To El - Re: Lyme disease info and anti-TNF meds

[Guest guest]

>>>Can anyone translate the below into something

short/sweet/understandable/the

bottom line? I have no idea what anti-TNF therapy is and my brain is not

working well enough today to comprehend the below. <<<

Hi El,

My layman's interpretation of the Columbia Lyme research article is that TNF

Blockers (ie. the biologics like Enbrel, Humira and Remicade), while blocking

tumor-necrosis factor in the rheumatic, thereby suppressing the immune system,

enables the dormant cystic form of borrelioisis to re-emerge into spirochetal

form and active disease.

In effect, the borrelia spirochete has many pleomorphic forms and the

spirochete has the ability to burrow into every tissue within the body, often

reverting to a dormant firn in this antibiotic resistant state (hence why anyone

with

Lyme needs to also take cyst-busting medication simulataneously - mino or

another tetracycline alone won't hack it).

When the immune system is suppressed by a biologic, however, the opposite

happens...the dormant cysts rebirth into their spirochetal form in patients who

were previously tested and thought to be Lyme-free. In other words, if you have

do indeed have Lyme and test negative, it only means you are seronegative for

Lyme and not that one doesn't have it. It's just that it is hiding in the

tissues from the immune system and therefore there will not be enough antibody

to

test in the blood serum.

What I'm inferring from this article is that anyone who tests negative for

Lyme before taking a biologic would be well-advised to get re-tested for Lyme

after commencing a TNF-blocker, as it is more likely that tests will return

positive.

In the most basic terms....immune-suppression of Lyme is ill advised, because

this only allows borreliosis free reign to do its dirty work. It's also very

important for anyone with Lyme to also take cyst-busting medication (e.g.

flagyl, plaquenil or zith) to also attack the dormant form of Lyme which occurs

as

a result of antibiotic therapy (spirochetes driven into their cystic forms by

antibiotic therapy). It is the cystic form of borrelia which causes

persistence and waxing and waning symptoms, in addition to possible tickborne

coinfections which may need separate medications (e.g. babesia may need

antiprotozoals). Most Lyme patients are coinfected and if these aren't treated,

this can also

create persistence.

Happy New Year to all on rheumatic.org!

Peace, Maz