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New test diagnoses Lyme disease within 15 minutes
Current testing for Lyme disease, called the standard 2-tiered approach or the STT, involves running two complex assays (ELISA and western blot) to detect antibodies against the bacterium, and requires experienced personnel in a lab, and a few hours to carry out and interpret. Biomedical engineers have developed a rapid microfluidic test that can detect Lyme disease with similar performance as the STT in a much shorter time -- 15 minutes.
[...]The researchers evaluated 142 samples, including patients with early Lyme disease, healthy individuals from areas where Lyme disease is endemic, and those with Lyme arthritis. They first screened a set of known diagnostic Lyme disease biomarkers for their ability to detect Lyme disease infection. They then tested the top three biomarkers using a standard enzyme immunoassay, and then mChip-LD, an advanced microfluidic platform developed by Sam Sia, to test the samples.
When tested against additional samples of serum from people with Lyme disease, the multiplexed set of biomarkers was more sensitive than standard Lyme disease tests, while also exhibiting high specificity. The team found that it was better at picking up signs of Lyme disease infection in early-stage samples--possibly because it was able to detect antibodies that peak in the first weeks after someone is infected with Lyme disease.
When the test was run on Sia's mChip-LD platform, it worked very well, showing strong potential for the development of a point-of-care test for Lyme disease.
Further information:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/JCM.01142-19
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday October 21 2019, @11:02PM
Now your doctor can prove that your just a lazy welfare bum looking to avoid work.