Tickplex a new test for Lyme and Co-infection

[jason30]

Finally!

When would you choose for TIckplex basic instead of TickPlex Plus?
I want to do a borellia test and wonder if the basic suits as well.

 

[zzz0r]

I have been looking for the difference between seraspot IgG/IgM and tickplex. Tickplex plus just test for more bacteria while basic is just for borrelia

 

[Spindrome]

I only just got the email from Armin labs that it's available, Tickplex plus looks a bit pricey, is it worth the extra? I doubt I have Lyme but want to rule it out. The others co infections look like they could be useful though.

 

[deleder2k]

Not sure if I would spend my money on Armin Labs. They are using many undocumented tests like Tickplex. Uncertain how one would deal with the result. Would you try antibiotics? IV antibiotics? long term? Worth the risk? And who would give it to you?

 

[IreneF]

Not sure if I would spend my money on Armin Labs. They are using many undocumented tests like Tickplex. Uncertain how one would deal with the result. Would you try antibiotics? IV antibiotics? long term? Worth the risk? And who would give it to you?

I would like some kind of verification by an independent party if I were going to pay for this test. Speculative testing gets very expensive anyway. I just spent about over $1300 to be told I don't have amyloidosis.

 

[JES]

Not sure if I would spend my money on Armin Labs. They are using many undocumented tests like Tickplex. Uncertain how one would deal with the result. Would you try antibiotics? IV antibiotics? long term? Worth the risk? And who would give it to you?

Tickplex is probably order of magnitude better than anything available, it was developed for several years in a Finnish university and it's supposed to be released in several countries soon. It's an Elisa based test but able to detect up to 20 pathogens with some interesting new tech. Sadly the website is currently down so I can't go into more detail, but I would trust this test much more than currently offered Lyme tests, which are not much more reliable than tossing a coin. At least there is no way it can be worse than existing tests.

 

[deleder2k]

Would be great if you could back that up with sources, preferably studies.

 

[JES]

@deleder2k This is the only study I found online. They describe the test fairly comprehensively and have done validation with 1002 patients. I don't have enough knowledge to comment on the details, but in any case this test will detect more Borrelia species and according to the paper should improve the sensitivity as well. That isn't saying that the test is fully accurate, but should in any case be better than the 50/80% sensitivity at which the current tests manage to detect early/late Lyme disease.

 

[IreneF]

@deleder2k This is the only study I found online. They describe the test fairly comprehensively and have done validation with 1002 patients. I don't have enough knowledge to comment on the details, but in any case this test will detect more Borrelia species and according to the paper should improve the sensitivity as well. That isn't saying that the test is fully accurate, but should in any case be better than the 50/80% sensitivity at which the current tests manage to detect early/late Lyme disease.

Has this been published?

 

[deleder2k]

@JES no one benefits from not being skeptical. ArminLabs are making big money from selling undocumented tests. Some would call it unethical.

 

[JES]

@JES no one benefits from not being skeptical. ArminLabs are making big money from selling undocumented tests. Some would call it unethical.

I don't have any insights into how ArminLabs operate, they might well be unethical. My comment was related to TickPlex, which is a new ELISA-based Lyme test developed by researchers in a Finnish university. It is currently being adopted by some private healthcare providers here, and last I heard the plan was to make it available for all public health services in 2018. It has no relation with ArminLabs other than that they happen to provide this test as well.

 

[IreneF]

I sent the paper to my daughter, who researches tick-borne diseases in wildlife, but she said she can't really evaluate immunological tests because she does PCR, which looks at DNA. Sorry.

 

[Binkie4]

@JES and everyone

I'd be grateful for some feedback. I had a negative Elisa test in UK earlier this year. GP will refer for western blot at a cost of £300 but I believe that is not accurate either.

I think I may have been exposed to Lyme when spending weekends between 2005-10 in a deer infested wood in Wiltshire: on 2 occasions I returned home with a tick attached.

I removed one easily and saw a doctor who was not interested but did prescribe antibiotics for a cough. The second tick was very hard to remove, had to visit someone with a tick lasso and we eventually removed it. I didn't get a rash, nor symptoms, nor see a doctor because I knew from the previous occasion that without a rash, doctor wasn't interested. Diagnosed with ME in 2008.

I see little point in doing a western blot. If I got a negative response I wouldn't believe it.

Has anyone any idea if Tickplex is to be introduced into UK and when? Is it available elsewhere now? What is its reliability and cost? What is the best test available now and where?

I should add that I was diagnosed with mitral valve issues last year and I believe Lyme can be related to heart issues.

Would be very grateful for any info. Thanks.

 

[duncan]

@Binkie4 , the issue of whether or not one tests positive via a western blot for some people may be secondary to which specific bands, if any, test positive, at least according to many in the Lyme community - the idea being if you test positive on a couple of bands that are highly specific to Bb, the odds of you having been exposed to the disease are increased, regardless of whether you snag a positive overall.

The expense is still very real, and ultimately the WB is indirect and so limited.

 

[Helen]

Earlier, I was excited about the Tickplex test, but recently I learned that it is the Dutch company Innatoss that got a grant from the EU to developing a reliable Lyme test. I wish I had more updated information.

https://www.innatoss.com/en/lyme-disease/tests/

Edit: maybe this should deserve its own thread and some Dutch friends to keep track of what is happening

 

[Thinktank]

Earlier, I was excited about the Tickplex test, but recently I learned that it is the Dutch company Innatoss that got a grant from the EU to developing a reliable Lyme test. I wish I had more updated information.

https://www.innatoss.com/en/lyme-disease/tests/

This is interesting and also probably the reason why my girlfriend has been misdiagnosed with lyme disease, whilst it was SLE all along and the following anibiotic therapy damaged her health evern further:
https://www.innatoss.com/en/lyme-disease/tests/

Serological research looks at the formation of antibodies. In case of a Borrelia infection, the IgM antibodies are, generally speaking, formed first, and the production of IgG follows later. However, a number of characteristics of the body’s antibody response can influence this process:

Cross-reactivity: Syphilis, viral infections and collagen vascular diseases, like rheumatoid arthritis and SLE, can cause a cross-reactivity in antibody tests, especially when testing for IgM antibodies. This causes a false positive result.

 

[duncan]

Lots of false negatives supposedly, too. So, let's get serious about generating better tests - both for acute and late stage Bb.