Here's some interesting info I found online, explaining how this test works for lyme. Does this explanation seem accurate?
THE CD-57 TEST
Our ability to measure CD-57 counts represents a breakthrough in LB diagnosis and treatment. Chronic LB infections are known to suppress the immune system and can decrease the quantity of the CD-57 subset of the natural killer cells. As in HIV infection, where abnormally low T-cell counts are routinely used as a marker of how active that infection is, in LB we can use the degree of decrease of the CD-57 count to indicate how active the Lyme infection is and whether, after treatment ends, a relapse is likely to occur.
It can even be used as a simple, inexpensive screening test, because at this point we believe that only Borrelia will depress the CD-57. Thus, a sick patient with a high CD-57 is probably ill with something other than Lyme, such as a co-infection. When this test is run by LabCorp (the currently preferred lab, as published studies were based on their assays), we want our Lyme patients to measure above 60; a normal count is above 200. There generally is some degree of fluctuation of this count over time, and the number does not progressively increase as treatment proceeds. Instead, it remains low until the LB infection is controlled, and then it will jump. If the CD-57 count is not in the normal range when a course of antibiotics is ended, then a relapse will almost certainly occur.
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There is a lot of debate among the Lyme doctors as to the validity of this test. I know that for myself it has been helpful, but there are LLMDs that say they have very sick patients with high cd57 counts, and patients doing very well with low cd 57 counts.
ReplyDeleteSo, like everything else lyme, this may or may not be a helpful test.
It works for me though, there is no labcorp within an hour and a half of SLO... I just had someone drive me 2 hours north to Salinas to have the blood work drawn.