A new
look at lyme disease
Springfield News
Sun
Springfield, MA
16 Nov 2003
(HealthScoutNews)
— Many cases of Lyme disease are misdiagnosed or go undiagnosed.
So says the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS).
The US Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates there are 19,000 new cases
of Lyme disease in the United States each year. However, ILADS doctors
say the number of new infections may be more than 200,000.
Lyme disease was
first recognized in 1977 in Connecticut. Since then, tens of thousands
of people with Lyme disease have been misdiagnosed with Fibromyalgia,
chronic fatigue and multiple sclerosis, ILADS says.
By the time they’re
correctly diagnosed, some people with Lyme disease are in the chronic
stage and treatment is much more difficult. Lyme disease can cause health
complications ranging from seizures to retinitis to sudden cardiac death.
Many doctors don’t
know how to recognize Lyme disease and have to rely on outdated diagnosis
and treatment information, ILADS says.
To address the problem,
ILADS recently introduced new detection and treatment guidelines for Lyme
disease.
Doctors are often
told to look for a red bull’s eye rash caused by a tick infected
with Lyme disease. However, ILADS experts say less than half those with
Lyme disease develop a rash and fewer than half ever recall getting a
tick bite.
ILADS says doctors
need to look for a wider range of complaints that may indicate Lyme disease.
These include fever, joint pain or arthritis, facial palsy, headaches,
dizziness, sudden weight change, fatigue, mood swings, memory loss, depression
and disorientation.
An enzyme-linked
immunosorbent (ELISA) test is used by most doctors to detect Lyme disease.
However, ILADS says doctors need to do a variety of tests to assess Lyme
antigens and antibodies and to detect Lyme DNA.
The new ILADS guidelines
also call for more aggressive treatment of Lyme disease in both early
and late stages. Current recommendations for early Lyme disease call for
two to three weeks of treatment with oral antibiotics.
ILADS says that’s
not sufficient and recommends six to eight weeks of oral antibiotics to
treat early stage cases of Lyme disease. People with chronic Lyme disease
may need to take antibiotics even longer and may also need to take them
intravenously.
More Information:
You can learn more
at the Lyme Disease Network, www.lymenet.org
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