Why Lyme Evades Tests and Antibiotics

[Guest guest]

Here is an article that hopefully will be considered credible because

it was done by the University of California. This article is to be

kept by you to give to doctors and relatives so you don't have to

argue about lyme testing and treatment. Hopefully, it will help

somewhat. Heck, I would allow the invasive test if it would help get

us a positive test result.

Heidi N

http://www.insidebayarea.com:80/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_89564

33

Lyme bacteria can 'hide' from medicine, study says

Behavior may help explain symptoms after treatment

By Suzanne Bohan, STAFF WRITER

Article Created: 04/17/2008 02:34:00 AM PDT

A recent study from the University of California, , provides the

first

evidence that the bacteria causing Lyme disease can evade antibiotics

by

" hiding out " in tissue throughout the body and remain infectious long

after

treatment ends.

" Lyme disease is a tough nut to crack, " said Barthold, the

study's

lead researcher and director of the university's Center for

Comparative

Medicine. " The bacterium causing Lyme disease has evolved to evade the

body's immune system, so it's not surprising that it can also evade

antibiotics. "

The study found the hidden bacteria, however, appeared dormant,

although it

still produced proteins potentially capable of continuing Lyme disease

symptoms, he said.

The article appeared in the March issue of the journal Antimicrobial

Agents

and Chemotherapy, and the research was funded by the National

Institutes of

Health.

The findings provide critical data in the quest to offer relief for

those

certain they're suffering from the sometimes crippling symptoms of

Lyme

disease years after their initial infection and subsequent treatment.

Patients with these chronic symptoms often report joint inflammation

and

arthritis, memory loss, mood changes and sleep disorders, among other

health

problems.

Some also fear they face a similar fate as those with untreated Lyme

disease - including carditis, also called heart inflammation, and

nerve

damage.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention lists Northern

California as

an active region for Lyme disease transmission, although it's most

prevalent

in the Northeastern and Great Lake states. The bacteria are spread

primarily

by Western black-legged ticks in California and deer ticks in other

regions

of the country.

" There's no doubt about it, it's here, " Barthold said. But in a novel

ecological twist, when young ticks feed on a certain species of

lizard,

something in the lizard's blood clears the Lyme disease-causing

bacteria

from the tick, so most adult ticks in California aren't infectious.

Barthold

said it's a key reason for the region's lower rate.

While some patients and their doctors advocate continued use of

antibiotics

for weeks, months or even years to combat the condition, the CDC and

other

major medical organizations state that evidence doesn't support more

than

two rounds of antibiotics, and that more aggressive treatment can

prove

harmful.

That leaves those with chronic symptoms long after initial treatment

paying

costly bills should they pursue continued antibiotic administration.

Many

insurers decline to cover long-term treatment for the condition,

citing a

lack of proven effectiveness.

Patients also report coping with anxiety and frustration over the

limited

medical options available to them for relieving their symptoms.

Numerous

Lyme disease advocacy groups have formed to call for better diagnosis

and

treatment protocols.

The UC researchers infected three groups of mice with Borrelia

burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. Mice showed

comparable

symptoms of Lyme disease as humans and responded similarly to

antibiotic

treatment.

One group of mice received antibiotics during the first three weeks of

infection, while another got antibiotics four months later. The third

group

received only a placebo.

When the treatments were completed, the placebo group showed continued

infection in a standard lab test, while the two antibiotics groups

showed no

trace of the bacteria using the same test.

Nonetheless, researchers still found small numbers of Borrelia

persisting in

collagen-rich tissue in the antibiotic-treated mice that the lab tests

missed. Collagen, a connective tissue, is found throughout the body,

including in the skin, ligaments, tendons and the heart muscle.

Barthold

said it requires a tissue sample to find any hidden bacteria.

" It's an invasive procedure the medical practice simply doesn't do, "

he

said.

In addition, ticks that fed on the antibiotic-treated mice still

picked up

the Lyme disease bacteria and transferred them to uninfected mice.

These

mice, however, didn't develop Lyme disease, since the hidden bacteria

doesn't replicate like normal bacteria.

Testing in doctors' offices for this elusive type of Borrelia would

provide

limited value at this stage, Barthold added, since there's no known

way to

clear it out. He agrees with CDC guidelines warning against long-term

antibiotic treatment.

" If the first round of antibiotics hasn't eliminated them, it's not

likely

that a longer regimen of antibiotics would be any more successful, "

Barthold

said. " It's more likely that a completely different class of

antibiotics

would be needed to accomplish that. "

But the findings do provide another explanation for the persistent

symptoms

reported by those treated for Lyme disease, particularly people who

didn't

swiftly get antibiotics following an infection.

Barthold said it appears these elusive Borrelia don't replicate, and

instead

remain dormant, as microbes causing herpes, tuberculosis and syphilis

often

do. He said it is unknown at this stage if these Borrelia may re-

emerge and

cause recurrent disease, although that's an area he and others intend

to

study.

But the nondividing Borrelia could release proteins that " may elicit

continued symptoms in Lyme disease patients, " he said.

Barthold said he sympathizes with those coping with chronic symptoms

following a Lyme disease infection.

" Everybody wants an answer, and I don't blame them, " he said.

For now, Barthold said the crucial result of his study is its role in

creating an animal model that will allow researchers to study a

variety of

antibiotic treatments that eliminate even the hidden Borrelia, which

ideally

would one day work on humans as well.

" We can use that animal model - to test other antibiotic modalities,

and as

the best way to completely cure them of their infection, " Barthold

said.

Reach Suzanne Bohan at sbohan@... or .