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Chronic Lyme Disease

Includes 2 tests
Blood
3 Days
140€

Testing for chronic Lyme disease (chronic borreliosis) involves testing for the presence of specific IgG and IgM antibodies against the responsible Borrelia microbe using the Western blot technique.

What is Lyme Disease?

Lyme disease is one of the most common tick-borne zoonoses worldwide. It is caused by a spirochete (helically coiled bacterium) called Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto, Borrelia afzelii, and Borrelia garinii.

Lyme disease occurs in two forms. Acute and chronic Lyme disease. The acute or early form is characterized by flu-like symptoms such as fever, muscle aches, headache, and fatigue. Some patients may develop a pronounced rash (migratory), which looks like a target (concentric circles). A rash can occur in 30-80% of cases. Most of the time, however, the rash is not a characteristic but a common skin redness. The rash starts a few days or several weeks after the bite and then spreads over days or weeks. Diagnostic tests may not be helpful in the early stages of the disease, often giving false-negative results. Treatment should not be delayed if Lyme disease is suspected (exposure, tick bite, presence of a characteristic rash).

If acute Lyme disease is not diagnosed and treated early, spirochetes can spread and "hide" in various body parts. Weeks, months, or even years later, patients may experience problems with the brain and nervous system, muscles and joints, heart and circulatory system, gastrointestinal tract, reproductive system, and skin. This condition is characterized as chronic Lyme disease.

Chronic Lyme disease has symptoms that mimic many other diseases. It can affect any organ in the body, including the brain and nervous system, muscles, joints, and heart. Patients with chronic Lyme disease are often misdiagnosed with chronic fatigue syndrome, fibromyalgia, multiple sclerosis, and various psychiatric illnesses, including depression. Misdiagnosis can delay proper diagnosis and treatment as the underlying infection progresses without control.

What are the most common symptoms of Chronic Lyme Disease?
 
  • Fatigue
  • Arthralgias
  • Myalgias
  • Sleep problems
  • Decline of mental functions
  • Depression
  • Neuropathies
  • Headaches
  • Heart disease
Why do we use Western blot?

The most common diagnostic tests for Lyme disease are indirect. They measure the patient's antibody response to the microorganism, not the microorganism. The two most commonly used antibody tests are the ELISA and Western blot. Another test that can diagnose Lyme disease is polymerase chain reaction (PCR), which selectively amplifies a portion of Borrelia DNA so that the microorganism itself can be detected (immediate method).

Although ELISA and Western blot methodology is somewhat complicated, the basic principle is simple: the specific antibodies in the patient's serum react with Borrelia antigens and bind very strongly. A second "labeled" antibody then recognizes the first antibody, and using various methods, we can measure this binding, thus identifying the presence of specific antibodies.

Western blot has more specificity and sensitivity than ELISA, thus reducing the cases of false-negative and (mainly) false-positive results.

Procedure completion test
Step 1

Purchase the test you want online

Select the tests you wish, through the most complete range of Preventive and Functional Medicine tests and purchase them online.

Step 2

Sampling

We send you the certified package - sampling collection kit, to collect your sample, always in accordance with the instructions contained within the kit.

Step 3

Sending your sample

After you have collected your sample, place it in the prepaid shipping package, contact the courier company and send it to our certified laboratory.

Step 4

Receiving the test results

Download your test results easily and securely anytime you want by logging in to your personal account.

Step 1

Book an appointment and buy the test online

Select from the most complete range test of Prevention, Andrology and Diagnostics, book an appointment in real time and purchase them online.

Step 2

Sampling

Visit the certified laboratory of Diagnostiki Athinon on the date and time you have chosen, to perform the sampling.

Step 3

Receiving the test results

Download your test results easily and securely anytime you want by logging in to your personal account.

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