Novel Diagnosis of Lyme Disease: Potential for CAM Intervention

Abstract

Lyme disease (LD) is the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere, producing a wide range of disabling effects on multiple human targets, including the skin, the nervous system, the joints and the heart. Insufficient clinical diagnostic methods, the necessity for prompt antibiotic treatment along with the pervasive nature of infection impel the development and establishment of new clinical diagnostic tools with increased accuracy, sensitivity and specificity. The goal of this article is 4-fold: (i) to detail LD infection and pathology, (ii) to review prevalent diagnostic methods, emphasizing inherent problems, (iii) to introduce the usage of in vivo induced antigen technology (IVIAT) in clinical diagnostics and (iv) to underscore the relevance of a novel comprehensive LD diagnostic approach to practitioners of Complementary and Alternative Medicine (CAM). Utilization of this analytical method will increase the accuracy of the diagnostic process and abridge the time to treatment, with antibiotics, herbal medicines and nutritional supplements, resulting in improved quality of care and disease prognosis.

Keywords: Borrelia burgdorferi; Lyme disease; in vivo-induced antigen technology; multi-peptide ELISA.

Figure 1.

Entry of Borrelia in circulation and different tissue, induction of immuno-suppression with tick salivary protien, activation of the inflammatory and fibrinolytic systmes, and breaking the blood brain abrrier, which allows invasion of the CNS, resulting in neuroborreliosis.

Figure 2.

IgG + IgM measured against 16 different peptides and antigens from Borrelia, cross-reactive microorganisms (Babesia, Ehrlichia, Bartonella, T. palidum) and target tissue antigens such as myelin basic protein (MBP), myelin oligodendrocyte glycoprotein (MOG) and collagen. Index was calculated based on ELISA optical densities of each specimen obtained at 405 nm divided by the OD of normal human serum tested against the same antigen or peptide simultaneously. Note that each patient has a different pattern of antibody reactivity against the sixteen different tested antigens or peptides.

Figure 3.

Using CAM treatment could prevent different processes ranging from the attachment of the tick to the inflammatory process, CNS invasion, and the induction of neuroborreliosis. CAM can act through the enhancement of natural killer cell activity, macrophage function, inhibition of pro-inflammatory cytokine production, inactivation of the fibrinolytic system, and repair of blood brain barriers.