Dr. Marra to provide patients ground breaking study to develop a blood culture for Borrelia

In the spring of 2011, Dr. Joseph Burrascano with Advanced Laboratory Services in Sharon, PA, asked Dr. Marra to provide patients who would be willing to participate in a ground breaking study to develop a blood culture for Borrelia.  Several of her patients were thrilled to participate in the study that subsequently yielded significant results. 

In October 2011, Dr. Burrascano and Advanced Laboratory Services announced that the Borrelia blood culture study was a great success and was ready to be offered to physicians and patients for clinical use.  Blood cultures for many other infectious diseases are considered the gold standard in traditional medicine.  Therefore this is quite a milestone in the techniques for properly diagnosing of Lyme disease.

The Advanced Laboratory Services blood culture is a direct test that is said to have a sensitivity exceeding 80%, and will greatly increase the likelihood of identifying spirochetal bacteria in patients who test negative on traditional antibody serology tests.  This test will significantly aid physicians in identifying the causative agent of disease, if it is indeed due to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Dr. Marra met with Dr. Burrascano in mid-October to further discuss the application of this test, and he revealed that the methods used to detect the Borrelia bacteria in blood are likely at a later date to be used to identify the bacteria and parasites that cause the coinfections of Lyme disease.  This will revolutionize the way we not only diagnose and treat Lyme disease and coinfections, but also will significantly impact medical reimbursement for Lyme disease treatment.

Thank you Dr. Burrascano for your continued efforts in advancing Lyme disease treatment and diagnosis!  We anticipate great strides in research to be made in the next decade with the aid of your expertise.

In October, 2011, Dr. Marra also attended the Lyme Disease Association’s annual conference in Philadelphia where new and interesting research pertaining to tick-borne disease was presented.  Of note, Dr. Richard Marconi with the Medical College of Virginia presented new research examining cyclic GMP and its role in the flagella or tail of the spirochete.  This may prove at a later date to be another important area of therapeutics for Lyme disease patients.  Essentially if you prevent the bacteria from moving, you may be able to prevent replication and dissemination.  This would be an amazing addition to antibiotic therapy in eradicating disease causing bacteria.

Dr. Marra is dedicated to remaining current in the advances of Lyme disease research, diagnosis and treatment and will post new information here as it becomes available.