Lyme Disease Antigen Test

A Lyme disease test detects antibodies to the Lyme disease bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi in the blood. Lyme disease bacteria are spread by certain kinds of ticks, most common is the deer tick.

There are several types of tests available for Lyme Disease. Central Florida Research Laboratory uses a highly accurate method for detecting Lyme disease, The Antigen Lyme Disease Test by Flow Cytometry

The Lyme Antigen Test

The Antigen Lyme Test by Flow Cytometry is a patent pending, state-of-the-art test offered ONLY by Central Florida Research and is available for testing on humans and animals. The antigen test is 25% more accurate than traditional testing methods.

• Western Blot Test
• Indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA)
• Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)

If you think you have symptoms of Lyme disease and want FAST ACCURATE results, order your test from Central Florida Research, the most accurate test for Lyme disease.

Request a FREE test kit today!!





Identifying Borrelia burgdorferi in Whole Blood by Flow Cytometry

By Dr. Threlkeld

Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent in Lyme disease. Currently, the diagnosis is based on clinical findings such as Erythema migrans rash, other signs and symptoms, history, and blood tests for antibodies (ELISA and Western Blot). Blood test results for antibodies (IGM and IGG) are not required for diagnosis and treatment if history and clinical findings are strongly suggestive of Lyme disease. The CDC criteria for reporting require confirmation by antibody tests; however, this is for surveillance only, not for clinical diagnosis. The antibody tests are known to have a high rate of false negatives because many patients with clinical Lyme disease never demonstrate antibodies. The only tests currently used which target the organism are culture and PCR. Culture requires a long time to produce positive growth (may be weeks), and may not grow at all. PCR is useful in joint and spinal fluid and has been used successfully in whole blood.

Discovering Lyme Disease Testing by Flow Cytometry

We explored the possibility of using Flow Cytometry to detect Borrelia burgdorferi in EDTA anticoagulated whole blood. Borrelia burgdorferi antigen (Lyophilized Borrelia burgdorferi organisms, KPL) were added to blood from healthy volunteers (no symptoms or history, and not from endemic Lyme disease area) and evaluated by Flow cytometry after incubation with Anti-Borrelia burgdorferi Ab-FITC (KPL). The same blood without Borrelia organisms added was used as a Negative control. Control for non-specific fluorescence was with FITC labeled isotype Ab (Goat). Borrelia burgdorferi organisms were easily identified by bright fluorescence, and serial dilutions demonstrated the ability to detect approximately 25 organisms in 50,000 counted events (red cells, and platelets were in the gate with Borrelia).

Validating the Antigen Test

The validation study involved evaluating EDTA anticoagulated blood from patients clinically suspected of having Lyme disease. Patient samples came from both endemic and non-endemic areas. To be included in the study, the patients must have had a history of tick bite and at least one sign/symptom of early, early disseminated or chronic Lyme disease. Sixty-six (66) patients met the criteria and were evaluated by Flow cytometry as well as Western Blot (IGM,IGG). There were 6 positive cases by Western Blot of which 4 were also positive by Flow Cytometer. Flow Cytometry detected an additional 28 that were positive for Borrelia burgdorferi organisms. Additionally, 33 samples from asymptomatic volunteers were evaluated as negatives. The negative population was also used to evaluate the stability of results over 72 hours. This data was used to determine the maximum time from blood collection to analysis. This was found to be 48 hours. Follow-up studies using PCR (Polymerase Chain Reaction) for confirmation demonstrated good correlation with Flow Cytometry findings. Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis and to be considered in our study, patients were requested to have a tick bite and at least one symptom of lyme disease. To be considered as positive clinically, required a history of tick bite and at least one sign/symptom of early (stage 1), early disseminated (stage 2), or chronic (stage 3) Lyme disease.

We feel that identifying Borrelia burgdorferi by flow cytometry is a useful additional test in detecting Lyme disease. It may be the best current method for identifying the presence of the organism in the patient.