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Q: Mycoplasma pneumoniae Antibodies ( Answered 3 out of 5 stars,   0 Comments )
Question  
Subject: Mycoplasma pneumoniae Antibodies
Category: Health > Conditions and Diseases
Asked by: anwerseeker-ga
List Price: $50.00
Posted: 05 Feb 2005 07:01 PST
Expires: 07 Mar 2005 07:01 PST
Question ID: 469386
After comlplaing of heart palpitations and sharp left-side chest pain
I received an EKG, Echocardiogram, Cholesterol and CRP Blood Tests all
which were normal.

I also received a blood test for M. pneumoniae Ab IgG EIA and M.
pneumoniae Ab IgM EIA and the results were 1.21 and 924 respecitively
which I was told were out of range (high). I was also told these
results indicate that I have (or have had in the last 3/4 years) a
Mycoplasma infection and that I should take doxycycline for 2 months.
My questions are:

1. What is normal range for these results?
2. What is range of results that warrant treating with antibiotics? 
3. Is it possible that these results could cause heart palpitations
and a shooting left-side pain.
Answer  
Subject: Re: Mycoplasma pneumoniae Antibodies
Answered By: livioflores-ga on 05 Feb 2005 20:51 PST
Rated:3 out of 5 stars
 
Hi anwerseeker!!


1. What is normal range for these results?

I searched for tests result ranges in values that correspond to your
tests and find the following:
At Marquette General Health System site:
"MYCOPLASMA IGG AB":
"Reference Range
 <=0.90 Seronegative: Suggests no prior immunological exposure to
Mycoplasma pneumoniae, result does not rule out recent exposure and
collection of test sample prior to development of IgG. IgM
anti-Mycoplasma pneumoniae and/or culture is recommended for
determining current infection.
 0.91-1.09 Equivocal: Immunological exposure cannot be assessed with
this value. Recommend repeat testing in 7-14 days. If repeat testing
remains equivocal an alternative method should be used. A test for IgM
anti-Mycoplasma pneumoniae antibodies may be helpful in acute
infections.
 >=1.10 Seropositive: Indicates presence of IgG antibody to Mycoplasma
pneumoniae. IgM anti-Mycoplasma pneumoniae level may be useful if a
recent infection is suspected clinically."
http://www.mgh.org/lab/CATALOG/TESTS/5560.HTM


At Laboratory Corporation of America site:
"Mycoplasma pneumoniae Antibodies, IgM":
"Reference Interval:
    Negative: <770 units/mL ...
...
 Additional Information: 
 Low positive results (770-950 units/mL) are presumptive evidence of
acute or recent infection. It is recommended that the test be repeated
on a fresh specimen 1-2 weeks later to assure reactivity. Specific IgM
may persist for several months after initial infection or be absent
during reinfection."
http://www.labcorp.com/datasets/labcorp/html/chapter/mono/se036300.htm

The following information was extracted from the Laboratory
Corporation of America site:
"A positive result (of IgG and IgM) indicates prior exposure to
Mycoplasma. A single positive IgG result may be present in the absence
of any clinical symptoms as specific IgG antibodies may remain
elevated long after initial infection. Recent or acute infection can
only be documented by a positive Mycoplasma IgM result and/or a
significant increase in the IgG value between sera drawn 2-4 weeks
apart. Specific IgM antibodies may persist for several months after
infection or be absent during reinfection."
"Mycoplasma pneumoniae Antibodies, IgG, IgM":
http://www.labcorp.com/datasets/labcorp/html/chapter/mono/se038000.htm 

------------------------------------------------------
Note that the values used for IgG tests results do not correspond to
your tests, so do not use the values of the above page to compare them
with your results, the range that correspond to your tests is showed
in the page from the Marquette General Health System site at the top
of this answer.
------------------------------------------------------

Based in your results we have that your results are:

M. pneumoniae Ab IgG EIA ___________ 1.21 >= 1.10 --> Seropositive:
Indicates presence of IgG antibody to Mycoplasma pneumoniae.

M. pneumoniae Ab IgM EIA ___________ Low positive result (770-950
units/mL), presumptive evidence of acute or recent infection. It is
recommended that the test be repeated on a fresh specimen 1-2 weeks
later to assure reactivity.

Evidence of infection appears in the IgG test, but it also tell us
that you have or had such infection because a "single positive IgG
result may be present in the absence of any clinical symptoms as
specific IgG antibodies may remain elevated long after initial
infection. Recent or acute infection can only be documented by a
positive Mycoplasma IgM result", and this recent infection is
confirmed by the Low positive result of the IgM test.

----------------------------------------------------------

2. What is the range of results that warrant treating with antibiotics?

The short answer to this question is the seropositive range:
M. pneumoniae Ab IgG EIA >= 1.10 and M. pneumoniae Ab IgM EIA >= 770.
Your mycoplasma pneumoniae infection was diagnosed following current
medical protocols. When this happens (an infection is detected) the
bacteria must be erradicated from your body to prevent possible
further complications.

"Mycoplasma, chlamydia, and ureaplasma are the smallest of free-living
organisms. They are unlike all other all other bacteria because they
have no cell walls and therefore must live inside cells. They are
unlike viruses because they can live in cultures outside of cells and
can be killed by certain antibiotics. However, they cannot be killed
by most antibiotics, as most antibiotics work by damaging a bacteria?s
cell wall. They can be killed by antibiotics such as tetracyclines or
erythromycins that do not act on a cell wall.
If you feel sick and your doctor is unable to make a diagnosis because
all laboratory tests and cultures fail to reveal a cause, you could be
infected with one or more of these bacteria. The only way that you
will be cured is for your doctor to suspect an infection with these
germs and for you to take long-acting erythromycin or tetracyclines
for several weeks, months or years.
...
Once these infections are allowed to persist for months or years, they
are extraordinarily difficult to cure and often require treatment for
many months.
...
HOW I TREAT: I often prescribe 500 mg of azithromycin twice a week
and/or doxycycline 100 mg twice a day. You may require treatment for
months or years, if your symptoms have gone on for many months or
years: muscle and joint pains, a chronic cough, burning on urination,
severe fatigue or signs of nerve damage. However, long term treatment
with antibiotics is controversial and many physicians disagree with
these recommendations. Discuss your particular condition with your
doctor or health care provider."
Summed up from "MYCOPLASMA, CHLAMYDIA AND UREAPLASMA" by Gabe Mirkin M.D.
http://www.drmirkin.com/morehealth/G144.htm


Take a look to the following paragraphs:
"Antimicrobial Therapy for Mycoplasmal Infections:
Once mycoplasmal infections have been identified in subsets of chronic
illness patients, they can be successfully treated, if the therapy
continues for some time to eliminate or suppress dormant forms of the
microorganism. Using this strategy appropriate treatment with
antibiotics can result in patient improvement and even recovery. The
recommended treatments for diagnosed mycoplasmal blood infections
require long-term antibiotic therapy, usually multiple 6-week cycles
of doxycycline (200-300 mg/day), ciprofloxacin (1,500 mg/day),
azithromycin (500 mg/day) or clarithromycin (750-1,000 mg/day).
Multiple cycles are required, because few patients recover after only
a few cycles, possibly because of the intracellular locations of
mycoplasmas like M. fermentans and M. penetrans, the slow-growing
nature of these microorganisms and their ability to exhibit
persistence as dormant forms and their relative drug sensitivities.
For example, of 87 GWI patients that tested positive for mycoplasmal
infections, all patients relapsed after the first 6-week cycle of
antibiotic therapy, but after up to 6 cycles of therapy 69/87 patients
recovered and returned to active duty. The clinical responses that
were seen were not due to placebo effects, because administration of
some antibiotics, such as penicillins, resulted in patients becoming
more not less symptomatic, and they were not due to immunosuppressive
effects that can occur with some of the recommended antibiotics.
Chronic illness patients often have nutritional and vitamin
deficiencies that must be corrected. These patients are often depleted
in vitamins B, C and E and certain minerals. Unfortunately, patients
with these chronic illnesses often have poor absorption. Therefore,
high doses of some vitamins must be used, and others, such as vitamin
B complex, must be given sublingual. Antibiotics that deplete normal
gut bacteria can result in over-growth of less desirable flora, so
Lactobacillus acidophillus supplementation is recommended. In
addition, a number of natural remedies that boost the immune system
are available and are potentially useful, especially during antibiotic
therapy or after therapy has been completed. They appear to be useful
during therapy to boost the immune system or after antibiotic therapy
in a maintenance program to prevent relapses.

Conclusions:
Why aren't physicians successfully treating mycoplasmal, chlamydial
and other chronic infections? In many cases they are treating these
infections, but they are often not taking into account the
intracellular persistent phases of these infections. And it has been
only recently that such infections have been found in so many
unexplained chronic illnesses. These infections cannot be successfully
treated with the usual short courses of antibiotics due to their
intracellular locations, slow proliferation rates, persistence and
inherent insensitivity to most antibiotics. In addition, a fully
functional immune system may be essential to overcoming these
infections, and this is why vitamin and nutritional supplements are
important in the therapy. Finally, chronic illness patients must be
weaned off antidepressants and other potentially immune suppressing
drugs before they can fully recover from their illnesses."
From "THE PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT OF MYCOPLASMAL INFECTIONS":
http://www.immed.org/publications/infectious_disease/pub1-3-13-00.html 


-----------------------------------------------------------

3. Is it possible that these results could cause heart palpitations
and a shooting left-side pain?


We can reformulate the question as follows:
Is it possible that Mycoplasma pneumoniae could cause heart palpitations
and a shooting left-side pain?

The answer to this question is YES. But despite of that this does not
occur in the most cases you must note that the incidence of such
infection in cardiac illnesses was increasing in the last years.

Read the following paragraph:
"Mycoplasmal Infections in Cardiac Diseases:
Mycoplasmal infections of the heart have been reported in patients
with different types of carditis. The most common association was with
M. pneumoniae infection. Endocarditis and myocarditis associated with
M. pneumoniae infections appear to be an important cause of death in
M. pneumoniae infections. Direct bacterial invasion of M. pneumoniae
into pericardial tissue appears to be more likely to cause
pericarditis than autoimmune phenomena. Viral and bacterial
(Mycoplasma, Chlamydia and Mycobacterium tuberculosis) infections
appear to be common causes of myocarditis and/or pericarditis, and
this is just beginning to be appreciated by infectious disease
specialists."
From "THE PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT OF MYCOPLASMAL INFECTIONS":
http://www.immed.org/publications/infectious_disease/pub1-3-13-00.html


So as you can see one of the uncommon mycoplasma pneumonia
complications include myocarditis and pericarditis. This may increase
the risk of heart palpitations and chest pain like that you have
experienced.

------------------------------------------------------------

For further information and references please read the following pages/documents:

At Raintree website I found an interesting set of articles that you
must read, just scroll down until the title of each section appears in
your display:
"Mycoplasmas" by Leslie Taylor, ND:
Summary of articles:
- Stealth Pathogens (here you'll find info about heart's complications)
- HOW MYCOPLASMAS INTERACT IN THE BODY
- The Main Human Mycoplasma Pathogens
- Treatment Options For Mycoplasmal Infections
- TESTING FOR MYCOPLASMAS
http://www.rain-tree.com/myco.htm


The following article was cited in the answer, but I include it here
because it is plenty of additional info:
"THE PATHOGENESIS AND TREATMENT OF MYCOPLASMAL INFECTIONS":
http://www.immed.org/publications/infectious_disease/pub1-3-13-00.html

The Institute for Molecular Medicine site have a lot of related links:
http://www.immed.org/index.htm


"emedicine - Mycoplasma Infections" by Ken B Waites, MD:
http://www.emedicine.com/med/topic1540.htm


"Mycoplasma pneumoniae (Respiratory) Culture":
http://www.labcorp.com/datasets/labcorp/html/chapter/mono/mb009400.htm


"Research Publications on Mycoplasma":
Navigate through the links at the left frame.
http://www.cfsresearch.org/mycoplasma/index.htm


"Mycoplasma Infection" at The Analyst?:
http://www.digitalnaturopath.com/cond/C670329.html


"Mycoplasma":
Also follow the links on the left side of the page.
http://69.10.163.110/cybermom/asimple.htm

---------------------------------------------------------

Search strategy:

KEYWORDS:
mycoplasma pneumoniae IgM
mycoplasma pneumoniae IgG
mycoplasma pneumoniae test
"Mycoplasma pneumoniae infection"
doxycycline mycoplasma treatment

Search engine:
www.google.com

----------------------------------------------------------

I hope that this helps you. If you find a missing point or feel that
some part must be clarified or improved just let me know via the
clarification feature. I will be glad to respond your requests for
further assistance on this topic before you rate this answer.


Best regards.
livioflores-ga
anwerseeker-ga rated this answer:3 out of 5 stars
Questions number two wasn't really answered in great depth and some of
the link come nutrional manufacturers that are hawking their products
so the informtaion presented is questionable. Additionally some of the
links come up easily with a simple search for the key words. I think
the answer staff should be probably assume that if a user knows enough
to use Google Answers then they can probaly do a basic search. In
general the answers were good but not very deep and obtainable through
simple Google searches.

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