The IDiots Say....
Lucy Barnes
No Such Thing As Chronic Lyme Disease
If they keep saying it over and over do they really expect it to come true,
Or do they think that someone will actually believe them?
This is only a small sampling of what we are up against...
Curr Opin Pediatr. 2015 Feb;27(1):100-4. doi: 10.1097/MOP.0000000000000167.
Update on persistent symptoms associated with Lyme disease.
1
aDepartment of Pediatrics bDepartment of Epidemiology of Microbial Diseases cDepartment of Investigative Medicine, Yale University Schools of Medicine and of Public Health, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
Abstract
PURPOSE OF REVIEW:
Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne illness in the United States. The pathogenesis, ecology, and epidemiology of Lyme disease have been well described, and antimicrobial treatment is very effective.
There has been controversy about whether infection can persist and cause chronic symptoms despite treatment with antimicrobials. This review summarizes recent studies that have addressed this issue.
RECENT FINDINGS:
The pathogenesis of persistent nonspecific symptoms in patients who were treated for Lyme disease is poorly understood, and the validity of results of attempts to demonstrate persistent infection with B. burgdorferi has not been established.
One study attempted to use xenodiagnosis to detect B. burgdorferi in patients who have been treated for Lyme disease.
Another study assessed whether repeated episodes of erythema migrans were due to the same or different strains of B. burgdorferi.
A possible cause of persistent arthritis in some treated patients is slow clearance of nonviable organisms that may lead to prolonged inflammation.
The results of all of these studies continue to provide evidence that viable B. burgdorferi do not persist in patients who receive conventional antimicrobial treatment for Lyme disease.
SUMMARY:
Patients with persistent symptoms possibly associated with Lyme disease often provide a challenge for clinicians.
Recent studies have provided additional evidence that viable B. burgdorferi do not persist after conventional treatment with antimicrobials, indicating that ongoing symptoms in patients who received conventional treatment for Lyme disease should not be attributed to persistent active infection.
VIDEO ABSTRACT:
PMID: 25490690
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[Indexed for MEDLINE]