Anti-inflammatory drugs could prevent neurological complications of Lyme disease, according to an American study.
Little known and poorly managed, Lyme disease nevertheless affects more than 27,000 people each year in France. This bacterial infection transmitted by the bite of a tick can lead to disabling joint, heart or neurological damage. If the current treatment with antibiotics proves to be very effective, the work of a team of American researchers could strengthen the therapeutic arsenal against Lyme borreliosis.
Neurological manifestations
About 15% of Lyme disease patients develop neurological manifestations. We speak in this case of Lyme neuroboreliosis. According to an American study published in the journal American Journal of Pathology, these neurological damage could be limited thanks to anti-inflammatory drugs.
In Lyme neuroborreliosis, the disease develops in the peripheral (motor and sensory nerves) and central (brain and spinal cord) nervous system between 5 days and 3 months after the tick bite. These neurological damage is manifested by pain in the area of the bite, facial paralysis, headaches, meningitis or even inflammation of the brain and spinal cord.
12 infected monkeys
To better understand the development of the disease, the team of researchers infected 12 rhesus macaques. Among them, 4 were treated with a steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (AIS), 4 others with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and the last 4 were not receiving treatment. They then followed the course of the infection for 8 weeks for one group and 14 weeks for the other.
The researchers then observed the monkeys treated with AIS had not suffered any neurological complications. The treatment seemed to protect them. Furthermore, NSAIDs were generally ineffective. “These results suggest that inflammation plays a role in the development of Lyme neuroborreliosis,” says Mario Philipp, professor of microbiology and immunology at Tulane National Primate Research Center.
Analysis of the different mechanisms of action of these molecules could allow the development of complementary treatments for Lyme neuroborreliosis.
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