Frontiers | Selective Essential Oils from Spice or Culinary Herbs Have High Activity against Stationary Phase and Biofilm Borrelia burgdorferi | Medicine

 Although the majority of patients with acute Lyme disease can be cured with the standard 2–4 week antibiotic treatment, about 10–20% of patients continue suffering from chronic symptoms described as posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome. While the cause for this is debated, one possibility is that persister bacteria are not killed by the current Lyme antibiotics and remain active in the system. It has been reported that essential oils have antimicrobial activities and some have been used by patients with persisting Lyme disease symptoms. However, the activity of essential oils against the causative agent Borrelia burgdorferi (B. burgdorferi) has not been well studied. Here, we evaluated the activity of 34 essential oils against B. burgdorferi stationary phase culture as a model for persister bacteria. We found that not all essential oils had activity against the B. burgdorferi stationary phase culture, with top five essential oils (oregano, cinnamon bark, clove bud, citronella, and wintergreen) at a low concentration of 0.25% showing high anti-persister activity that is more active than the known persister drug daptomycin. Interestingly, some highly active essential oils were found to have excellent anti-biofilm ability as shown by their ability to dissolve the aggregated biofilm-like structures. The top three hits, oregano, cinnamon bark, and clove bud completely eradicated all viable cells without any regrowth in subculture in fresh medium, whereas but not citronella and wintergreen did not have this effect. Carvacrol was found to be the most active ingredient of oregano oil showing excellent activity against B. burgdorferi stationary phase cells, while other ingredients of oregano oil p-cymene and α-terpinene had no apparent activity. Future studies are needed to characterize and optimize the active essential oils in drug combination studies in vitro and in vivo and to address their safety and pharmacokinetic properties before they can be considered as a novel treatment of persistent Lyme disease."



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New species of bacteria found to cause Lyme disease | Science News

Until recently, only one bacterium in North America was known to cause the disease: Borrelia burgdorferi. (In Europe, two other species are more common.)This year, researchers at Mayo Clinic testing blood and synovial fluid samples from people infected with Lyme disease discovered six infections that did not trace to B. burgdorferi. In addition to a rash, fever and other classic Lyme symptoms, those patients also experienced confusion, nausea and vomiting. “Not so typical for Lyme disease,” Mead observed.

A previously unknown species of Borrelia was causing the disease, the Mayo team reported in the May issue of Lancet Infectious Diseases. Infections from the newly named Borrelia mayoniiappear to cause unusually high concentrations of bacteria in the blood. The patients recovered after receiving the same antibiotics that treat Lyme disease. As of now, samples taken from ticks show that B. mayonii is only found in the Upper Midwest.

Suppression of Long-Lived Humoral Immunity Following Borrelia burgdorferi Infection

Lyme Disease caused by infection with Borrelia burgdorferi is an emerging infectious disease and already by far the most common vector-borne disease in the U.S. Similar to many other infections, infection with B. burgdorferi results in strong antibody response induction, which can be used clinically as a diagnostic measure of prior exposure. However, clinical studies have shown a sometimes-precipitous decline of such antibodies shortly following antibiotic treatment, revealing a potential deficit in the host’s ability to induce and/or maintain long-term protective antibodies. This is further supported by reports of frequent repeat infections with B. burgdorferi in endemic areas. The mechanisms underlying such a lack of long-term humoral immunity, however, remain unknown. We show here that B. burgdorferi infected mice show a similar rapid disappearance of Borrelia-specific antibodies after infection and subsequent antibiotic treatment. This failure was associated with development of only short-lived germinal centers, micro-anatomical locations from which long-lived immunity originates. These showed structural abnormalities and failed to induce memory B cells and long-lived plasma cells for months after the infection, rendering the mice susceptible to reinfection with the same strain of B. burgdorferi. The inability to induce long-lived immune responses was not due to the particular nature of the immunogenic antigens of B. burgdorferi, as antibodies to both T-dependent and T-independent Borrelia antigens lacked longevity and B cell memory induction. Furthermore, influenza immunization administered at the time of Borrelia infection also failed to induce robust antibody responses, dramatically reducing the protective antiviral capacity of the humoral response. Collectively, these studies show that B. burgdorferi-infection results in targeted and temporary immunosuppression of the host and bring new insight into the mechanisms underlying the failure to develop long-term immunity to this emerging disease threat."



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Researchers map neuroinflammation and nervous system manifestations of Lyme disease. | Healthinnovations

About 15% of patients with Lyme disease develop peripheral and central
nervous system involvement, often accompanied by debilitating and
painful symptoms. Now, researchers from Tulane National Primate Research
Center and Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center have
indicated that inflammation plays a causal role in the array of
neurologic changes associated with Lyme disease.  The team also showed
that the anti-inflammatory drug dexamethasone prevents many of these
reactions.

The researchers explain that Lyme disease in humans results from the bite of a tick infected with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
(Bb). As Bb disseminates throughout the body, it can cause arthritis,
carditis, and neurologic deficits. When the nervous system is involved,
it is called Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB).

Clinical symptoms of LNB of the
peripheral nervous system may include facial nerve palsy, neurogenic
pain radiating along the back into the legs and feet, limb pain, sensory
loss, or muscle weakness. Central nervous system involvement can
manifest as headache, fatigue, memory loss, learning disability,
depression, meningitis, and encephalopathy.  The results of the current
study suggest that inflammation has a causal role in the pathogenesis of
acute Lyme neuroborreliosis.

Borrelia burgdorferi/host interactome

A referenced  list of host genes and proteins involved in the spirochaete life cycle

National Science Foundation (NSF) Discoveries - Lyme Disease: Ten things you always wanted to know about ticks... - US National Science Foundation (NSF)

Mice are reservoirs for tick-borne pathogens, amplify risk of Lyme disease and other tick-borne ailments - Medical News Today

People living in northern and central parts of the U.S. are more likely to contract Lyme disease and other tick-borne ailments when white-footed mice are abundant. Mice are effective at transferring disease-causing pathogens to feeding ticks. And, according to an in-press paper in the journal Ecology, these "super hosts" appear indifferent to larval tick infestations.

New findings could help target the bacteria that cause Lyme disease and syphilis - Medical News Today

The bacterial pathogens that cause Lyme disease and syphilis are highly invasive. These pathogens, or spirochetes, can invade the central nervous system and, in the case of syphilis, enter the placenta, causing disease in the unborn child. In the Biophysical Journal, a Cell Press publication, researchers provide new insights into how these spirochetes penetrate tissue barriers. The findings might be used to develop new treatment strategies to help affected patients or even prevent infections.

Classic microscopy reveals borrelia bacteria

Over the past year, two experienced biologists at Oslo University have seen something that very few scientists experience. They have been sought out by a persistent stream of people from all over Norway who are asking for help.
"People so sick that they can barely stand up have come here to Kristine Bonnevie Building at the University's Blindern campus. They are desperate, because they have not been diagnosed, and therefore have not received appropriate treatment.
Many of them suspect that they have developed chronic borreliosis following a tick bite, and that they have had the disease for a long time. But the tests used by the public health service do not detect it. They come to us with blood samples that they want us to test. They have heard rumours that we have developed a method that can give them answers", explain Ivar Mysterud and Morten Laane. The remarkable new method has just been published in the journal Biological and Biomedical Reports.

A simple method for the detection of live Borrelia spirochaetes in human blood using classical microscopy techniques Ivar Mysterud, Morten Motzfeldt Laane

Lyme disease vaccine shows promise in clinical trial

"The results of a phase 1/2 clinical trial in Europe of an investigational Lyme disease vaccine co-developed by researchers at Stony Brook University, Brookhaven National Laboratory, and at Baxter International Inc., a U.S. based healthcare company, revealed it to be promising and well tolerated, according to a research paper published online in The Lancet Infectious Diseases. The vaccine was shown to produce substantial antibodies against all targeted species of Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme disease in Europe and the United States. Baxter International conducted the clinical trial of the vaccine."

Large-scale study of preventive antibiotic usage against Lyme disease

 "Today, at the start of the "Tick Week", the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM) and Wageningen University are commencing a large-scale study to discover whether preventive use of antibiotics can stop Lyme disease developing after a tick bite. Of the more than 3400 ticks that were sent to RIVM via Tekenradar.nl (Tick radar) last year, more than 20% turned out to be infected with the Borrelia bacteria which can cause Lyme disease. Around 3% of the people bitten by ticks developed Lyme disease."

Lyme Disease Antibodies Attached To Nanotubes, Paving Way For Diagnostic Device

 "Early diagnosis is critical in treating Lyme disease. However, nearly one quarter of Lyme disease patients are initially misdiagnosed because currently available serological tests have poor sensitivity and specificity during the early stages of infection. Misdiagnosed patients may go untreated and thus progress to late-stage Lyme disease, where they face longer and more invasive treatments, as well as persistent symptoms. "

Increased IFNα activity and differential antibody response in patients with a history of Lyme disease and persistent cognitive deficits.

Following antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease, some patients report persistent or relapsing symptoms of pain, fatigue, and/or cognitive deficits. Factors other than active infection, including immune abnormalities, have been suggested, but few clues regarding mechanism have emerged. Furthermore, the effect of antibiotic treatment on immune response in affected individuals remains unknown. In this study, a longitudinal analysis of specific immune markers of interest was carried out in patients with a history of Lyme disease and persistent objective memory impairment, prior to and following treatment with either ceftriaxone or placebo. IFNα activity was measured by detection of serum-induced changes in specific target genes, using a functional cell-based assay and quantitative real-time PCR. Level and pattern of antibody reactivity to brain antigens and to Borrelia burgdorferi proteins were analyzed by ELISA and immunoblotting. Sera from the patient cohort induced significantly higher expression of IFIT1 and IFI44 target genes than those from healthy controls, indicating increased IFNα activity. Antibody reactivity to specific brain and borrelial proteins was significantly elevated in affected patients. IFNα activity and antibody profile did not change significantly in response to ceftriaxone. The heightened antibody response implies enhanced immune stimulation, possibly due to prolonged exposure to the organism prior to the initial diagnosis and antibiotic treatment of Lyme disease. The increase in IFNα activity is suggestive of a mechanism contributing to the ongoing neuropsychiatric symptoms.

Quirky Lyme disease bacteria: Unlike most organisms, they don't need iron, but crave manganese

 "Scientists have confirmed that the pathogen that causes Lyme Disease -- unlike any other known organism -- can exist without iron, a metal that all other life needs to make proteins and enzymes. Instead of iron, the bacteria substitute manganese to make an essential enzyme, thus eluding immune system defenses that protect the body by starving pathogens of iron."Borrelia burgdorferi requires unusually high levels of manganese, according to scientists at Johns Hopkins University (JHU), Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), and the University of Texas

Researchers show that in some cases, what looks like Lyme could be completely different illness transmitted by same bug

The research raises the question of whether patients with atypical Lyme disease—those who have symptoms but whose blood doesn’t test positive for Lyme—may actually be infected with B. miyamotoi, the newly identified bacteria. Credit: Kelvin Ma
Under the microscope, Sam Telford surveyed the tiny, spiral bacteria floating in spinal fluid taken from an 80-year-old woman. They looked very similar to the spirochete bacteria that can cause Lyme disease. But in fact, he had discovered yet another public health threat—a brand new disease that people can get from the same ticks that transmit the Lyme bacteria."

Chronic or late lyme neuroborreliosis: analysis of evidence compared to chronic or late neurosyphilis.

Whether spirochetes persist in affected host tissues and cause the late/chronic manifestations of neurosyphilis was the subject of long-lasting debate. Detection of Treponema pallidum in the brains of patients with general paresis established a direct link between persisting infection and tertiary manifestations of neurosyphilis. Today, the same question is in the center of debate with respect to Lyme disease. The goal of this review was to compare the established pathological features of neurosyphilis with those available for Lyme neuroborreliosis. If the main tertiary forms of neurosyphilis also occur in Lyme neuroborreliosis and Borrelia burgdorferi can be detected in brain lesions would indicate that the spirochete is responsible for the neuropsychiatric manifestations of late/chronic Lyme neuroborreliosis. The substantial amounts of data available in the literature show that the major forms of late/chronic Lyme neuroborreliosis (meningovascular and meningoencephalitis) are clinically and pathologically confirmed. Borrelia burgdorferi was detected in association with tertiary brain lesions and cultivated from the affected brain or cerebrospinal fluid. The accumulated data also indicate that Borrelia burgdorferi is able to evade from destruction by the host immune reactions, persist in host tissues and sustain chronic infection and inflammation. These observations represent evidences that Borrelia burgdorferi in an analogous way to Treponema pallidum is responsible for the chronic/late manifestations of Lyme neuroborreliosis.Late Lyme neuroborreliosis is accepted by all existing guidelines in Europe, US and Canada. The terms chronic and late are synonymous and both define tertiary neurosyphilis or tertiary Lyme neuroborreliosis. The use of chronic and late Lyme neuroborreliosis as different entities is inaccurate and can be confusing. Further pathological investigations and the detection of spirochetes in infected tissues and body fluids are strongly needed.

Deer ticks carry yet another bacterial threat

People who go outdoors in several regions of the United States may have something else to worry about. Scientists report that there's another troublesome germ hiding in the deer tick that already harbors the Lyme disease bacterium.

Read more at: http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-01-deer-bacterial-threat.html#jCp

Lyme Disease Action Information | Lyme Disease Association

Lyme Disease Action exists to address the current lack of awareness of Lyme disease amongst the public, the medical profession and the Department of Health and its Agencies.

List of diseases spread by deer tick grows, including malaria-like problems and potentially fatal encephalitis

Science Daily: Researchers from the Yale School of Public Health reported that from 2000 to 2008, cases of babesiosis -- which invades red blood cells and is carried by the same tick that causes Lyme disease -- expanded from 30 to 85 towns in Connecticut. Cases of the disease in Connecticut, where it was first reported in 1991, also have risen from 3 to about 100 cases per year.

IgGs containing λ- and κ-type light chains and of all subclasses (IgG1-IgG4) from the sera of patients with autoimmune diseases and viral and bacterial infections hydrolyze DNA.

We present the first evidence demonstrating that small fractions of IgGs of all four subclasses (IgG1-IgG4) from patients with viral (tick-borne encephalitis), bacterial infections (streptococcal infection or erysipelas), and suppurative surgical infections caused by epidermal staphylococci as well as from patients with autoimmune diseases (systemic lupus erythematosus and multiple sclerosis) are catalytically active in the hydrolysis of supercoiled DNA. The hydrolysis of DNA was analyzed by agarose gel electrophoresis. The catalytic activities of nonfractionated IgGs increased in the following order: tick-borne encephalitis < suppurative surgical infection < streptococcal infection < multiple sclerosis < systemic lupus erythematosus, whereas IgGs of healthy donors were inactive. However, the pools of antibodies corresponding to any particular disease were characterized by a specific ratio of IgGs of all four subclasses (IgG1-IgG4) and IgGs containing λ- and κ-type light chains, and each of these subfractions of immunoglobulins demonstrated characteristic relative DNase activity. The relative activities of IgGs containing λ-type light chains may on average be higher, lower, or comparable with those for IgGs with κ-type light chains. The relative contributions of IgGs of different subclasses to the total activity of IgGs also varied widely in the case of various diseases: IgG1 (7%-45%), IgG2 (0.4%-73%), IgG3 (0%-12%), and IgG4 (9%-66%). Thus, immune systems of patients with different diseases can generate a variety of anti-DNA abzymes of different types and with different catalytic properties, which can play an important role in the pathogenesis or protection from the development of these diseases.