Update from the Lab Director

Advanced Laboratory Services Newsletter
501 Elmwood Ave, Sharon Hill PA 19079
Toll Free: 855-238-4949 Fax. 855-238-4946
Email: [email protected]
July, 2012
Volume 1, Issue 1
Update from the Lab Director
Special points of interest:
 Testing is currently
available in all states
except New York;
including California,
Florida, Maryland,
Pennsylvania and
Rhode Island!
Greetings from Advanced
Laboratory Services! We
have experienced many new
developments in the past
year and we have continued
progress in our laboratory test
offerings, including our Borrelia Culture. We are pleased
to announce additions and
refinements to our revolutionary Borrelia blood culture
test, to be available by August
1, 2012. In addition to confirming cultures by immunostaining, we will now offer
confirmation by nucleic acid
testing, using a combination
of DNA PCR plus DNA sequencing. This is very exciting news and offers additional tools for clinicians and
patients to employ in the detection of Borrelia infections. We have processed
well over one thousand Borrelia culture patient samples to
date and greatly appreciate
the excellent feedback that
we have received from physicians in the field. This initial
newsletter details other new
testing options and topics of
interests for our patients and
the medical commu-
nity. Please encourage your
friends, family and colleagues
to join our mailing list in order
to learn about the most up-todate announcements from
Advanced Laboratory Services. As always, we welcome
your questions, comments
and suggestions; thank you
for your interest and we look
forward to working with you in
the future!
-Raymond A. Rogowski, MD
Laboratory Director
 New saliva test for
Oral Cancer is now
available
Inside this issue:
Update from the
Lab Director
1
Saliva Test for Oral 1
Cancer
Protect yourself
from tick-borne
diseases
2
Pediatric Blood
Draw guidelines
2
Neurological mani- 3
festations of Lyme
Conference Update 4
Advanced Lab launches new Saliva Test for Oral Cancer
Advanced Laboratory Services has recently launched a
new test for the early detection of Oral Cancer. This saliva test is exclusive to Advanced Lab, and is set to
revolutionize the medical
world by allowing oral cancer
to be detected at earlier (and
more treatable) stages than
has ever before been possible.
Cancers of the oral cavity
have some of the worst prognoses of all cancers, with low
survival rates1. Oral cancer
kills roughly one person in the
US every hour, and of newly
diagnosed individuals, only
57% will be alive 5 years
later. Early detection is the
key to improving these outcomes. Risk factors for developing oral cancers include
tobacco use, alcohol use and
exposure to human papilloma
virus (HPV).
Unlike traditional methods
that rely on locating a lesion
in the oral cavity, Advanced
Lab’s new test allows detection earlier than ever before
possible by measuring biomarker levels in saliva. The
test is non-invasive and easy
to administer. In addition to
early detection, these biomarker levels can be monitored over time and used to
predict prognosis and recurrence.
The test was developed in
collaboration with researchers from the University of ...
Southern California, whose
research was recently published in the prestigious “Oral
Oncology” medical journal2.
Collection kits consist of a
saliva collection tube, instructions, refrigerator pack, requisition form and FedEx mailer.
Collection kits are provided to
healthcare professionals free
of charge, with no upfront
fees or set-up costs. The cost
of the test, billed when the
sample is received, is
$179.99.
Some practitioners may also
charge an additional collection and processing fee.
Orders for collection kits must
be placed by a licensed
health professional – inquiries and orders should be directed to [email protected].
Unfortunately we cannot accept orders from international
doctors, naturopaths, chiropractors or doctors in New
York at this time.
Testimonials
“Up until now, the technology
for the detection of oral cancers has been stagnant— but
the only way that survival can
be improved is by early detection This test has the potential to revolutionize the treatment and diagnosis of Oral
Cancers” - Dr Uttam SInha,
Assoc Prof of Otolaryngology
at USC.
(continued next page)
Page 2
Volume 1, Issue 1
(Continued from p.1) “The
impact of having a simple
screening tool for a commu-
nity cancer center is huge. Its
useful in very department—
oncology, dentists, primary
care physicians and so on” —
Dr Warren S. Line, Otolaryngologist.
References:
1. Suejung G. Kim, Mysore S. Veena, Saroj K. Basak, et al. (2011). Curcumin Treatment Suppresses IKKb Kinase
Activity of Salivary Cells of Patients with Head and Neck Cancer: A Pilot Study. Clin Cancer Res 2011;17:59535961.
2. Korostoff, A, Reder, L, Masood, R, Sinha, U. (2011). The role of salivary cytokine biomarkers in tongue cancer
invasion and mortality. Oral Oncology 47: 282-287.
Protect yourself from tick-borne diseases
Reproduced with permission from Lymedisease.org
The best strategy is to avoid
exposure to ticks. Unfortunately, if you spend time outdoors for work or play, that’s
not always possible.
Ticks are often found in
wooded or grassy areas and
are most active during cool,
damp, or humid weather.
They climb onto logs and tree
trunks. Nymphal (immature)
ticks are often found in leaf
litter, while adults may perch
on the tips of grasses. High
risk activities include walking
through a grassy field, gathering firewood, sitting on logs
and leaning against tree
trunks.
Wear long sleeves, long
pants, and a hat. Apply insect
repellent to exposed skin.
(Consider clothing pre-treated
with permethrin, available
through outdoor recreation
stores.)
out. Don’t squeeze, twist,
burn or squash the tick. Save
it for possible testing in a
plastic bag with a green leaf
or damp tissue for moisture.
Saliva collection kit for the
Oral Cancer screening test
Pets should also be checked,
for their sake and yours. Pets
Check yourself for ticks regucan carry ticks into your
larly while outdoors. Once
house, where they can then
you’ve returned home, shower crawl onto you.
to remove unattached ticks
Stay alert to anything that
and check your whole body.
might suggest you have conPay attention to “hidden”
tracted a tick-borne disease,
spots like hairline, ears, besuch as a rash or flu-like
hind the knees, and the navel.
symptoms. If so, contact your
Remove attached ticks
physician immediately. For
promptly with tweezers or a
more information, see
tick-removal tool. Grasp close www.lymedisease.org.
to the skin and pull straight
Pediatric Blood Draw guidelines—Borrelia culture
A culture is especially useful
in pediatric patients. Interpreting antibody levels in serologies of infants is difficult if
not impossible (due to presence of the mother’s antibodies) – in these cases, a culture makes the most sense
because it is a direct test. A
positive culture means that
there was an active infection
at the time the blood was
drawn.
The current Borrelia Culture
collection kit requires that
four 10mL tubes of blood be
drawn – one of these is then
transferred to the 4th tube
containing the BSK medium,
before being shipped. Of
course, getting four full vials
often isn’t possible with pediatric patients, so in these
cases it is preferable to get
one or two full vials (as opposed to three partially filled),
so that the samples aren't
compromised by exposure to
air. The practitioner should
include a note about why
there are only one or two vials. Also, if they can only get
one vial, the blood should be
transferred and sent in the
bsk tube. For all patients, the
amount of blood that it is safe
to draw should be at the practitioner’s discretion.
It’s important that practitioners and patients are aware
that with less blood, the lab
has to do fewer sets when
attempting the culture. With
this in mind, the patient may
need to submit more than one
sample to be confident that a
negative culture indicates no
active infection. Any positive
culture is considered significant.
Now that PCR and DNA sequencing options are available, receiving less blood will
also mean that the lab will be
less able to perform these
additional steps.
“A positive
culture means
that there was
an active
infection at
the time the
blood was
drawn”
Page 3
Volume 1, Issue 1
Neurological Manifestations of Lyme Disease
This article is intended as a stand-alone sheet that can be distributed to neurologists—Dr
Burrascano’s symptom checklist can be found at http://lymedisease.org/resources/handouts1.html
Lyme disease is the fastest
growing and most prevalent
vector-borne infection in
America and is found in
every state (Johnson &
Stricker, 2004). Unfortunately, the sensitivity of serologic testing is low and
may miss anywhere from
30% to as many as 70% of
cases of Lyme (Stricker, BMJ
2007; 335 (7628): 1008).
Therefore, clinical suspicion
and patient history are paramount in making a diagnosis. Neurological symptoms
that are consistent with
Lyme disease include headaches, photophobia, dizziness, peripheral neuropathy,
autonomic neuropathy, unexplained chronic pain syndromes, cranial neuropathies of all types, encephalitis and encephalopathy.
There are many common
symptoms shared between
Lyme Disease and diagnoses such as MS, ALS, CFS/
ME, Fibromyalgia and PANDAS. Lyme has also been
linked to complex partial
seizure disorder (Bransfield,
1999), and Alzheimer’s
(MacDonald, 2006; Miklossy, 2011). This highlights
the importance of patients
being tested for Borrelia
using the newly available Bb
blood culture, before a differential diagnosis can be
made.
In addition, it has been
shown numerous times that
erroneously treating Lyme
disease with steroids and
immune suppressants can
actually worsen the course
of the disease – steroids
have been shown to exacerbate and cause treatment
resistance in Lyme disease
not only in animals (Chang
et al, 2001; Pachner et al,
2001; Straubinger, 2000;
Chang et al, 2000), but also
humans (Dattwyler et al,
Lancet 1988). Thus it is
also essential that a culturebased bacterologic test be
done on all patients for
whom immunosuppressive
therapy is being considered.
Orders for Borrelia collection
kits can be placed with the
lab directly
(questions@advanced-
lab.com), and the price for
the basic immunohistochemistry analysis has been
set at $595 (this is in addition to any collection and
processing fees that the
practitioner may
charge). The test results
include an immunostained
photograph of any spirochetes that are grown. Initial results are available in 7
-10 days, with full results in
2 months (for slow-growing
cultures). Unfortunately we
cannot accept orders from
international doctors, naturopaths, chiropractors or
doctors in New York at this
time - please see the press
releases on the Advanced
Laboratory Services website
for more information.
Please do not hesitate to
contact the lab with any
sales-related or general
questions – science-related
questions should be sent to
[email protected]. The abovementioned journal articles
are available upon request—
please email
[email protected].
OTHER RED FLAGS FOR
DISSEMINATED LYME DISEASE – Johnson & Stricker,
2004
• Severe headaches of new
type and intensity, with
negative neurologic workup
• New onset of insomnia
• New onset of panic attacks or anxiety
• Joint pains with normal Xrays and negative
rheumatologic workup
• A “flu” that never ends or
is recurrent
• Unusual constellation of
neurologic symptoms that a
clinician has been unable to
diagnose
• A neurologic illness such
as MS or ALS that is
labeled “atypical”
• Bell palsy (Lyme until
proven otherwise)
501 Elmwood
Road, Sharon
Hill PA 19079
Toll Free: 855238-4949 Fax.
855-238-4946
Email:
questions@adva
nced-lab.com
Advanced Laboratory Services, Inc. is a state of the art medical laboratory
testing company that offers our clients a broad spectrum of clinical and anatomical testing services. Our mission is to establish a comprehensive laboratory testing facility that will meet the needs of physicians, clinics, and their
patients, and to fulfill the needs of private and confidential testing throughout
the United States. Our patients range from those concerned with basic
health, to diagnosing fatigue and screening for infectious pathogens. We are
staffed by the most qualified employees and we utilize the most advanced
testing equipment and methods. We pride ourselves on personalized service
and providing accurate, reliable lab results in a timely fashion (24-hour turnaround for applicable in-house tests). Our streamlined service is possible because we make every effort to ensure consistent quality throughout our system, high standards for personnel, the latest instrumentation, updated methodology, in-service education, as well as one of the most thorough quality control and continuous quality improvement programs in the industry. With both
clinical and research divisions, Advanced Laboratory Services is committed to
developing and releasing new cutting-edge lab tests to aid clinical diagnosis
and treatment, including our recently launched, exclusive Spirochete/Borrelia
culture test and saliva test for Oral Cancer.
Advanced Laboratory Services, Inc
501 Elmwood Ave
Sharon Hill, PA 19079
Toll Free: 855-238-4949
Toll Free Fax: 855-238-4946
Email: [email protected]
“Providing the diagnostic
solutions you need”
www.advanced-lab.com
Conference update and upcoming events
Advanced Laboratory Services thanks everyone who
stopped by at the ACAM
Spring Workshop in San
Diego and the May Ridgefield Lyme Conference in
CT, where we were an official sponsor.
Mark your calendars and
visit our booths at:

bia University 13th
Annual Lyme and tickborne diseases conference, Sept 29-30th in
Philadelphia, PA

13th Annual ILADS
Lyme Disease Conference, November 2-4 in
Boston, MA
Lyme Disease Association (LDA) and Colum-
Meet the sales team
Peter Sartini, Snr VP of Sales
Tamara Apted, VP of Sales, Western Territory Manager —[email protected]
Stephen Miskevish, Northeast Territory Manager—[email protected]
Donna Peterson, Southern and Eastern Territory Manager—[email protected]
Brian Rodgers, Midwest Territory Manager—[email protected]
Do YOU have a story
to share about how
one of Advanced
Laboratory Service’s
specialty tests has
helped with diagnosis or treatment?
We want to hear
from you! Email
[email protected]