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For some people affected by Lyme disease, symptoms persist long after being treated with antibiotics. According to a study conducted by American researchers, dead fragments of the bacteria responsible for the disease could explain this prolongation of symptoms over time. The opportunity to take stock of research against this disease, in France.
The study by researchers from Tulane University, New Orleans (USA) shows the presence of dead fragments of bacteria causing Lyme disease in the body of patients. These fragments could explain the state of inflammation experienced by some patients for long periods.
Fragments of bacteria causing persistent symptoms
According to the study’s lead author, Dr. Geetha Parthasarathy, an assistant professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane University’s National Center for Primate Research, “after antibiotics treat the bacteria that cause Lyme disease, dead fragments remain that cause inflammation of the central and peripheral nervous systems. And since neuroinflammation is at the root of many neurological disorders, persistent inflammation in the brain due to these fragments could have long-term health consequences.“explains the author.
Towards new treatments?
The results of this research therefore show that these non-viable fragments cause even more neurological and musculoskeletal inflammation than live bacteria, within the organisms where they are found.
To support their findings, the scientists intend to explore new anti-inflammatory strategies for the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and hope “that future processing may neutralize or eliminate these persistent fragments”.
Dr. Parthasarathy also plans further investigation into the inefficient removal of bacterial fragments.
Symptoms that last for months
Lyme disease is caused by bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi. which enters the body through a tick bite. It can cause a characteristic rash, followed by headache, fever and malaise. It can spread to other organs later.
The patient victim of a tick bite can therefore be prescribed antibiotics for two to four weeks. However, in some patients, “in 10 to 35% of cases, within 6 to 12 months of initial infection“says the study, symptoms persist in these patients after the end of this antibiotic therapy, without us being able to give them an explanation.
“We must listen to the sick”
We then speak of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, but the tests to diagnose it “are unreliable“explains Dr Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo.We do not yet know this pathology well enough and it is not because we find nothing with the classic examinations that we must conclude that there is nothing. We must listen to patients. And as a doctor, thinking about Lyme disease to refer a patient who needs it to a Lyme reference center, there are some everywhere in France” he adds.
Research lagging behind in France?
Asked about the question of research on Lyme disease, Bertrand Pasquet, president of the ChroniLyme association, believes that it is “indispensable” because there are “severe and persistent cases of the disease that we do not understand”. He therefore pleads for a better research policy in France on the subject, stressing that there is currently only “46 ongoing research projects, for an annual budget of less than 1.5 million euros”, using figures from a report by MP Véronique Louwagie, published in March 2021 on the issue of funding and the effectiveness of the fight against Lyme disease. That is “a scattering policy” for Bertrand Pasquet, who emphasizes that “this work receives funding of up to 93 million dollars in the United States, in comparison”.
Towards expert patient status?
Christèle Dumas-Gonnet, co-founder of the Préface collective, campaigns for the emergence of the status of expert patient in Lyme disease. “The voice of the patients really needs to carry, because it is through them that we can better understand the daily life of the disease and above all advance on the care and treatment “.
This particular status defines patients who have acquired detailed knowledge of their disease and may be called upon by health authorities for their expertise in the context of their pathology.