Recently I came to notice an article about lyme disease, which I’d like
to share. Erica Weitzner and colleagues looked at: Long-term Assessment of
Post-Treatment Symptoms in Patients With Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease. The
study wanted to characterize post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms (PTLDS) with a
follow-up of more than 10 years. 10.9% of 128 patients were regarded as having
possible PTLDS, but only 4.7% turned out to have PTLDS symptoms at the last
study visit. The authors concluded: “PTLDS may persist for >10 years in some
patients with culture-confirmed early Lyme disease. Such long-standing symptoms
were not associated with functional impairment or a particular strain of B.
burgdorferi.”
The problem with PTLDS symptoms (like fatigue, joint and muscle pain,
paresthesia, loss of appetite, difficulty concentrating, or lack of energy) is
the fact that these aren’t specific to lyme disease. Some you find for instance
also in patients suffering from fibromyalgia.
Some rheumatologists call post Lyme syndrome a myth. The study shows
that unspecific symptoms might persist in a minority. And this study is also a
hint at not advocating long-term antibiotic treatments in patients with
unspecific symptoms.
References:
Erica Weitzner and colleagues: Long-term Assessment of Post-Treatment
Symptoms in Patients With Culture-Confirmed Early Lyme Disease. © The Author
2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Infectious Diseases
Society of America. http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/61/12/1800
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