What test to order Igenex?

Hello guys, I finally received my test kit from Igenex. I have been waiting for it for weeks, it took a loooong time to get to Argentina. Anyway, I was reading the different forms that need to be filled and I wanted to ask those of you who ordered the test, which one did you choose or which one did the doctor choose for you? I was thinking on getting the "Complete Lyme Panels" code: 6050, which includes: Western Blot IgG, Western Blot IgM, Lyme IFA, PCR Serum, and Whole Blood. Please give me any advise. Do you know what are the shipping conditions? should the samples be frozen? All I hope is to get these samples tested... and hopefully get a definite anwser.
Im in my ''ok'' phase right now, i dont know how long its going to last, usually weeks.... and then I suddenly start to feel bad again for weeks...

[JackieCalifornia]

Greetings --

If you go to the IGeneX website, there is a section called 'Forms and Sample Requirements' that seems to describe the procedure for using the test kit.

I don't know what should be tested for -- normally your MD decides that.

The results will also need interpretation by a person who is medically trained.

Have you searched online for "Argentina 'lyme disease' "?  There are quite a few references, and you may be able to find an MD familiar with Lyme to help you with the testing and then the intepretation of the tests, not to mention treatment.

Also the doctor could advise you, based on your symptoms, whether you should be tested for other diseases (co-infections) carried by the same ticks.

Best wishes --

[Gaucho25]

Unfortunately Jackie, Lyme disease is very rare here... Doctors do not have a clue what it is, what the treatment is, etc... they have just the basic knowledge thats seen in medicine books, thats it... So I have to choose what test I want, my Doctor signed his part, he said he thinks the complete lyme panels'' should be fine, but again there are NO LLMD here. so I am thinking if I have it I am going to have to fly to the USA to discuss my results with a LLMD. I will look on Igenex Website to see the shipping conditions then.
Thanks.

[JackieCalifornia]

I just spent a half hour online and found a number of references to Lyme/borreliosis in Argentina, and this is not all:

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[[Yes, these writers are on the veterinary faculty, but they are aware of Lyme and may have some direction for you to find a useful MD]]

Rev Saude Publica. 1993 Aug;27(4):305-7.
Lyme disease: antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi in farm workers in Argentina.

Stanchi NO, Balague LJ.

Faculty of Veterinary Science, National University of La Plata Argentina.
Abstract

Lyme Disease is a tick-borne (specially by Ixodes ticks) immune-mediated inflammatory disorder caused by a newly recognize spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi. Indirect fluorescent antibody (IF) staining methods and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay are frequently relied upon to confirm Lyme borreliosis infections. Although serologic testing for antibodies has limitations, it is still the only practical means of confirming B. burgdorferi infections. Because we have no previous report of Lyme disease in human inhabitants in Argentina, a study was designed as a seroepidemiologic investigation of the immune response to B. burgdorferi in farm workers of Argentina with arthritis symptoms. Three out of 28 sera were positive (#1, 5 and 9). Serum #1 was positive for Immunoglobulin G at dilution 1:320, serum #5 and #9 both to dilution 1:160; while for Immunoglobulin M all (#1, 5 and 9) were positive at low dilution (1:40) using IF. The results showed that antibodies against B. burgdorferi are present in an Argentinian population. Thus caution should be exercised in the clinical interpretation of arthritis until the presence of B. burgdorferi be confirmed by culture in specific media.

PMID: 8209163 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
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www [dot] scielo [dot] br / pdf / rsp / v27n4 / 11 [dot] pdf

This appears to be a pdf of the entire article abstracted above.  The footnotes have names and affiliations of scientists researching in this area, who may be able to suggest LLMDs to you.  The Lyme community tends to be quite close-knit.

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David Ostrovsky: my fight against Lyme disease / Mi lucha contra el Lyme

lymebacteria [dot] com / lb /

[[take out the extra spaces and replace the [dot] with .

This person is in Argentina and is asking for advice and contributions, but on his website there are some posts from people suggesting a couple of things that my Spanish is not good enough to understand.

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columbia-lyme [dot] org / research / lymetbd_center [dot] html

This is the website for the highly regarded Lyme research center at Columbia University Medical Center in New York City.  If you go to that website, look for the contact information for the following person, who has done research in Argentina and can perhaps direct you to someone in Argentina:

"Kathy M. Corbera, MD is Associate Director of the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Evaluation Service at the Columbia University Medical Center. She served as coordinator of the Columbia University, NIH-funded study, “PET and MRI Imaging of Persistent Lyme Encephalopathy.”  Dr. Corbera has broad expertise in clinical infectious disease practice and research.   She was a Research Fellow in the Department of Neurology at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and *****has worked abroad in clinical infectious disease and AIDS in Mexico, France and Argentina******.  In addition to her work at the Lyme Evaluation Service, Dr. Corbera is Associate Director of Education.  She coordinates the educational fellowships sponsored by the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Research Center."  

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This article abstract is posted at www [dot] canlyme [dot] com / pathlymeneuro [dot] html, which is a Canadian Lyme group.  One of the authors at one time had an address in Buenos Aires (see below), and if you can find him/her, they may be able to suggest someone in Argentina with an interest in treating Lyme:

Pathogenesis of Lyme neuroborreliosis: Borrelia burgdorferi lipoproteins induce both proliferation and apoptosis in rhesus monkey astrocytes

Geeta Ramesh 1 2, Alida L. Alvarez 1 3, E. Donald Roberts 2, Vida A. Dennis 1, Barbara L. Lasater 1, Xavier Alvarez 2, Mario T. Philipp 1 *

1Division of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Covington, USA

2Division of Comparative Pathology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, Tulane University Health Sciences Center, Covington, USA

3present address: Montañeses 2820, 1429BLB Buenos Aires, Argentina
email: Mario T. Philipp (***@****)

*Correspondence to Mario T. Philipp, Division of Bacteriology and Parasitology, Tulane National Primate Research Center, 18703 Three Rivers Road, Covington, LA 70433, USA Fax: [phone]

Brain invasion by Borrelia burgdorferi, the agent of Lyme disease, results in an inflammatory and neurodegenerative disorder called neuroborreliosis. In humans, neuroborreliosis has been correlated with enhanced concentration of glial fibrillary acidic protein in the cerebrospinal fluid, a sign of astrogliosis. Rhesus monkeys infected by us with B. burgdorferi showed evidence of astrogliosis, namely astrocyte proliferation and apoptosis. We formulated the hypothesis that astrogliosis could be caused by spirochetal lipoproteins. We established primary cultures of rhesus monkey astrocytes and stimulated the cells with recombinant lipidated outer surface protein A (L-OspA), a model B. burgdorferi lipoprotein, and tripalmitoyl-S-glyceryl-Cys-Ser-Lys4-OH (Pam3Cys), a synthetic lipopeptide that mimics the structure of the lipoprotein lipid moiety. L-OspA elicited not only astrocyte proliferation but also apoptosis, two features observed during astrogliosis. Astrocytes produced both IL-6 and TNF- in response to L-OspA and Pam3Cys. Proliferation induced by L-OspA was diminished in the presence of an excess of anti-IL-6 antibody, and apoptosis induced by this lipoprotein was completely suppressed with anti-TNF- antibody. Hence, IL-6 contributes to, and TNF- determines, astrocyte proliferation and apoptosis, respectively, as elicited by lipoproteins. Our results provide proof of the principle that spirochetal lipoproteins could be key virulence factors in Lyme neuroborreliosis, and that astrogliosis might contribute to neuroborreliosis pathogenesis.

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[JackieCalifornia]

The email address for Mario T. Phillip that is blocked out above is:

philipp [at] tpc [dot] tulane [dot] edu

Even if he is back at Tulane (in New Orleans, Louisiana, USA), he may have some suggestions for you of contact in Argentina.

Best wishes --

[Gaucho25]

Hello Jackie, thank you so much for makinf an effort and doing  alittle research for me. I am friends with David Ostrovsky who is also in Argentina. He got bit by a tick in New Jersey, so when he got sick he came back to Argentina and he became his own doctor since here no doctors could give him a diagnosis until he became familiar with lyme online and ordered a test from IgeneX, which came back positive for it and all the coinfections. He has to leave the country to get treated because here the disease is unknown, I have been to the best clinics and hospitals...and the test that they perform for Lyme is IFA (Indirect Immuno Assay) that detects antibodies, it is not reliable... sad...
Im in the middle of paperwork, so I can send my blood samples to the US...  I will also email the guy from Argentina who was a co-author of that canadian lyme group and see if he can recommend me some doctor here, but i doubt it..
Right now I seem to have a flare... it seems that every month or two I have these flares where some symtoms (symptoms) get worse...and after a couple of weeks they tend to go away, its so odd..
Once again thanks for the information, I appreciate it.

[JackieCalifornia]

That flare up of symptoms that you get every month or so is common in Lyme.

Good luck and let us know what you hear back from IGeneX!

[Gaucho25]

You have trully been of great help, thanks a lot. I hope its not too late for a treatment since I have been with these symptoms for about 3 years. I will keep you guys posted!!

[JackieCalifornia]

Three years of Lyme is not too late for treatment -- and we look forward to hearing of your progress!