Lyme disease is a serious, infectious disease carried by the deer-tick. It is most prevalent in the northern northeastern part of the United States. Caused by several tick-born bacteria, Lyme disease is transmitted to both humans and animals. Numerous symptoms develop in patients with Lyme disease, some after the initial infection and others lingering long after treatment has been completed. The conventional treatment for Lyme disease is antibiotic therapy, and there are also certain alternative therapies available. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Merck Manual, a great number of cases see serious symptoms reported years later.
Initial Stages of Infection
If treatment is begun soon after the first sign of infection takes place, the prognosis is good for a complete recovery, states the CDC website on Lyme disease. Left untreated, symptoms become more widely spread, showing up in various tissues of the body and becoming more subtle. Problems can arise in the form of Bell's palsy, affecting the facial muscles, stiffness in the neck from meningitis, pains interfering with sleep, heart symptoms with concomitant dizziness and arthritis. Many of these symptoms resolve with antibiotics or even without treatment, but not all.
Recurring Long Term Symptoms
The CDC goes on to say that about 60 percent of patients who remain untreated for Lyme disease go on to experience intermittent arthritis, especially in large joints and most notably in the knees. Swelling, stiffness and inflammation develop, and in some people this becomes a life long problem.
Neurological indications may appear in a recurring manner months to years after the onset of disease. Shooting pains, tingling in hands and feet and cognitive problems with attention span and memory develop.
Long Term Antibiotic Treatment
In a study conducted at the Boston University School of Medicine, Mark S. Klempner, M.D. concluded, "Based on experience with other chronic infectious diseases caused by persisting bacteria...we think it is unlikely that a longer course of treatment or different antibiotic combination would result in greater improvement than what we found in these studies." The volunteers in the study reported that in spite of previous antibiotic treatment, persistent joint and muscle pain lingered as well as memory problems and difficulty thinking.
Auto-Immune Effects
Research has found, in certain patients, recurring Lyme disease pathology lasting months to years beyond treatment with antibiotics, reports the CDC. The Merck Manual explains that symptoms and pain experienced can include not only arthritis and cognitive dysfunction, but sleep disturbance, fatigue, lymphocytic meningitis, sensory or motor disturbances, myocardial (heart) abnormalities, chest pain, swellings, low-grade fever, antibiotic-sensitive skin lesion, mood and memory disorders.
The cause of these long term, recurring symptoms is unknown. The CDC mentions that there is some evidence that they result from an auto-immune response where the person's system responds even after the initial infection has been cleared.
