2023-06-08 09:57:50
This is what a research team wanted to verify, by measuring the levels of twenty different cytokines (immunity mediators) in the blood serum and in the cerebrospinal fluid of 79 patients followed for a year. At the start of the study, most cytokines were highly concentrated at the site of infection (place of tick bite). These cytokines disappeared after antibiotic therapy.
On the other hand, the symptoms which persisted after the use of antibiotics were associated, in the persons concerned, with increased levels of interferon alpha (IFN-α) in the blood. The concentration of these proteins produced by the immune system was high when patients’ complaints about their symptoms were strongest. Furthermore, the higher levels of interferon alpha corresponded to the most severe caseswhile patients whose symptoms had resolved showed the lowest rates.
IFN-α is a pro-inflammatory cytokine already associated with autoimmune diseases such as inflammatory myopathies or lupus erythematosus, two autoimmune pathologies. Even after the bacteria that cause Lyme borreliosis have been eradicated, neurological complications remain possible. They could be due to a immune system disorder resulting in low-grade systemic inflammation in the central nervous system.
For this reason, Dr. Klemen Strle, lead author of the study, questions the relevance of making use of immunosuppressive drugs in the treatment of neuroborreliosis. This finding remains to be confirmed by larger studies. As for natural medicines, immunoregulatory substances, in particular therapeutic mushrooms (Reishi, Maïtake, Shiitake, Sun Mushroom, etc.), rich in beta-glucans that modulate immunity, could also have their part to play. Their activity on pro-inflammatory cytokines is already in the scientific literature.
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