Lyme Urine Antigen Test?? Anyone know about it?

[dugganwi]

I just mailed in my LUAT Lyme Urine Antigen Test to IgeneX today. I have to say that the three antibiotics I was on (Doxcy, Flagyl and Zithromax) were pretty rough! I'm wondering if anyone has heard and or done this test and knows what results can be expected. I did have a suspiciously negative Wester blot IgG and IgC test come back which prompted my LLMD to do this LUAT test. Anyone have any experience with this? How accurate is it??

Any help is appreciate! Thanks!!

[wonko]

My Lyme testing was never very positive.  I had a couple of bands on Igenex Western blot (I forgot which showed up on IgG/IgM, but it was something like 39+, 41+++), which is below the criteria set by the CDC for a positive Lyme result.

Many LLMD's treat Lyme as a clinical diagnosis, where they used the patient history, symptoms, and the ruling out of other conditions by thorough testing, to come to a conclusion of Lyme disease.  The validity of a clinical Lyme diagnosis is often tested by putting the patient on antibiotics and waiting to see if there is any response.

Patients with Lyme often exhibit a fairly specific reaction to antibiotics where they feel a worsening of symptoms called a Herxheimer reaction.  An LLMD may start a patient with borderline testing on a low dose of antibiotics to see if the patient has a "Herx."

Ticks also carry more than just Lyme disease, and sometimes these co-infections, which are even more difficult to test for, can complicate the diagnostic picture.

None of the tests for tick borne infections are universally considered to be adequate for detection and correct diagnosis.  Some LLMD's do extra testing to try and get some evidence for the diagnosis, which can be very helpful to the patient if they are trying to use insurance to cover treatment.  However, one must always be vigilant for the less-well intended who may just be digging into your pockets.  

As you probably know, LLMD is a label patients use to describe doctors who are sympathetic to complicated cases of tick borne infection, and who have clinical experience in treating it.  It does not signify specialty training.  You can check to see if your LLMD is a member of ILADS (www.ilads.org), as that organization does work to educate MD's about Lyme.  And of course you should feel free to question why more tests are being ordered, how much they will cost, and how the results will affect the treatment of your case.  

My ILADS-LLMD has helped me tremendously, but I did check into the practice by consulting local Lyme support groups and by searching online for patient feedback.  You may want to do the same.

Good luck & take care.

[dugganwi]

Hi Tonya,

Thank you for this information! It is almost impossible to find anything about the LUAT other than what IgeneX has on its website. I did have a Western blot IGM and IGG along with B Henselae done through IgeneX last month. According to the report, I am both IgeneX and CDC Negative for Lyme. However, on IGM, I tested IND for band 39 kDa and + for 41 and 45. On the IGG I tested IND for bands 31 and 39, along with a +++ for band 41. None the less, my LLMD thinks I could still very well have Lyme. He explained that was the reason for the LUAT and it would be a more definitive test... I am hoping It provides some more answers. I'm wondering if visiting an infectious disease specialist for a second opinion too. My LLMD also mentioned some other testing such as biofeedback and a few others in that category to help with a diagnosis. Do you know anything about those?

Thanks!!

[tonyad]

  Hello, Here is the info that I know about the LUAT Test:

        The LUAT was performed by the test’s manufacturer (IgeneX, Palo Alto, CA) on urine samples taken from 10 healthy volunteers who had no history or symptoms of Lyme disease. Each urine sample was divided into five equal fractions, or replicates, so that a total of 50 individual LUATs were performed. The LUAT results, unlike the highly reproducible IgG Western blot results, varied markedly. At least one urine fraction from each of the 10 samples examined tested false-positive. Two urine samples consistently showed false-positive results. Replicates for the eight remaining samples examined were a mixture of positive and negative values, making it impossible to conclude that they were positive or negative.

       The study results indicate that the IgG Western blot is a highly reproducible test for detecting antibodies to the Lyme disease bacterium. These antibodies indicate prior exposure to B. burgdorferi. In contrast, the variable results obtained with the LUAT indicate that it is not a reliable test for evaluating patients with active or suspected Lyme disease.

    Hope this helps.
~Tonya