"Dr. Halperin, whose own lab has uncovered a few such cases using a genetic technique, takes issue with the spin that Lyme activists put on his results. "We all feel that this is very rare, but getting the statistic is like trying to estimate the number of angels on the head of the pin," he said." NY Times, Lyme Disease: Does It Really Linger? By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Published: August 24, 1993
"I think persistent infection occurs but it is very, very rare," said Dr. John J. Halperin, professor of neurology at North Shore University Hospital on Long Island. "There are a lot of people being labeled chronic Lyme with very little evidence of it. They don't have Lyme and so they won't respond to a zillion months of antibiotics." Some of the patients' complaints --generally fatigue, joint aches and cognitive problems -- may be due to permanent tissue damage from Lyme sustained before antibiotic treatment, Dr. Halperin said, or to some poorly defined immune reaction set off by prior infection. He and many other doctors say they believe that the majority never had Lyme at all."
NY Times, Lyme Disease: Does It Really Linger? By ELISABETH ROSENTHAL Published: August 24, 1993
QUOTE- "“chronic Lyme disease.” This term is used by a small number of practitioners (often self-designated as “Lyme-literate physicians”) to describe patients whom they believe have persistent B. burgdorferi infection, a condition they suggest requires long-term antibiotic treatment and may even be incurable. Although chronic Lyme disease clearly encompasses post–Lyme disease syndrome, it also includes a broad array of illnesses or symptom complexes for which there is no reproducible or convincing scientific evidence of any relationship to B. burgdorferi infection." Source
QUOTE- "When physicians who diagnose chronic Lyme disease obtain laboratory tests to provide support for their diagnoses, they often rely heavily on “Lyme specialty laboratories.” Such laboratories may perform unvalidated in-house tests that are not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration, or they may perform standard serologic tests interpreted with the use of criteria that are not evidence-based.1" Source
QUOTE- "Antibiotic therapy can cause considerable harm to patients treated for chronic Lyme disease or post–Lyme disease symptoms." Source
QUOTE- "Although anecdotal evidence and findings from uncontrolled studies have been used to provide support for long-term treatment of chronic Lyme disease,18-20 a response to treatment alone is neither a reliable indicator that the diagnosis is accurate nor proof of an antimicrobial effect of treatment." Source
QUOTE- "It is highly unlikely that post–Lyme disease syndrome is a consequence of occult infection of the central nervous system." Source
QUOTE- "dditional evidence against the hypothesis that chronic symptoms are due to persistent infection is the fact that antibodies against B. burgdorferi in many of these patients are undetectable, which is inconsistent with the well-established immunogenicity of the spirochete's lipoproteins." Source
QUOTE- "Although B. burgdorferi can develop into cystlike forms in vitro under certain conditions that can be created in the laboratory,50 there is no evidence that this phenomenon has any clinical relevance." Source
QUOTE- "How should clinicians handle the referral of symptomatic patients who are purported to have chronic Lyme disease? The scientific evidence against the concept of chronic Lyme disease should be discussed and the patient should be advised about the risks of unnecessary antibiotic therapy. ... If a diagnosis for which there is a specific treatment cannot be made, the goal should be to provide emotional support and management of pain, fatigue, or other symptoms as required. Explaining that there is no medication, such as an antibiotic, to cure the condition is one of the most difficult aspects of caring for such patients. Nevertheless, failure to do so in clear and empathetic language leaves the patient susceptible to those who would offer unproven and potentially dangerous therapies. Additional advice to clinicians is included in the Supplementary Appendix, available with the full text of this article at www.nejm.org." Source
QUOTE- "Physicians and laypeople who believe in the existence of chronic Lyme disease have formed societies, created charitable foundations, started numerous support groups (even in locations in which B. burgdorferi infection is not endemic), and developed their own management guidelines." Source
QUOTE- "Chronic Lyme disease is the latest in a series of syndromes that have been postulated in an attempt to attribute medically unexplained symptoms to particular infections. Other examples that have now lost credibility are “chronic candida syndrome” and “chronic Epstein–Barr virus infection.”57,58 The assumption that chronic, subjective symptoms are caused by persistent infection with B. burgdorferi is not supported by carefully conducted laboratory studies or by controlled treatment trials. Chronic Lyme disease, which is equated with chronic B. burgdorferi infection, is a misnomer, and the use of prolonged, dangerous, and expensive antibiotic treatments for it is not warranted." Source