Although Lyme disease may not be rampant, some areas that are highly affected like the northeast and upper Midwest territories continue to suffer from the debilitating disease and until today, no cure has been discovered.
In an article recently published by Forbes, Bloomberg Distinguished Professor of Biomedical Engineering, Computer Science and Biostatistics at Johns Hopkins University Steven Salzberg , said that for the past 15 years, researches and studies may only have scratched the surface in developing a cure for Lyme disease.
Salzberg, in his article, pointed out that antibiotic treatments have not been successful in treating the symptoms of the disease that include joint pain and fatigue, hinting that long-term antibiotic use could even prove harmful .
In a separate study from the New England Journal of Medicine, it showed that study participants with Lyme disease showed improvement after an initial antibiotic therapy, but some 10 to 20 percent of test subjects continued to suffer symptoms of fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, lack of customary mental functions and disrupted sleep.
The researchers of the study highlighted that the study performed through 12 weeks of therapy using doxycycline or clarithromycin plus hydroxychloroquine did not yield any additional benefit with regards to serial mental health and physical quality of life measures that are related to health.
Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria called borrelia burgdoreferi that is transmitted through tick bites.
The Center for Disease Control reported that the estimated number of reported cases is close to 300,000, which can be attributed to the disease being spread from person to person as infected ticks also get to travel through their hosts.
Lyme disease may still be concentrated in some US territories alone, but this is more prevalent in Europe.
Salzberg hopes that doctors try to shift their medical approach on therapy instead of relying too much on long-term antibiotic treatment which may cause more damaging side effects of the antibiotic drugs used for long periods.
Taking too much antibiotics may cause unwanted side effects in the human body, specifically major internal organs and even the immune system.
It was discovered that use of antibiotics, especially overuse, could lead to a bevy of problems ranging from glucose metabolism, immune system, behavior and food digestion. Scientists also link it to increased obesity and stress.
It has also been found to kill intestinal epithelial cells that helps the body absorb glucose, water and other essential nutrients into the bloodstream.
The post The Low Down On Lyme Disease appeared first on NUTRITION CLUB CANADA.
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