40. Better diagnostic testing: antibodies and beyond with Dr. Armin Schwarzbach

In this episode of Looking at Lyme, we go to Augsburg, Germany to learn about diagnostic testing with Dr. Armin Schwarzbach, MD, PhD. Dr. Schwarzbach is a specialist in laboratory medicine and infectious diseases, having worked in the field for over 20 years. He recalls one of his patients who was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis and tested positive for a test that was then called a lymphocyte transformation test for Borrelia burgdorferi even though she subsequently tested negative for antibodies to the bacteria. The patient had not responded to previous treatment for her MS (with steroids) but recovered after being treated for Lyme disease.“The TickPlex was developed because…we saw together with professor Gilbert that there are persister forms…we said why should we not test for these persister form antibodies…and that was a breakthrough because we found around 98% now with a persister form of antibodies.” - Dr. Armin SchwarzbachGet the full show notes and resourcesCoinfections checklist (PDF)Heading to Finland to find ways to accurately diagnose tick-borne diseases