Severe Lyme disease may lead to other ills, UMDNJ study finds

Tuesday, March 01, 2005

BY ANGELA STEWART
Star-Ledger Staff

People who suffer from a prolonged, more severe form of Lyme disease
also may be prone to developing autoimmune illnesses such as arthritis and
heart disease, a new study shows.

Researchers at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey in
Newark made the discovery in a laboratory study of mice, where they found
genetic similarities between the bacteria that cause Lyme and other bacteria
known to trigger various autoimmune diseases.

"These mice had a worse (Lyme) disease, much more chronic and it lasted for
a long time," said Elizabeth Raveche, an immunologist at the UMDNJ-New
Jersey Medical School and principal investigator for the study. "That
gives some insight as to what happens in humans, as not everyone who gets
Lyme ends up with a lifelong problem, but some individuals do."

The research appears in the latest issue of the Journal of Clinical
Microbiology.

Lyme disease, caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted by
a tick bite, peaks in the spring and summer months. It can affect the skin,
nervous system, joints and heart. Individuals can develop a bull's eye
rash surrounding the site of the tick bite.

In the study, Raveche and her colleague, Steven Schutzer, another UMDNJ
immunologist, found that the Osp-A protein of the Lyme bacteria shared
molecular similarities with another protein, Streptococcus pyogenes M,
known to cause autoimmune diseases, including rheumatic heart disease and
arthritis.

According to Raveche, in certain individuals with Lyme, antibodies produced
to fight the condition also can cross-react with one's own tissues and cause
prolonged illness in people genetically predisposed to autoimmune disease.

"All the mice had a genetically programmed immune defect leading them to
produce antibodies capable of reacting with the (Lyme) bacteria as well as
their own tissues, resulting in arthritis," she said.

"This may show some of the reasons why people react differently and why Lyme
causes such a chronic illness in some people and mild disease in others,"
said Elizabeth Chalom, pediatric rheumatologist on staff at Saint
Barnabas Medical Center in Livingston,.

Chalom said the same pattern is true in the many people who develop strep
throat, with only a few of those individuals going on to develop acute rheumatic fever, which is a bacterial joint infection.

"The antibodies their body makes to fight the strep can cross-react and
cause arthritis," she said.

Raveche said a second study is underway that will attempt to further identify a target gene that could interfere with the cross-reaction process so that severe Lyme symptoms won't develop in people prone to
autoimmune illnesses.

Angela Stewart writes about health care. She may be reached by e-mail
at
[email protected] or at (973) 392-4178.

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