The persistence of chronic symptoms in some Lyme disease patients, even after antibiotic treatment, has long baffled medical experts. Recent research has shed light on a potential clue—a heightened immune system marker in the blood known as interferon-alpha.
Published in the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Emerging Infectious Diseases journal on May 9, the study revealed increased levels of interferon-alpha in individuals treated for Lyme disease but still experiencing lingering symptoms.
Interferon-alpha is crucial for signaling the immune system to combat infections, but excessive levels can lead to symptoms like pain, swelling, and fatigue, commonly associated with Lyme disease.
According to Klemen Strle, an assistant research professor at Tufts University and co-author of the study, this immune response might perpetuate chronic inflammation post-infection, contributing to persistent symptoms.
He suggested that existing drugs capable of reducing interferon-alpha levels could potentially offer relief for these patients.
The study, involving 79 Lyme disease patients, established a correlation between high interferon-alpha levels and ongoing symptoms, although it did not confirm causation. Further large-scale clinical trials are needed to validate this connection.
Each year, between 30,000 to 500,000 people contract Lyme disease from tick bites in the United States, with most cases successfully treated using antibiotics. However, around 10% of patients continue to suffer from symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive issues, and pain long after treatment.
This research marks a significant departure from earlier theories that attributed persistent symptoms to specific bacterial strains or residual undetectable infections. Instead, it suggests that individual immune responses to the bacteria play a critical role in symptom persistence.
Dr. Roberta DeBiasi, from Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., praised the study as well-designed and highlighted its potential implications for developing targeted therapies through clinical trials.
For patients like Rebecca Greenberg, who has battled Lyme symptoms since childhood, these findings offer hope for better understanding and treatment of post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS).
Greenberg, now 26, experienced debilitating symptoms including fatigue and nerve pain, exacerbated by psychiatric effects like severe anxiety and depression.
As Lyme disease spreads geographically due to warmer temperatures and climate change, accurate early-stage diagnostics become increasingly critical.
Current tests, primarily based on detecting antibodies, often fail to detect early infections, posing diagnostic challenges that researchers are actively working to address.
Despite the complexity and controversies surrounding chronic Lyme disease diagnoses, experts stress the urgent need for improved testing and research funding to better support affected individuals and advance treatment options.
