The University of Maryland has just published a press release after a researcher working at the university made several new discoveries about the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
Lyme disease is an infection caused by bacteria called Borrelia burgdorferi that is spread to humans by ticks. For this to happen, a tick must bite an infected animal before it bites a human, so only a small number of tick bites cause Lyme disease. The disease is usually first identified by the distinctive circular rash it causes, sometimes in the shape of a bulls-eye. However, not everyone gets a rash and other symptoms to watch for include a raised temperature, tiredness, muscle pain, and headaches. Lyme disease can be confirmed through a blood test, and, following this, patients will be prescribed antibiotics to combat the disease. For some people Lyme disease persists in a form known as ‘post infectious Lyme disease’. This causes similar symptoms to fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome, including tiredness and pain. Since the biological mechanisms behind Lyme disease remain poorly understood, it is not currently know why some people develop post infectious Lyme disease while others don’t.
However, recent findings by researchers have contributed to our understanding of the bacteria that causes the disease. Dr Utpal Pal, who has been studying Borrelia for over twelve years, has identified a protein that the bacteria produces in response to the body’s initial immune response. Furthermore, he found that even if this protein is removed the infection could still re-occur weeks later. These findings have implications for the understanding and cure of Lyme disease, which is difficult to treat.
It is particularly important to research the early stages of infection, as Dr Pal has been doing, because this is one of the key points at which it may be possible to prevent Lyme disease. This is because when a body is infected with the bacteria, an initial non-specific immune response occurs. If this doesn’t kill the bacteria, then seven to ten days later a specific antigen response occurs. The scale of this second immune response is actually what causes the joint inflammation that characterises Lyme disease. This means that killing off the bacteria during the first, non-specific immune response would prevent the body from launching the second immune response that causes most Lyme disease symptoms. It is therefore important to develop a comprehensive understanding of the processes involved in the initial stages of infection, in order to develop treatments.
