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Deer tick Credit: Wikipedia

Will we soon have vaccines to protect us from Lyme disease? It turns out that there are two possible vaccines being tested right now, including one based on mRNA technologies (same as the Covid vaccines).

The mRNA vaccine has has been successfully tested in mice so far, and yes - it protected the mice from being infected with the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi which causes Lyme disease. The second one is an intranasal protein vaccine (an established vaccine type) and is currently being tested on humans. But both vaccines are a while off yet.

Meanwhile, we're all waiting, waiting, waiting for a Lyme disease vaccine.

Excerpts from The Scientist - Newly Developed mRNA Vaccine Protects Against Lyme Disease

After walking through a forest or field of tall grass, public health agencies in many countries advise people to check their clothes, pets, and bodies for unwanted hitchhikers—ticks. These arthropods feed on the blood of mammals, such as mice, deer, livestock, and humans, as well as lizards and birds.1 Additionally, Ixodes ticks act as vectors, where they transfer disease-causing bacteria, viruses, or protozoa to their host during feeding. ...continue reading "Waiting For A Lyme Disease Vaccine"

Deer tick Credit: Wikipedia

Finally, some good news in the treatment of Lyme disease. A recent study found that treating with 2 or 3 antibiotics at once is more effective in clearing Lyme disease bacteria than just treating with a course of one antibiotic (which is what is done now). In other words, a combination therapy is superior.

A single course of antibiotics treats most Lyme disease infections, but not in about 10 to 20% of patients. Studies find that this is because the Lyme disease bacteria hide in the organs (the sneaky devils!). The Lyme disease bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) is transmitted by tick bites.

The study was done in mice with persistent Lyme disease, but the results also (probably) apply to humans with persistent Lyme disease infections. None of the single antibiotics completely eradicated the bacteria, but the following 4 dual combinations were effective: doxycycline + ceftriaxone, dapsone + rifampicin, dapsone + clofazimine, doxycycline + cefotaxime. Also effective were 3 triple antibiotic combinations: doxycycline + ceftriaxone+ carbomycin, doxycycline + cefotaxime+ loratadine, dapsone+ rifampicin+ clofazimine. The drugs were given for 28 days two months after infection.

Next step is testing this in humans with persistent Lyme disease.

From Medical Xpress: Combined antibiotics more effective against Lyme disease: Study

Researchers at Tulane University have found that a combination of antibiotics is more effective in treating Lyme disease than the commonly prescribed course of one single antibiotic. This finding, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, could pave the way for improved Lyme disease treatments, particularly in persistent cases that have not responded to standard antibiotic treatment. ...continue reading "Combination Antibiotic Therapy May Help With Persistent Lyme Disease"

Deer tick Credit: Wikipedia

Summer is here, people are spending outdoors, and so there is concern about ticks and the diseases that they carry. New research (an analysis of existing data and studies) determined that more than 14% of the world's population now has or had Lyme disease (Lyme borreliosis)! They can tell from antibodies in the blood. Yikes!

Here in the United States people tend to think of Lyme disease as an increasingly common disease spreading from the northeast US to other parts of the country. But in reality the incidence of the tick-borne disease is highest in central and western Europe, as well as eastern Asia. In fact, Lyme disease or Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection is the most frequent tick transmitted disease world wide.

The researchers found that some factors associated with higher incidence of Lyme disease is being male, 50 years and older, living in a rural area, and having had tick bites. In the northeast US infected deer ticks (Ixodes scapularis) are responsible for most cases of Lyme disease. [Other Lyme disease and tick articles, including treatments and controls.]

From Medical Xpress: More than 14% of world's population likely has (had) tick-borne Lyme disease

More than 14% of the world's population probably has, or has had, tick-borne Lyme disease, as indicated by the presence of antibodies in the blood, reveals a pooled data analysis of the available evidence, published in the open access journal BMJ Global Health.  ...continue reading "Lyme Disease Is Common Throughout Parts of the World"

Lyme disease is a huge problem in many parts of the United States, with thousands infected each year. Lyme disease is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi, and is transmitted to humans and animals during the bite of a deer tick.

While about 80% of people with Lyme disease can be treated easily with a course of antibiotics within weeks of the tick bite, up to 20% will still have problems. While there is much controversy over why this is happening, there growing evidence that it it might be due to the existence of drug-tolerant Borrelia  burgdorferi "persisters".

A recent study found that azlocillin (an acylated form of ampicillin which is similar to the antibiotics mezlocillin and piperacillin) successfully kills the persister bacteria. Just keep in mind that the study was done in the lab and mice, and not yet on people.

But the researchers are so excited with the results that they are patenting the compound. So it's early days, yet there seems to be potential. Stay tuned...

From Medical Xpress: Potential treatment for Lyme disease kills bacteria that may cause lingering symptoms, study finds   ...continue reading "New Treatment For Lyme Disease Soon?"

A new study provides evidence for what so many people complain about - that after being treated for Lyme disease with several weeks of antibiotics - they feel that they are not cured, but instead still suffer from Lyme disease. Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, which is transmitted to a person during a tick bite. 

However, many medical professionals deny that a person can still have Lyme disease after antibiotic treatment, and instead call the lingering symptoms post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). It is thought that between 10 to 20% of persons treated with antibiotics for Lyme disease have symptoms of PTLDS.

Hah! The Tulane University researchers found that yes, the live bacteria (B. burgdorferi spirochetes) can still be there in different organs of the body even after 28 days of antibiotic treatment. They studied late Lyme disease in both treated (with antibiotics) and untreated rhesus macaques - primates in which Lyme disease has effects similar to humans. Other studies have also found that the Lyme disease bacteria can evade treatment (here and here). From Medical Xpress:

Lyme bacteria survive 28-day course of antibiotics months after infection

Bay Area Lyme Foundation, a leading sponsor of Lyme disease research in the US, today announced results of two papers published in the peer-reviewed journals PLOS ONE and American Journal of Pathology, that seem to support claims of lingering symptoms reported by many patients who have already received antibiotic treatment for the disease. Based on a single, extensive study of Lyme disease designed by Tulane University researchers, the study employed multiple methods to evaluate the presence of Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, before and after antibiotic treatment in primates.  ...continue reading "Lyme Disease Bacteria Can Survive After Treatment"

Another article was published this month raising the issue of whether Alzheimer's disease is caused by a microbe - which can explain why all the medicines and experimental drugs aimed at treating the "tangles" or amyloid plaques in the brain are not working as a treatment (because that's the wrong approach). The microbe theory of Alzheimer's disease has been around for decades, but only recently is it starting to be taken seriously. Some of the microbes found in patients with Alzheimer's disease (from analyses of both normal brains and Alzheimer patient brains after death): fungi, Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease), herpes simplex virus Type 1 (HSV1), and Chlamydia pneumoniae.

The general hypotheses seem to be that Alzheimer’s disease is caused by infection, but it isn't linked to any one pathogenic microbe.  Instead, the evidence seems to support that "following infection, certain pathogens gain access to brain, where immune responses result in the accumulation of amyloid-β, leading to plaque formation". So the microbes act as "triggers" for Alzheimer's disease - the microbes get into the brain, and immune responses somehow eventually result in the amyloid plaques and Alzheimer's disease. From The Scientist:

Do Microbes Trigger Alzheimer’s Disease?

In late 2011, Drexel University dermatology professor Herbert Allen was astounded to read a new research paper documenting the presence of long, corkscrew-shape bacteria called spirochetes in postmortem brains of patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Combing data from published reports, the International Alzheimer Research Center’s Judith Miklossy and colleagues had found evidence of spirochetes in 451 of 495 Alzheimer’s brains. In 25 percent of cases, researchers had identified the spirochete as Borrelia burgdorferi, a causative agent of Lyme disease. Control brains did not contain the spirochetes.

Allen had recently proposed a novel role for biofilms—colonies of bacteria that adhere to surfaces and are largely resistant to immune attack or antibiotics—in eczema....  Allen knew of recent work showing that Lyme spirochetes form biofilms, which led him to wonder if biofilms might also play a role in Alzheimer’s disease. When Allen stained for biofilms in brains from deceased Alzheimer’s patients, he found them in the same hippocampal locations as amyloid plaquesToll-like receptor 2 (TLR2), a key player in innate immunity, was also present in the same region of the Alzheimer’s brains but not in the controls. He hypothesizes that TLR2 is activated by the presence of bacteria, but is locked out by the biofilm and damages the surrounding tissue instead.

Spirochetes, common members of the oral microbiome, belong to a small set of microbes that cross the blood-brain barrier when they’re circulating in the blood, as they are during active Lyme infections or after oral surgery. However, the bacteria are so slow to divide that it can take decades to grow a biofilm. This time line is consistent with Alzheimer’s being a disease of old age, Allen reasons, and is corroborated by syphilis cases in which the neuroinvasive effects of spirochetes might appear as long as 50 years after primary infection.

Allen’s work contributes to the revival of a long-standing hypothesis concerning the development of Alzheimer’s. For 30 years, a handful of researchers have been pursuing the idea that pathogenic microbes may serve as triggers for the disease’s neuropathology..... In light of continued failures to develop effective drugs, some researchers, such as Harvard neurobiologist Rudolph Tanzi, think it’s high time that more effort and funding go into alternative theories of the disease. “Any hypothesis about Alzheimer’s disease must include amyloid plaques, tangles, inflammation—and, I believe, infection.”

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV1) can acutely infect the brain and cause a rare but very serious encephalitis. In the late 1980s, University of Manchester molecular virologist Ruth Itzhaki noticed that the areas of the brain affected in HSV1 patients were the same as those damaged in patients with Alzheimer’s disease. Knowing that herpes can lie latent in the body for long periods of time, she began to wonder if there was a causal connection between the infection and the neurodegenerative disorder.

Around the same time, neuropathologist Miklossy, then at the University of Lausanne in Switzerland, was detailing the brain damage caused by spirochetes—both in neurosyphilis and neuroborrelia, a syndrome caused by Lyme bacteria. She happened upon a head trauma case with evidence of bacterial invasion and plaque formation, and turned her attention to Alzheimer’s. She isolated spirochetes from brain tissue in 14 Alzheimer’s patients but detected none in 13 age-matched controls. In addition, monoclonal antibodies that target the amyloid precursor protein (APP)—which, when cleaved, forms amyloid-β—cross-reacted with the spirochete species found, suggesting the bacteria might be the source of the protein.

Meanwhile, in the U.S., a third line of evidence linking Alzheimer’s to microbial infection began to emerge. While serving on a fraud investigation committee, Alan Hudson, a microbiologist then at MCP-Hahnemann School of Medicine in Philadelphia, met Brian Balin.... Soon, Balin began to send Hudson Alzheimer’s brain tissue to test for intracellular bacteria in the Chlamydia genus. Some samples tested positive for C. pneumoniae: specifically, the bacteria resided in microglia and astrocytes in regions of the brain associated with Alzheimer’s neuropathology, such as the hippocampus and other limbic system areas. Hudson had a second technician repeat the tests before he called Balin to unblind the samples. The negatives were from control brains; the positives all had advanced Alzheimer’s disease. "We were floored,” Hudson says.

Thus, as early as the 1990s, three laboratories in different countries, each studying different organisms, had each implicated human pathogens in the etiology of Alzheimer’s disease. But the suggestion that Alzheimer’s might have some microbial infection component was still well outside of the theoretical mainstream. Last year, Itzhaki, Miklossy, Hudson, and Balin, along with 29 other scientists, published a review in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease to lay out the evidence implicating a causal role for microbes in the disease.

The microbe theorists freely admit that their proposed microbial triggers are not the only cause of Alzheimer’s disease. In Itzhaki’s case, some 40 percent of cases are not explained by HSV1 infection. Of course, the idea that Alzheimer’s might be linked to infection isn’t limited to any one pathogen; the hypothesis is simply that, following infection, certain pathogens gain access to brain, where immune responses result in the accumulation of amyloid-β, leading to plaque formation.

 Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is typically treated with antibiotics. This study may go a long way in explaining why some people do not seem to respond to Lyme disease treatment, and why they continue to feel sick even after prolonged antibiotic therapy. The researchers discussed how, in addition to the familiar spirochete form, B. burgdorferi can transform from spirochetes into round body forms in the presence of various unfavorable environmental conditions, including the presence of antimicrobial agents (antibiotics). And that the different forms respond to different antibiotic treatments!

But now they found that this bacterium has an additional form, which they refer to as biofilm, and which may be resistant to even very aggressive antibiotic (antimicrobial) treatments. They say this is the first study that demonstrates the presence of Borrelia biofilm in infected human skin tissues. From Medical Xpress:

Lyme disease 'Biofilm' eludes antibiotics: report

In many cases, Lyme disease returns after a patient has completed antibiotic treatment, and this finding may help explain why that occurs, the researchers said. University of New Haven researchers determined that Lyme disease-causing Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria produces a biofilm that makes it up to 1,000 times more resistant to antibiotics than other bacteria.

The discovery may lead to new ways to treat Lyme disease, said study author Eva Sapi, head of biology and environmental sciences at the university. "These findings could change the way we think about Lyme disease, especially in patients where it seems to be a persistent disease, despite long-term antibiotic treatment," she said in a news release from the Connecticut-based university.

"This recent finding could help to better understand how Borrelia can survive treatment and ... will provide novel therapeutic targets for chronic Lyme disease, with the hope of eradicating Borrelia in these patients," Sapi added. (original study)

 Borrelia burgdorferi  Credit: CDC

Another microbe that causes Lyme disease! Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the northern hemisphere, and it is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. Recently Mayo Clinic researchers found a new bacteria, which they named Borrelia mayonii, in the fluids and tissues of some people diagnosed with Lyme disease in the upper midwestern USA. The symptoms are different from typical Lyme disease: with nausea and vomiting, diffuse rashes (rather than a single bull's-eye rash), and a higher concentration of bacteria in the blood. Same treatment as with the original bacteria , but it may not show up in tests for Lyme disease.

Other researchers say that other Borrelia species found throughout the US and Europe also cause Lyme disease. This may explain why Lyme diseasse sufferers are not always diagnosed with Lyme disease, even though they have it. From Scientific American:

New Cause for Lyme Disease Complicates Already Murky Diagnosis

Tick-borne Lyme disease in the U.S. has long been thought to be caused by a single microbe, a spiral-shaped bacterium called Borrelia burgdorferi. Last week this notion was challenged when a team led by scientists at the Mayo Clinic discovered that Lyme could be caused, albeit rarely, by a different bacterial species that may incite more serious symptoms ranging from vomiting to neurological issues. Scientists working in the contentious field of Lyme disagree, however, as to what this information means for public health and if these findings are truly the first of their kind. For years, they say, research has pointed to the notion that the spirochete that causes Lyme disease in the U.S. is more heterogeneous than many have acknowledged ...continue reading "Another Microbe That Causes Lyme Disease"

I recently posted on ways the number of  ticks can be reduced in a backyard. Now an article on vaccines being developed to battle tick borne diseases, especially Lyme disease. However, the bad news is that ticks now transmit 16 diseases in the US (including anaplasmosis, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis), while vaccines typically only focus on one disease at a time. Tick borne diseases are on the rise throughout the world.

We all know about Lyme disease (which is also a problem in Europe, China, and Mongolia), but in parts of Africa, the Middle East, Asia and southern Europe, ticks can spread Crimean–Congo haemorrhagic fever, which is fatal 40% of the time! And while some researchers are focusing on human vaccines, some are focusing on vaccines for mice. Big problem: would we really be able to give the vaccine to enough mice to make a difference? I really like the idea of a vaccine that hampers the ability of ticks to feed on humans. From Nature:

The new war on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases

Williams is testing whether vaccinating mice against Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacterium that causes Lyme disease in the United States, can reduce the proportion of ticks that are infected. ....Borrelia burgdorferi infects an estimated 329,000 people in the United States each year, according to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia. And although most people who get prompt treatment recover quickly — Williams has had Lyme three times — up to one in five develops long-term and potentially life-threatening symptoms, including heart, vision or memory problems, or debilitating joint pain. ...continue reading "Vaccines to Battle Tick Diseases?"

Nice article about ticks, tickborne diseases (of which Lyme disease is one), and possible strategies for coping - whether getting rid of ticks in your yard, or minimizing risk. The only thing I disagreed with is that the author gives the time for transmission of a tick borne disease as needing over 24 hours of the tick being attached (this number is frequently given by authorities). Others disagree (as do I based on experience), and a recent article on transmission time after attachment stated that in animal research, transmission can occur in <16 hours. Some human studies also found transmission times of less than 24 hours (and as little as 6 hours of tick attachment), but so far the minimum attachment time for transmission of infection has never been established. Read the complete article for more pet and tick advice. From Mother Earth News:

How to Get Rid of Ticks and Prevent Lyme Disease 

About 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year, according to new estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Lyme disease is caused by bacteria that multiply in the bodies of ticks, people and animals, including mice, deer and dogs....  the tiny blacklegged deer tick, which is the most common transmitter of Lyme disease.

These deer ticks pick up Lyme bacteria (Borrelia burgdorferi) when they feed on the blood of infected mice, chipmunks and other hosts. Infected ticks in both the nymphal and adult life stages can then transfer the Lyme bacteria to humans if they latch on for a meal and feed for approximately 36 hours or more. Lyme disease is highly treatable when it’s detected early, but devastating when the infection goes unnoticed for more than a few months.

Let Poultry Help with Tick Prevention  Leafy wooded areas and grassy meadows are the preferred habitats for blacklegged deer ticks and American dog ticks, which both spend their larval stage in leaf litter, their nymphal stage on small animals, and their adult stage in tall grass or other shrubby vegetation. People have learned how to get rid of ticks by keeping foraging chickens and guinea fowl on their property. In April 2015, we launched the MOTHER EARTH NEWS Chickens and Ticks Survey, and responses revealed that: 71 percent had an existing tick problem before they got poultry, 78 percent kept poultry that helped control or eliminate ticks within the birds’ feeding range, 46 percent experienced a drop in tick populations within a month after getting poultry; 45 percent saw good control after several months to a year.Many respondents noted that small bantam chickens and game hens can get into tight spots where larger birds can’t fit, resulting in better tick control....

Permethrin-Treated Clothes and ‘Tick Tubes’  If you live in one of the 13 states where Lyme disease risk is highest, learning how to get rid of ticks should be a top priority. You might want to consider using permethrin, a non-organic pesticide that repels and kills ticks. Permethrin is more potent and persistent than the organic materials we usually recommend. We suggest using a formula designed to be applied to clothing rather than misters, sprayers, foggers or other permethrin products. Clothing products that are pre-treated with permethrin are available, or you can buy permethrin with instructions for how to use it to treat your clothes. Take care to not expose kids to this pesticide...The EPA also classified permethrin as “likely to be carcinogenic to humans,” so weigh the risk of infrequent exposure to the risk of Lyme disease in your area.

You might also consider permethrin-infused “tick tubes,” which are designed to kill ticks on white-footed mice as well as chipmunks and rats, the main animals from which ticks become infected with Lyme. The tick tubes offer nesting materials impregnated with the pesticide to such critters. The animals then take the material back to their nests, where it kills any ticks that may have latched on to the adults and their young. The small amount of permethrin used in tick tubes is not water-soluble, so it’s not likely to end up anywhere but in a nest. Sold commercially as Damminix Tick Tubes, these devices are easy to make yourself....

Herbal Tick Repellents   Many of our survey respondents reported that they apply veterinary-prescribed tick preventatives on their dogs and cats, but would prefer more organic repellents. Two plant-based aromatics — sweet-scented “rose” geranium (Pelargonium graveolens) essential oil and eastern red cedar (Juniperus virginiana; also known as “red cedarwood”) essential oil — were repeatedly recommended by readers who use them as spray-on repellents for pets and family members alike....Both geranium essential oil and eastern red cedar essential oil have proven to be successful repellents against ticks in various life stages, according to the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry and the Journal of Medical Entomology, respectively.

Using full-strength essential oil can injure human skin and overwhelm pets’ sensitive noses, so follow this simple recipe when making a liquid anti-tick spray: In an 8-ounce spray bottle, combine 10 to 20 drops of rose geranium or eastern red cedar essential oil with 1 teaspoon of vodka or rubbing alcohol. Fill the rest of the bottle with water and shake to combine. The spray can be applied to your skin or clothing....

More Tick Prevention Tricks Fencing out deer, the primary host of adult Lyme-infected ticks, can help prevent ticks from reaching your land. Low-cost, plastic-mesh deer fencing is available online and at farm stores. Ticks rarely inhabit lawns that are mowed regularly. Raking up leaves and composting them deprives overwintering ticks of shelter.

When hiking where tick populations are high, stay on the trails and dress defensively — pull your socks up over your pants. When only shorts will do, some people cut off the ankle sections of old socks, spray them with a repellent, and wear the tubes around their calves like tick-deterring leg warmers.

A study published in Experimental and Applied Acarology found that spraying outdoor areas with Safer-brand organic insecticidal soap in spring, when blacklegged deer tick nymphs are active, can provide treatment that is equally as effective as spraying with the insecticide chlorpyrifos.

After you’ve been outdoors, check your dogs for any ticks that may have latched on, and then make your way to a hot, soapy shower followed by a careful body check. You can kill any ticks that have attached to your clothing by immediately putting your clothes into the dryer for 15 minutes on the hottest setting, and then washing them. Most ticks are sensitive to dry heat, but may survive even the hottest wash.