Availability of new treatment for Lyme disease

1. Availability of new treatment for Lyme disease According to an article in the Journal of Public Health, Lyme disease affects almost 300,000 people a year in the United States, and about 230,000 people a year in Europe. Bacteria that are part of the Borrelia burgdorferi group cause Lyme disease. Most people develop this after a tick that carries the bacteria is bitten. Approximately 60–80 percent of people with Lyme disease develop a circular red skin rash around the infected tick bite called erythema migrans, and some also develop flu-like symptoms. Most people develop the rash within 4 weeks of biting, but it can appear up to three months later. The New Treatment Need Doctors routinely treat Lyme disease with tetracycline antibiotics, but later develop symptoms of fatigue, muscle pain, joints or nerves, and cognitive impairment among 10–20 per cent of people with the disease. After their initial infection these symptoms may continue for months or even years. Researchers have suggested that this may be a group of bacterial cells that survive the initial dose of antibiotics due to the drug-tolerant 'persisters' Others believe it's a bacteria-caused immune disorder during the first exposure that causes a perpetual condition of inflammation. Whatever the cause, pain is still very real to patients.

2. A team of Stanford University researchers in the U.S. and Loyola College in India have now set out to investigate whether two different antibiotic drugs, cefotaxime and azlocillin, could prove more effective in killing B. In the early stages of the disease burgdorferi compared with the antibiotic doxycycline currently prescribed. Wait every day for in-depth, science-based toplines of our best stories. Tap in and feel satisfied with your curiosity. The study team first tested whether different doses of the drugs might kill drug-tolerant borrelia bacteria grown on laboratory plates better than a standard antibiotic (doxycycline) for Lyme disease. In triplicate they conducted each experiment three times (totally nine times). The team tested the drugs on various bacteria ages, colonies that were 3 days old and rapidly growing, and colonies that were 7-10 days old and had reached a growth plateau. Both drugs could kill all drug-resistant borrelia cells at high concentrations, and outperformed the standard antibiotic for Lyme disease. When the study team tested the drugs at lower doses, azlocillin outperformed standard antibiotics and cefotaxime, leaving 20 per cent of drug-resistant cells alive. The researchers tested the drugs that they infected with the bacteria in a small number of laboratory- bred mice. At 7, 14 and 21 days after infection they treated the mice at various stages of the disease. Each mouse was given a daily dose of either azlocillin, cefotaxime, or 5-day standard Lyme disease treatment. They cultivated the mouse organs and used microscopy and genetic testing 2 days after the last dose to check for live bacteria. The researchers found that in the early stages of the disease, both the standard treatment and azlocillin cleared the infection completely, while cefotaxime did not.

3. The study team found that, given the standard treatment and two of the eight mice given azlocillin, they detected bacterial DNA after 2 weeks of infection in 3 of the 7 mices. They were not able to find any bacterial DNA in the mice given azlocillin after 3 weeks but one of the three mice still had the bacteria given the standard treatment. This compound is simply amazing without a lot of side effects it clears the infection. We hope to repurpose it as an oral Lyme disease treatment. The investigators plan to test azlocillin in a human clinical trial. While these preliminary results are promising, this was a small study conducted in mice grown in the laboratory, so researchers may not see similar results in humans. However, since azlocillin has already been approved by the Food and Drug Administration ( FDA), and has a good safety profile, it makes a promising candidate for such a trial. “We had screened nearly 8,000 chemical compounds. We tested 50 molecules at the platter. In animal models the most efficient and safe molecules were tested. [...] Our main objective is to find the best compound to treat patients, and to stop this disease. The IGeneX USA team has patented the compound for Lyme disease treatment, and is working with a company to develop an oral drug form. IGeneX Lyme ImmunoBlot IgM and IgG are designed to detect several species of Borrelia burgdorferi, the tick-borne parasite primarily responsible for all cases of Lyme disease in the United States, as well as other species of Borrelia including B. Mayonii,— B. Gamemanii, B. California, B. Valeziana, B. Aflzelii, B. GUINII. IGeneX said the tests could detect diseases with high sensitivity and specificity at an early, active, and late stage. For Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, the Lyme ImmunoBlot is intentionally more inclusive than the Western blots currently available because we now know that other species all cause disease in the US;