LabMedica

Download Mobile App
Recent News Expo Clinical Chem. Molecular Diagnostics Hematology Immunology Microbiology Pathology Technology Industry Focus

Immunoaffinity Technology Distinguishes Between Lyme Disease Infection States and Tracks Treatment Response

By LabMedica International staff writers
Posted on 25 Oct 2022
Image: Immune dysregulation associated with Lyme disease could enable its accurate and prompt treatment (Photo courtesy of Pexels)
Image: Immune dysregulation associated with Lyme disease could enable its accurate and prompt treatment (Photo courtesy of Pexels)

Lyme disease is the most prevalent vector-borne disease in the U.S., with an estimated 476,000 annual cases. Current diagnostics for this disease and complicated and rely on indirect methods that suffer from low sensitivity and high false-positive rates. Furthermore, they are unable to distinguish between newly infected patients and patients that have received prior treatment. This makes it impossible to determine treatment efficacy, track disease resolution or diagnose subsequent infections. Now, researchers have demonstrated that it is possible to distinguish between Lyme disease infection states and track treatment response using a proprietary immunoaffinity technology.

Using GlycoPath Inc.’s (Charleston, SC, USA) proprietary GlycoTyper immunoaffinity technology, researchers identified glycosylation changes that differentiate acute Lyme disease and track with treatment. By utilizing the GlycoTyper methodology on a small cohort of patients, researchers were able to distinguish between control, acute and treated patients with a specificity of 94.7-100%. The study has revealed a new research avenue of immune dysregulation associated with the disease that is expected to contribute to the accurate and prompt treatment of Lyme disease patients.

Prior to this study, the proprietary GlycoTyper methodology had only been applied to liver diseases. Earlier this year, results from the first GlycoFibroTyper study had shown that the GlycoFibroTyper assay was able to detect liver fibrosis and cirrhosis, the pre-malignant pre-cursor to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC), with a higher sensitivity and specificity and overall accuracy than current standard of care. Furthermore, this assay is significantly less invasive, suitable for continuous monitoring, and provides a measurement of the overall health status of the liver.

Related Links:
GlycoPath Inc. 

Gold Member
Hematology Analyzer
Medonic M32B
POC Helicobacter Pylori Test Kit
Hepy Urease Test
Urine Chemistry Control
Dropper Urine Chemistry Control
Sperm Quality Analyis Kit
QwikCheck Beads Precision and Linearity Kit

Channels

Molecular Diagnostics

view channel
Image: The diagnostic device can tell how deadly brain tumors respond to treatment from a simple blood test (Photo courtesy of UQ)

Diagnostic Device Predicts Treatment Response for Brain Tumors Via Blood Test

Glioblastoma is one of the deadliest forms of brain cancer, largely because doctors have no reliable way to determine whether treatments are working in real time. Assessing therapeutic response currently... Read more

Microbiology

view channel
Image: New evidence suggests that imbalances in the gut microbiome may contribute to the onset and progression of MCI and Alzheimer’s disease (Photo courtesy of Adobe Stock)

Comprehensive Review Identifies Gut Microbiome Signatures Associated With Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease affects approximately 6.7 million people in the United States and nearly 50 million worldwide, yet early cognitive decline remains difficult to characterize. Increasing evidence suggests... Read more

Technology

view channel
Image: Vitestro has shared a detailed visual explanation of its Autonomous Robotic Phlebotomy Device (photo courtesy of Vitestro)

Robotic Technology Unveiled for Automated Diagnostic Blood Draws

Routine diagnostic blood collection is a high‑volume task that can strain staffing and introduce human‑dependent variability, with downstream implications for sample quality and patient experience.... Read more

Industry

view channel
Image: Roche’s cobas® Mass Spec solution enables fully automated mass spectrometry in routine clinical laboratories (Photo courtesy of Roche)

New Collaboration Brings Automated Mass Spectrometry to Routine Laboratory Testing

Mass spectrometry is a powerful analytical technique that identifies and quantifies molecules based on their mass and electrical charge. Its high selectivity, sensitivity, and accuracy make it indispensable... Read more