Norman// PCR

[Guest guest]

Hi Guys:

Regarding PCR:

Before my initial lyme testing at MDL, I took about two months of

Doxycycline at maximum dose for my body weight. I know I had classic

herxheimer several hrs. after the first dose (and had to wait 3 days to

recover before taking another dose). After I finished the Doxy, I

waited about a month, then had blood sent to MDL to test for various

things.

Most of the tests were antibody tests, but I had QPCR for Lyme. That

was positive, with a high spirochete load. Western Blot for Lyme

showed only one band for IgG and IgM and that was the non descript

41 kDa. (I have since become seropositive over the insuing years, post

therapy - showing every band on the WB test except OspD at one time or

another,).

Ive had a couple of questions about Lyme PCR that I'm curious about.

I've been told that PCR can't differentiate between Live and Dead

organisms (and a positive test indicates one or the other is found),

but your discussion below indicates that the organism must be destroyed

in order to find the DNA and be positive.... if I'm reading that right.

QUESTION: Does PCR find living and dead organisms DNA?

The other question has to do with the time lag between when I ended the

antibiotic and had the blood draw. Don'tya think the body should have

cleared the debris within a month? Or maybe there are antibodies, but

their complexed with the bits of dead organisms - and they aren't

cleared easily.

QUESTION: Can PCR find the DNA from bound antibody/antigen?

Thanks for your opinions.

Barb

REFERENCED POST (in Part)

>Your view that the non-overlap between seropositivity and PCR

>positivity suggests that MAP is easy to clear, does seem reasonable.

>One possible alternative which is very speculative, is that immune

>pressure makes the organism less amenable to PCR. But I wouldnt know

>how, nor am able to point to any suggestive precedent.

It still could easily be. One of the problems with PCR is how to destroy

the organism, beforehand, so as to expose the DNA. Different forms of a

bacterium will naturally have different optimal ways of destroying them.