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Lyme Disease symptoms vary from person to person. (lymes disease lyme's disease lime disease limes disease)
The data and information presented in this web site are presented in good faith and believed to be accurate regarding Lyme disease (commonly misspelled lymes disease lyme's disease lime disease limes disease) and other related diseases. Any and all liability for the content or any omissions including any inaccuracies, errors, or misstatements in such data or information is expressly disclaimed. The web site is compiled for the sole purpose of informing community members of resources and information pertaining to Lyme Borreliosis Disease and its coinfections. Lyme disease symptoms may vary from person to person.
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Consult a qualified Lyme ( Borreliosis ) Disease literate doctor for medical advice if Lyme Disease is suspect to discuss your Lymes Disease Symptoms.
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http://www.healthnewsdigest.com:80/news/Disease_420/Can_Lyme_Disease_Be_Prevented_With_A_Single_Injection.shtml
From HealthNewsDigest.com
Can Lyme Disease Be Prevented With A Single Injection?
By Michael D. Shaw, Contributing Columnist - HealthNewsDigest.com
Mar 24, 2008 - 12:04:15 AM
(HealthNewsDigest.com) - It was in 1994 that my friend and mentor,
innovative publisher Richard Rimbach, Jr., succumbed to the late stages of
Lyme disease. Dick Rimbach was the classic type A workaholic, but he did get
some relaxation riding his tractor, working his acreage. Under those
conditions, it was easy enough to get bitten by one of the ticks of the
genus Ixodes (commonly the deer tick).
Although first described by German physician Alfred Buchwald in 1883, it
would not be until 1975 that a series of cases emerging in southeastern
Connecticut (including the towns of Lyme and Old Lyme), originally thought
to be a form of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis, were found to be the same as
the tick-borne infection better known in Europe. In 1982, the causative
spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi-named after NIH researcher Willy
Burgdorfer-was identified.
By all accounts, my friend was bitten some time in the late 1980s. Since the
supposedly classic early symptom of a reddish "bull's-eye" rash (erythema
chronicum migrans) occurs in only 80% of patients, and the accompanying
symptoms of fever, malaise, and musculoskeletal pain are so generic, given
the time frame, he was diagnosed too late in the game.
As the disease progresses, further symptoms manifest, including loss of
muscle tone on one or both sides of the face (Bell's palsy), severe
headaches and neck stiffness due to meningitis, shooting pains that may
interfere with sleep, heart palpitations, dizziness due to changes in
heartbeat, and pain that moves from joint to joint. With time, the arthritis
can get much worse, and neurological problems such as loss of short term
memory can occur. Sadly, in a small number of patients, even if treatment
with antibiotics removes the infection, some symptoms can remain, perhaps as
a result of an autoimmune response.
Even now, diagnosis is by no means straightforward. Unlike many bacterial
diseases, serologic testing is not considered a gold standard here. Rather,
Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, objective physical findings
(such as the rash and arthritic conditions), along with a history of
possible exposure to infected ticks.
As it happens, reliable polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests for Lyme
disease have been developed to detect the DNA of the Lyme disease
spirochete, but these are beyond the scope of many conventional diagnostic
labs.
Controversies have arisen around Lyme disease. The International Lyme and
Associated Diseases Society advocates extended courses of antibiotics for
chronic Lyme patients, while the Infectious Diseases Society of America does
not recognize chronic infection and recommends no treatment for persistent
symptoms. Likewise, it was long thought that controlling the deer population
could mitigate spread of the disease, but recent research indicates that
removing deer can actually increase tick density, as the arachnids simply
choose rodents as their host, leading to the potential for tick-borne
disease hot spots.
Into this fray come researchers at the CDC's Division of Vector-Borne
Infectious Diseases in Fort Collins, Colorado. In the April, 2008 issue of
the Journal of Medical Microbiology, a team headed by Dr. Nordin Zeidner
reports that a single injection of sustained-release antibiotics can prevent
both Lyme disease and Anaplasmosis (also tick-borne) in mice.
Their work showed that a single dose oral dose of doxycycline is only 20-30%
effective, compared to an injection of a new formulation of
sustained-release doxycycline, that was 100% effective over a 20-day period.
Zeidner said, "We plan to test the doxycycline formulation to develop
different release kinetics and delivery methods. For example, a slow release
patch could be used in conjunction with current recommended protection
against ticks, such as repellents and personal tick checks."
Perhaps we are on our way toward what the paper calls "a viable prophylactic
treatment option for multiple infectious agents in patients presenting with
tick bites." Good news for the nearly 20,000 Americans each year who get
Lyme disease.
Michael D. Shaw
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