answer and score it to see if you likely have Lyme or not. But the species of Lyme we have here don't necessary manifest as the species outside US. I don't know if that would be helpful to you. What are your symptoms?

"It has diagnostic value."
No Lyme tests has diagnostic value, unless is positive, and this is recognized around the world. A negative test does not rule out Lyme. Lyme disease is a CLINICAL diagnoses. Tests are unreliable. Even CDC says this, even though they don't know anything about treating LD successfully, unless you just acquired it, in which case a month of abx MAY be sufficient. My son got the bulls eye rash, was treated with a month of doxi and was told he was cured. A year later, he started to develop grand mal seizures. 2 Elisa tests were both negative. Meaningless! Tests are unreliable! His seizures and all symptoms are improving with Abx. Igenex only got us 2 positive bands on the IGM and 3 positive bands on IGG. According to CDC, he doesn't have Lyme. According to LLMDs, Igenex, and latest research, he does. So, it depends who says what about the tests. ANY lab will claim their tests are good. It is not necessarily that the tests are not "good", it is the immune response to the tests that may not be good. If one doesn't make enough antibodies against LD, what and how are the tests supposed to detect them? THey are simply NOT there.

Post Edited (Simela1) : 5/9/2015 8:55:59 AM (GMT-6)

If nothing else it can help my doc choose which antibiotics to use to target which bacteria.

The doc wouldn't order it and expect me to pay $250 for it if it wasn't diagnositcaly valuable.

That is quite unbelievable that you leave in a country that you have to spend so much money with still no answers. We leave in a completely crazy world. But hopefully you will get some answers soon.

We could give you some suggestions here, although without knowing your symptoms is like pulling bunnies out of a hat lol

First if all, CD 57 test has to do with white blood cells. I think is more indicative of an infection rather than mold. There are more specific mold tests and I haven't seen cd 57 being such a test. Given that you are in a different part of the woods, I'm not sure what is going on there.

Weather you have or not Lyme or mold or any other infection, there are things you can do to make you feel better without causing any harm. Detoxing and increasing your immune function are 2 great things that will help you get better.

We share here pretty intimate things on the board, and sometimes there seems nothing is left out Lol. But that's how we are able to help each other. So if you are comfortable listing your symptoms, we can better help you. Sometimes one of us dealt with a similar situation. Also we have members from other parts of the world where Lyme is of different strain and manifestation/symptoms.

There are lots of herbs that we also use that will help you with immune function. Also, many of us have hormonal issues because of Lyme--many of us have hypothyroidism and some developed Hashimoto. Again, without knowing your symptoms, I am not sure how we can help you.

Best thing to do is see an LLMD. They will diagnose YOU, not the tests. Medicine is not just about tests. A doctor that treats only based on tests, is not a very good clinician. We have members that tested positive for Lyme AFTER 1 year of treatment! If these people would not be clinically diagnosed, they would never get any treatment although they are sick. This is crazy!

I do have some suggestions but I'm way too tired to continue now... I'll post some links for you tomorrow. Maybe in the meantime you will post your symptoms. Australia has lots of Lyme cases, but the main stream drs deny it, just like here. You've spent way too much money to get no answers! It's a shame!

Post Edited (Simela1) : 5/9/2015 9:33:15 PM (GMT-6)

* Lately I've had chronic asthma - every day and flu that I got about 6 weeks ago that I can't shake. Constant coughing.

So is it likely to be found by a doc who looks for co-infections or is this going to be like trying to find any bacteria that exists? Is Lyme doc likely to be able to help me beyond the Lyme and co-infection stuff?

Like is it normal for Lyme docs to start looking at other bacteria once they've exhausted the usual suspects?

So if I understand correctly, the Cpn would mainly be causing the coughing and asthma?

I must stress that this coughing has only started in the last 6 weeks. It could be just a flue that I cant shake because I did have sneezing and general flu smyptoms.

Would it be responsible for the other stuff?