Lyme disease is typically treated with a broad-spectrum antibiotic. Unfortunately, these can have just as many negative effects as they can positive. For instance, they can increase the chance that antibiotic-resistant bacteria are created. This can be very dangerous for future infections.
Additionally, they can have significant impacts on a patient’s gut microbiome. This damage can contribute to the development of chronic Lyme disease, which is the worst possible outcome.
Thankfully, researchers have recently identified a narrow-spectrum antibiotic that has the same efficacy as broad-spectrum antibiotics. This study has just been published in Cell.
The hope is that it can not only improve outcomes for patients but minimize the chance that they will experience the chronic form of the condition. They even think that this treatment could help to eradicate Lyme disease completely.
Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is carried by ticks but can transfer to humans with a singular bite. The bacteria that causes Lyme disease most commonly is called Borrelia burgdorferi.
Patients may experience fatigue, headaches, fevers, rashes, and more.
When the infection is not treated, patients can experience more severe symptoms. The infection can spread to the joints, nervous system, and even the heart. Patients may experience facial palsy, arthritis, extreme headaches, as well as heart palpitations.
The Study
The authors of this study had previously uncovered that Lyme disease patients all have a specific composition of the gut microbiome. This led them to believe that Lyme disease treated with broad-spectrum antibiotics likely disrupts the gut microbiome and that this disruption can lead to chronic Lyme disease.
At the very least, an antibiotic that could prevent the disruption of the gut microbiome certainly could not hurt.
The goal was then to find a more narrow-spectrum antibiotic which could work as a Lyme disease treatment. These antibiotics are less likely to impact the microbiome and less likely to lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
They uncovered that hygromycin A had been discovered before but never really utilized as it was found to be a weak antibiotic for many different pathogens.
What was missed was that it was very effective against a particular type of bacteria called spirochetes. They are characterized by their spiral-like shape. Borrelia burgdorferi just happens to be one of these types of bacteria.
After uncovering this fact, they tested its efficacy in a mice model of Lyme disease. Hygromycin A completely cleared the Lyme disease in the mice. They tried injecting the antibiotic and having them take it orally. Both methods worked.
Additionally, the researchers found that this antibiotic was much less disruptive to the microbiome in the gut.
There has been some talk that if bait containing Hygromycin A was released into the environment where Lyme disease was highly prevalent, the disease could potentially be eradicated. Unfortunately, it’s not yet known how this antibiotic may impact the rest of the environment.
More research is certainly necessary before this treatment can be utilized in humans. Specifically, studies which assess pharmacokinetics, as well as toxicity, are necessary.
You can read more about this potential treatment here.
