MaineHealth, Tufts Launch $20.7 Million Chronic Lyme Study as Maine Logs 4,257 Cases
Updated
Updated · Press Herald · Jun 11
MaineHealth, Tufts Launch $20.7 Million Chronic Lyme Study as Maine Logs 4,257 Cases
1 articles · Updated · Press Herald · Jun 11
Summary
$20.7 million in NIH funding is backing a five-year MaineHealth-Tufts study that has begun tracking 60 Maine patients within 48 hours of Lyme infection to see who develops persistent symptoms.
Researchers are testing whether any of 15 Lyme bacterial strains, immune responses or genetic factors help explain post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome, which scientists estimate affects 5% to 20% of Lyme patients.
Maine recorded a record 4,257 Lyme cases last year, underscoring the public-health pressure behind the project as ticks expand their range and proven treatments for chronic symptoms remain elusive.
Patients interviewed described years of fatigue, pain and disbelief from doctors, while experts said chronic Lyme is hard to diagnose and warned that long-term antibiotics lack proof and can trigger complications such as C. diff.
With causes still unclear, the study aims to expand to 1,000 patients in Maine and Massachusetts and ultimately guide better treatment, while health officials keep emphasizing tick-bite prevention.