Advocacy group considers new Lyme research ‘groundbreaking’
Even after they are treated with antibiotics for Lyme disease, some people report lingering symptoms that include fatigue, memory loss and pain, which are similar to the symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
Excerpted from StamfordAdvocate.com ( Posted: 02/06/2011 )
Lyme disease and chronic fatigue syndrome often seem like similar illnesses, but scientists have discovered that proteins in spinal fluid could help distinguish between the two, leading to better diagnosis and treatment.
Even after they are treated with antibiotics for Lyme disease, some people report lingering symptoms that include fatigue, memory loss and pain, which are similar to the symptoms associated with chronic fatigue syndrome.
In a study that was partially funded by Greenwich-based Time for Lyme, researchers examined spinal fluid samples of patients with post-treatment Lyme disease and chronic fatigue syndrome, as well as healthy volunteers. They found hundreds of unique proteins in each group of patients.
The study, led by Dr. Steven Schutzer of the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey–New Jersey Medical School and Dr. Thomas Angel of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, in the Feb. 23 issue of PLoS One.
Officials from Time for Lyme, which advocates for better research into and treatment of the tick-borne illness, consider the study groundbreaking.
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