GLA launches digital campaign to raise awareness about a research study evaluating a new approach to evaluating EARLY-stage Lyme disease, LIAISON LymeDetect®
STAMFORD, CONN. AND STILLWATER, MINN. (PRWEB) SEPTEMBER 21, 2021
Today, Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) and DiaSorin, a global leader in the laboratory diagnostics market specializing in the immunodiagnostics and molecular diagnostics segments, announce a partnership to raise awareness of DiaSorin’s LIAISON LymeDetect® study. GLA launched a digital marketing campaign to drive interested participants to enrollment sites in New York and New Jersey to further validate its novel early Lyme disease diagnostic test. This important study is seeking people who have been recently diagnosed with early-stage Lyme disease to participate.
DiaSorin has developed a new concept assay, the LIAISON Lyme Detect, an investigational device to maximize EARLY Lyme borreliosis detection through a unique combination of humoral and cell mediated immunity. By combining assays that measure B cell response, LIAISON® IgG and IgM CLIA assays, and T cell response with the patented QuantiFERON® IGRA technology, DiaSorin LIAISON LymeDetect® provides a new approach to detecting Lyme disease in the early stages.
An estimated 476,000 people contract Lyme disease each year in the United States. It is the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S. that is transmitted by the bite of a deer tick. Lyme disease is a multi-systemic condition that can progress to a complex, debilitating condition that can affect the joints, heart, and nervous system, causing neurological and neuropsychiatric complications if not detected and treated early. Due to risk factors that include delayed diagnosis and treatment, a research publication by scientists at Global Lyme Alliance and Brown University estimated through mathematical modeling that as many as 2 million people could suffer from late-stage and/or post-treatment Lyme disease by the end of 2020.
The current CDC-recommended two-tiered diagnostic is indirect, detecting antibodies made in response to the Lyme infection, not the detection of the Lyme disease bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) itself. It may take at least 4-6 weeks for the body to build antibodies against the infection. Due to this delay, individuals with a new Lyme infection may have a false negative test even though they have the disease. LIAISON LymeDetect would help detect Lyme disease earlier than the standard serological tests available today. There is a vital need for a diagnostic that does not rely on antibodies to detect disease. Early disease detection is the key to timely treatment, which may lead to better outcomes for Lyme patients.
“The CDC standard two-tiered test is only about 40% accurate at diagnosing early or acute infection. DiaSorin’s LIAISON LymeDetect® overcomes this problem by detecting the presence of an inflammatory biomarker produced by a patient within hours or days of contracting Lyme disease. The earlier Lyme disease can be diagnosed, the better the patient outcome,” says Global Lyme Alliance’s Chief Scientific Officer, Timothy Sellati, Ph.D.
HOW DO I QUALIFY?
The study is enrolling two groups of individuals: those recently diagnosed with Lyme disease by a clinician, who have or had a rash for no more than six weeks, and who were or are on antibiotics for no more than seven days; or individuals without a rash, who have signs and symptoms consistent with early Lyme disease (e.g. fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle and joint aches, swollen lymph nodes), and had a known or suspected tick bite within eight weeks. Volunteers must be willing to visit an enrolling site to provide a single blood draw.
Enrolling site information:
- Plasma Services Group in Moorestown, New Jersey
- BCHP – Brandhurst Avenue Specialty Offices in Hawthorne, New York (volunteer must be 5-17 years old only)
Visit GLA.org/LymeDetect if you are interested in volunteering and would like to learn more.
ABOUT GLOBAL LYME ALLIANCE
Global Lyme Alliance (GLA) is the leading 501(c)(3) dedicated to conquering Lyme disease through research, education, and patient services. GLA has gained national prominence for funding the most urgent and promising research in the field while expanding education and awareness programs for the general public and physicians. We support those around the globe needing information about tick-borne diseases, finding a Lyme treating physician, and are proud to offer the first Lyme-specific peer-to-peer mentor support program. To learn more, visit http://www.GLA.org.
About DiaSorin
Headquartered in Italy and listed at the Italian Stock Exchange in the FTSE MIB Index, DiaSorin is a global leader in the In Vitro Diagnostic (IVD) field and is active since 2021 in the Life Science business. For over 50 years, the Company has been developing, producing and marketing reagent kits used by diagnostic laboratories worldwide. The Group operates in 5 continents through 45 companies, 4 branches, 10 manufacturing facilities and 9 research and development centers. The extensive diagnostic testing and Life Science offer, made available through continuous investments in research, positions DiaSorin as the player with the broadest range of specialty tests available within the diagnostic market, and identifies the Group as the “Diagnostic Specialist.” To learn more, visit http://www.diasoringroup.com.
