Oh wow. She's positive for Lyme. She needs to quit getting those steroid shots asap. They will keep her immune system low and allow the Lyme and any other infections she has to flourish with nothing to keep them in check.
Here is the site that I use to help interpret Western Blot results:
www.oocities.org/hotsprings/oasis/6455/western-blot.txt You can go there to find supporting Pubmed articles showing what these bands represent.
An IgM result means that you have an active infection. It once was thought to mean an 'early' infection, but has since been revised. IgG means that the infection is at a later stage.
The more +'s you have beside a number, the stronger the reaction.
IND means indeterminate - not negative, but not quite strong enough to be "fully positive". But it means that you reacted on those bands and should be considered, especially when they are Lyme specific bands.
A "Lyme specific band" means specific for Borrelia Burgdorferi, sensu stricto - Lyme disease in the strictest sense. There are only
two on the over 300 known strains of Lyme that is considered Bb, ss. Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii. Nothing else will turn a Lyme specific band positive other than Lyme disease - - even though there are over 100 different strains of Borrelia in the US that cause human illness.
Bands 18 & 41 (whether in IgM or IgG) are indicative of the tail of the bacteria, which can cross react with other Spirochetal bacteria such as Relapsing Fever, Pintas and Yaws, and Syphilis.
For some unknown reason, some are questioning if Band 31 is really Lyme specific. I don't understand this and no one has ever posted a good reason as to why. So far these articles still stand showing that Band 31 is Lyme specific:
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1520966www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9440203www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8406878www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/8005219www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/10030131And more references can be found here:
www.reocities.com/HotSprings/Oasis/6455/western-blot.txtThe other bands that she shows as positive or IND are:
Band 23- 25 which indicate Osp C (Outer Surface Protein "C") with band 25 being Lyme specific.
Band 34 which indicates Osp B (Outer Surface Protein "B"), which is Lyme specific.
Band 39 which indicates Bmp A (Bacterial Membrane Protein "A"), which is Lyme specific.
Band 58 with is possibly indicative of Borrelia Afzelii, a European strain of Lyme disease.
Bands 83 - 93:
band 83 indicates a high molecular mass protein that is Lyme specific
band 93 indicates an immunodominant protoplasmic cylinder antigen that is Lyme specific.
That's a lot of Lyme specific bands for someone to have! And since there is very, very little chance that it will cross react with anything, it makes no difference what doctors have to say about
the test - she needs treatment. But I have a feeling that if that test is taken in with her (no matter how old it may be) that a good LLMD will have her starting treatment right away. If they don't, you don't want that doc anyway.
If you need LLMD suggestions, feel free to email me - or your niece can. Also encourage her to join this forum! We can be a help to her as well!
And one last thing - YAY for you!! You
heard her and realized she needed to look further into Lyme disease. You are being her advocate and watching out for her! As PeteZa said, you are a terrific aunt!!!