Category Archives: Preventative treatment

Don’t wait to determine Lyme disease



In the two previous articles on Lyme disease we explained the importance of prevention and prompt treatment of early Lyme disease. What happens if an individual is not treated promptly?

Lyme disease is a bacterial infection transmitted by mostly the Deer tick. When a tick bites, it injects the individual with the Lyme disease bacteria. The bacteria travel through the skin and enter veins to circulate throughout the body and deposit it in specific target organs. These may include muscles, tendons and ligaments and joints, leading to the flu-like symptoms many individuals describe. If not treated or not cured at this early stage the final target organ of this germ is the Brain.
Unfortunately, there is no oral antibiotic that can cross the blood-brain effectively to kill this bacterium in the brain. This is the reason that oral antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease is not universally effective in treating early disease. If even a few bacteria get to the brain before oral antibiotic therapy is started, the individual will not be cured of Lyme disease and will develop a different presentation of Lyme disease called Late stage Lyme disease.



These individuals may in fact appear to get well from the initial oral antibiotic treatment, but somewhere within three months to a year after treatment may begin to develop new signs and symptoms. This may include more classic signs and symptoms such as swollen joints, but many will begin to experience more slowly progressive issues that may come and go. These may include fatigue, headaches, muscle and joint pains, Bell’s palsy, dizziness, memory problems, confusion, shooting pains, behavioral changes such as depression to name just a few. In fact Lyme disease has mimicked many other diseases.

Late stage Lyme disease, treatment requires the use of intravenous antibiotics as these are the only agents which can cross the brains’ blood-brain barrier at dosages which are adequate to kill the Lyme disease bacteria. Prior to embarking on this treatment the Physician should confirm that the individual is really infected with the Lyme disease bacterium. What we consider sound medical practice to achieve this goal will be described in next week’s installment.



Lyme Disease Transmission



blackleggedThe Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi, normally lives in mice, squirrels and other small animals. It is transmitted among these animals and to humans through the bites of certain species of ticks. In the northeastern and north-central United States, the black-legged tick (or deer tick, Ixodes scapularis) transmits Lyme disease. In the Pacific coastal United States, the disease is spread by the western black-legged tick (Ixodes pacificus). Other major tick species found in the United States have not been shown to transmit Borrelia burgdorferi.

Blacklegged ticks transmit Lyme disease
Blacklegged (or deer) ticks (Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus) can transmit several tick-borne diseases including anaplasmosis, babesiosis and Lyme disease. An adult tick is pictured at left, though it is the smaller nymphal stage ticks which most commonly bite humans.



lifecycleLife cycle of blacklegged ticks

Blacklegged ticks live for two years and have three feeding stages: larvae, nymph, and adult. Tick eggs are Tick Lyme Disease Treatmentlaid in the spring and hatch as larvae in the summer. Larvae feed on mice, birds, and other small animals in the summer and early fall. When a young tick feeds on an infected animal, the tick takes bacteria into its body along with the blood meal, and it remains infected for the rest of its life. After this initial feeding, the larvae become inactive as they grow into nymphs. The following spring, nymphs seek blood meals in order to fuel their growth into adults. When the tick feeds again, it can transmit the bacterium to its new host. Usually the new host is another small rodent, but sometimes the new host is a human. Most cases of human illness occur in the late spring and summer when the tiny nymphs are most active and human outdoor activity is greatest. Adult ticks feed on large animals, and sometimes on humans. In the spring, adult female ticks lay their eggs on the ground, completing the life cycle. Although adult ticks often feed on deer, these animals do not become infected. Deer are nevertheless important in transporting ticks and maintaining tick populations.



Early Lyme diagnosis and Lyme treatment are critical to a successful cure.