Anyone know the latest on the Ceres Nanotrap

[LHCTom]

I noticed the Nanotrap Lyme Antigen Test is being offered by a Northern Virginia Clinic. Its potentially another direct detection approach that could identify an active infection and persistence.

http://media.wix.com/ugd/f7710c_e8efa5d ... bcb7d5.pdf

http://www.ceresnano.com/#!lyme-test-faq/c22fq

Test now available at following locations:
Internal Medicine of Northern Virginia
1860 Town Center Drive #230
Reston, Virginia 20190
Phone 703 709-1119

The Nanotrap® Lyme Antigen (LA) Test is a novel, high sensitivity, DIRECT test for Lyme that will provide valuable information to assist a physician in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease at most stages of infection.

Unlike other clinical Lyme disease tests that are INDIRECT, the Nanotrap® LA Test is a non-invasive test that provides highly sensitive and specific direct detection of the Lyme antigen, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), in a patient’s urine sample.

The Nanotrap® LA Test can provide valuable information, at anytime in the infection cycle, about the presence of the Bb antigen when used at the time of initial infection, during and after a course of treatment, and in some cases of recurrent disease.

Nanotrap.png (137.35 KiB) Viewed 7085 times

Lyme Disease - Lyme disease is a bacterial infection carried by ticks. Approximately 30,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease in the US every year, a number which has almost doubled in the past decade. Lyme disease is most prominent in the Northeast and Midwest, but cases of Lyme have been confirmed in every state, and it is also becoming prevalent on other continents. Lyme disease is well known for having symptoms that are very similar to those of other diseases. Some of the most common symptoms include a "bulls-eye" rash, fatigue and flu-like symptoms. If left untreated, the disease can seriously affect the heart and central nervous system which can lead to heart inflammation, meningitis, arthritis, memory loss and even paralysis.

Unlike the Nanotrap® LA Test, current serological tests for Lyme disease are indirect tests: they measure the body’s immune response and not the disease itself. These other tests are highly unreliable and can delay diagnosis. After initial infection, the body produces antibodies to fight the invading bacteria. Serological tests may detect these blood-borne antibodies, however it can take weeks after initial infection before antibody levels are sufficient to provide a result. Also, if a test is run before the required antibody levels are reached, the patient can receive a false negative result. Even if a positive diagnosis is achieved, antibody levels remain high despite successful treatment, leading to false positive results and prolonged treatment periods

The Ceres' Nanotrap® Lyme Antigen Test uses the Nanotrap® technology to directly measure Lyme antigens in urine using a Western Blot format. The Nanotrap® test is designed to provide high sensitivity and accuracy, delivering confident results at the earliest stages of infection. The Nanotrap® LA Test uses a direct approach and tests for the Lyme bacterial antigen, which is present in the body and can be detected within days of initial infection. Conversely, the Nanotrap® LA Test will provide a negative result indicating no presence of the antigen if the infection has been eliminated with effective treatment.

http://www.ceresnano.com/#!nanotrap-lyme-test/c64d

[velvetmagnetta]

Has anyone actually taken this test yet? If so, what were your results?

I believe this will be the end-all, be-all definitive test to end the Lyme Wars once and for all! This is it, folks!

If anyone's heard anything about peoples' results after taking this test, please let me know!?!

[Crashcup]

My wife took the NanoTrap test in feb 2016.
After 11 month of Doxy, she came back negative.
We will take it again in a few months to make sure Borellia is finally gone. Its $400 US. Not cheap, but there is no other test of antigens that we know of.

[velvetmagnetta]

Thank you so much for responding, CrashCup! So happy to hear your wife is (so far) borrelia-free!

Can you tell me if she is still having Lyme-related health problems and/or pain?

[velvetmagnetta]

Hello everybody!

Still wondering if people who have had Lyme disease in the past and have taken antibiotics for it - and then have taken this Nano test - what were your results?

Are you Lyme-negative? And if so, do you still have pain? Exhaustion? Achiness? Anything?

Please someone tell me if you are still infected after antibiotics and/or if you still have health problems even if your disease was resolved?!?

I am desperate to know if we are all fighting a disease or if we are fighting the aftereffects of the disease?

Thank you immensely to anyone who responds!

[Henry]

Unfortunately, OspA is not the right antigen to use in a test like this. Although OspA is expressed by Borrelia growing in the mid-gut of infected ticks as well as by Borrelia growing in artificial laboratory media (e.g. , BSK broth), it is not expressed by Borrelia when growing in infected mammals. That was the rationale for selecting OspA was for use in the LYMErx vaccine, which was designed to be a transmission blocking vaccine. It is also the main reason why OspA is not considered to be of diagnostic value. All this indicates that those who designed the Ceres nanotrap really don't know much about Lyme disease and what they are doing. A much better choice for a ligand would have been C6. If you have $400 to throw away, why not donate it to a food bank where it will at least do some good.

[Henry]

Key references noting that OspA is expressed by Borrelia growing in ticks and on artificial media, but not during mammalian infection are (a) J. Clin. Microbiol. 38: 382-388, 2000; and (b) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 92: 2909-2913, 1995. In all cases, the genes that govern the expression of OspA are present; however, they are expressed in some environments, but not in others as has been stated. When Borrelia are present in a site when there is significant or intense inflammation (e.g., an arthritic joint and/or during antibiotic refractory Lyme induced arthritis), it is possible to detect serum IgG antibodies vs OspA. But, that is an exceptional situation in which the expression of OspA appears to be influenced by presence of inflammatory cytokines.

[lou]

Here is their explanation for using OspA. Don't know enough myself to have an opinion.

Why test for Outer surface protein A?

The target of the Nanotrap® LA Test measurement, Outer surface protein A (OspA), was identified as a valid biomarker for detecting Lyme disease based on the following findings from highly regarded scientific publications: OspA is a protein found only on the surface of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), and OspA antibodies are detectable in patients in early and late stage disease (Infect. Immun. 1995, 63:2228-2235) and in antibiotic resistant Lyme (Arthritis Rheum. 1999 42:1809-1812); Bb expresses high levels of OspA in the mammalian host in an inflammatory environment (Infect. Immun. 2003, 71,7; 4003-4010); OspA has inflammatory properties (stimulation of neutrophils, The Journal of Immunology, 1997, 4838); OspA and surface lipoproteins provide protective shielding against mammalian host innate immunity (Mol Microbiol. 2008; 69(1): 15–29); OspA has been found in Lyme patient urine, cerebrospinal fluid and synovial fluid.

Also, the development team performed the epitope mapping of a sequence in OspA that is common across all species of Lyme disease, including: Borrelia burgdorferi, Borrelia garinii, Borrelia afzelii, Borrelia spielmanii, Borrelia bissettii. Furthermore, it was determined that there is 0% overlap with any human protein, proving that the presence of OspA in the human body can only be attributed to infection from Bb.

[Henry]

No objections. But once again, C6 would have been a better choice for a ligand in an assay such as this. There is published data to indicate that antibody levels vs C6 can be used to monitor the efficacy of antibiotic therapy for the treatment of early acute Lyme disease and that C6 is expressed by most --if not all- Borrelia very early after infection. Most likely, the C6 ELISA will soon replace the ELISA now being used in the current 2-tier diagnostic procedure. Head-to-head comparisons indicate that C6 is superior in specificity and sensitivity. It all depends on when the FDA and CDC believe they have sufficient data to recommend that such a change be made.

[lou]

The C6 test is not any better than the two tier system, according to many who have used it, so I sincerely hope it will not replace anything, even though two tier needs replacing. In every other infectious disease, culture is the gold standard. In lyme, anyone who is able to culture it will certainly be trashed. The CDC is not interested in finding lyme. They prefer not to find it.