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New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

news.northwestern.edu

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Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#61

Post by boplicity »

How strange that scientific research just like this has become extremely political.

Case in point: The Trump administration has cut Northwestern off from over a quarter billion dollars in funding because of "anti-semitism." Note, that the vast majority of this money is for research just like the one linked in this article.

Of course, people seem to be arguing about anti-semitism more than cutting off funding for research. But make no mistake: cutting off research funding is exactly what is happening. And that has practically nothing to do with antisemitism.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#62

Post by The5thElephant »

roody15 wrote: post #52

My mother got a tick bite and felt off and the doctor told her she had allergies and sinus infection due to high pollen. Luckily my younger brother is a physician and told her to go back and ask for a Lyme disease test. They said okay but said Lyme disease is really rare and wasn’t necessary. Long story short she was positive but was caught early enough that 30 days Doxy was all she needed. That same year I was bitte…

Why have I heard so many stories of doctors not wanting to diagnose something as Lyme disease?

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#64

Post by goda90 »

jpadkins wrote: post #58

Good time to remind people that right next to the town of Lyme CT is Plum Island Animal Disease Center, who happened to be researching tick based disease transmission when Lyme disease was first discovered (named after the town that had the first case). Crazy coincidence. https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2019/07/did-us-invent-lym...

Evidence of bacterium that causes Lyme disease was also found in the 5000+ year old "Iceman" mummy found in the alps. People have described the disease in the 1700s, 1800s and in the 1900s prior to the outbreak in Lyme. Ticks preserved alongside their animal hosts in 1800s biologic samples also are found to have it. Genetic sequencing of different bacteria samples suggests a much older evolutionary tree than a few decades existence.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#65

Post by soulofmischief »

The5thElephant wrote: post #62
roody15 wrote: post #52

My mother got a tick bite and felt off and the doctor told her she had allergies and sinus infection due to high pollen. Luckily my younger brother is a physician and told her to go back and ask for a Lyme disease test. They said okay but said Lyme disease is really rare and wasn’t necessary. Long story short she was positive but was caught early enough that 30 days Doxy was all she needed. That same year I was bitte…

Why have I heard so many stories of doctors not wanting to diagnose something as Lyme disease?

I literally used to get laughed out of the clinic, told I was a healthy young male and just needed to exercise more. After a decade of this, I was finally diagnosed with gout, something doctors had just been lying about testing for. No one could believe someone could have gout in their 20s (It's been developing since my late teens and I've generally had arthritis my entire life, since I was a child).

It took a physician's assistant, who happened to see me one day when both of my doctors were on their third extended vacation of the quarter, to hear my plight, take my suggestion of gout seriously, and do the leg work, also revealing to me that "full test panels" don't include uric acid by default and that my doctors had been lying to me about their thoroughness.

The assistant was also massively more knowledgeable about the disease, its history, the history of treatment, etc., and disease in general, than either of the two doctors running the clinic. Really opened my eyes.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#66

Post by dessimus »

The5thElephant wrote: post #62
roody15 wrote: post #52

My mother got a tick bite and felt off and the doctor told her she had allergies and sinus infection due to high pollen. Luckily my younger brother is a physician and told her to go back and ask for a Lyme disease test. They said okay but said Lyme disease is really rare and wasn’t necessary. Long story short she was positive but was caught early enough that 30 days Doxy was all she needed. That same year I was bitte…

Why have I heard so many stories of doctors not wanting to diagnose something as Lyme disease?

Lyme Disease : PCPs :: Lupus : Dr. House?

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#67

Post by whyenot »

Lyme disease does exist on the west coast, including in the Bay Area. A friend in Los Altos got Lyme disease from a tick in her yard. This is the worst time of year for ticks in the Bay Area. I've picked off over 100 ticks while doing field work in Henry Coe State Park. The one advantage we have on the west coast is that our ticks are larger and you usually notice when one starts crawling on your skin and especially when one bites you.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#68

Post by giantg2 »

bluGill wrote: post #8
giantg2 wrote: post #5

I thought that there are approved human vaccines, but they were voluntarily removed due to economic reasons and lack of adoption.

There was, withdrawn in 2002. Protection wanes so even if you were one of the few who got it then you have no protection today. There are a couple new vaccines in the works, one in phase 3 testing so hopefully we get something in a few years.

It was withdrawn, but the approval was never revoked.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#69

Post by heelix »

Our kid got bit by a tick. Was lucky enough that it had the bulls eye pattern and was able to look it up. She got a crazy high temperature. Was crazy. A strong antibiotic cleared it up.

I really wish there still was a vaccine available (for humans). I treat my pant legs and jacket sleeves with permethrin, which slowly kills the ticks - but does so usually before they would attempt to bite. One of the better camping tricks that I've applied to everyday life.

Re: New studies offer insight into Lyme disease’s treatment, lingering symptoms

#70

Post by giantg2 »

mplanchard wrote: post #17
bluGill wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There was, withdrawn in 2002. Protection wanes so even if you were one of the few who got it then you have no protection today. There are a couple new vaccines in the works, one in phase 3 testing so hopefully we get something in a few years.

Yeah there's what looks like a solid candidate going through a variety of worldwide trials right now.[0] Very hopeful for a meaningful means of prevention in the coming years. [0]: https://www.pfizer.com/news/press-release/press-release-deta...

How is this really different from the previous Lymerix? Aren't they both 3 shot series and OspA based?
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