http://www.columbia-lyme.org/flatp/breaknewsfull.html#8-04

Persistent Lyme Disease responds to additional antibiotic therapy in an uncontrolled trial (6/2000) 

Dr. Brian Fallon and colleagues of Columbia University reported in the Fall 1999 issue of the Journal of Spirochetal and Tick Borne Diseases that a repeated course of intravenous antibiotic therapy results in marked improvement in memory, attention, and overall functioning. 

Enrolled in the study were 23 patients with complaints of persistent memory problems who had previously received 4-16 weeks of intravenous antibiotic therapy for Lyme disease. Patients were tested at baseline and 4 months later. During this interval, the private physician determined treatment (intravenous, intramuscular, oral, or none). 

Assessments included standardized measures of cognition, depression, anxiety, and functional status. Between times 1 and 2, 5 patients were given no antibiotics and 18 were given additional antibiotics: 7 intravenously, 4 intramuscularly, and 7 orally. 

At time 1, there were no statistically significant group differences in cognition, depression, or anxiety between those who later received antibiotics and those who didn.t. At time 1, the 23 patients were also quite functionally disabled . far more disabled in fact than patients in other studies with congestive heart failure, type 1 diabetes mellitus, and major depression. 

At time 2, compared to patients who received no antibiotics and compared to patients who received a continuation of oral antibiotics, patients given intravenous antibiotics showed the greatest functional improvement (pain, physical functioning, energy) and the most cognitive improvement . even when controlling for differences in cognition at baseline between the groups. 

Of considerable interest was that patients who did not have a positive Western blot result currently or historically were just as likely to benefit from the repeated course of antibiotic therapy as patients who had fully reactive IgM or IgG Western blot results. 

This uncontrolled study suggested that repeated antibiotic treatment can be beneficial, even among patients who have been previously treated and even among patients who currently have negative Western blot test results, with the intravenous route of treatment being the most effective. The pilot data from this study served as the background to support the recent award to Dr. Fallon to conduct a placebo-controlled treatment study of persistent Lyme Disease. The full text of this article can be found at www.medscape.com.