New Lyme disease test could help ID key complication

August 13, 1997
Web posted at: 8:34 p.m. EDT (0034 GMT)

ATLANTA (CNN) -- New Jersey researchers say they have found an antibody that can establish within days of infection whether Lyme disease has invaded the central nervous system.

The disease is ordinarily diagnosed by detecting antibodies in the blood, but the most commonly used test is often inaccurate, especially in the first stage of infection.

The new test is said to be capable of identifying evidence of nervous system infection long before any symptoms appear. The risk of neurological complications increases the longer the disease goes untreated, but the new test shows that the infection can spread to the nervous system early.

The test, which is not expected to become commercially available for at least three years, could be used to help identify those Lyme disease patients most likely to suffer complications and target them for aggressive treatment.

Lyme disease is spread by a bite from an infected deer tick. Those stricken may not become ill for weeks, and nervous system symptoms -- headaches, dizziness, hearing problems, tingling and trouble concentrating -- may not occur for weeks or months.

 

• Consumer News - Fitness & Health

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• American Lyme Disease Foundation
• The Lyme Disease Network

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