My friend was just diagnosed with toxoplasmsa and was wondering how this is related to lyme disease, what are the symptoms and how long is the treatment?
Thanks again everyone.
Posted by treepatrol (Member # 4117) on :
CLARITHROMYCIN + MINOCYCLINE AS A TREATMENT FOR CEREBRAL TOXOPLASMOSIS (CT) IN HIV-INFECTED PATIENTS (PTS).
The treatment of CT should not be discontinued in HIV-infected pts. Pyrimethamine in combination with sulfadiazine or clindamycin is the standard therapy, but side-effects of these drugs are reported in 20-30%. of the cases, leading to the discontinuation of the treatment. In such occurence, alternative therapy is required. The efficacy of clarithromycin combined with minocycline was previously reported in mice. We studied the efficiancy of this treatment in HIV-infected pts presenting CT unable to tolerate the conventional treatment. Eight HIV-infected pts (mean CD4+ lymphocyte count = 58/mm� ) were treated for CAT scan-confirmed CT with pyrimethamine 100 mg/d combined with either sulfadiazine 6 g/d (7 pts) or clindamycin 3.6 g/d (1 patient). In all cases, severe side effects (hematologic: 7 pts or diarrhea: 1 patient) percluded the continuation of this therapy. Before these side effects were reported, the mean duration of initial treatment was 114 days (15 - 180). At that time, CT was considered to be cured or significantly improved in all pts who were subsequently treated with clarithromycin 2 g/d + minocycline 200 mg/d. Nausea and vomiting occured after few days of clarithromycin treatment at 2 g/d but disappeared after dosage reduction to 1 g/d. In all the but one pts, this treatment was continued until patient's death and is still ongoing in 2 pts. In one patient, neutropenia reoccured after 11 months and treatment was replaced by atovaquone. No other side effect was noted. Mean duration of follow-up was 11.75 months. No relapse was reported. No Mycobacterium avium complex infection occured in these pts.
Clarithromycin associated with minocycline appeared to be an effective alternative therapy of CT in HIV-infected pts when used after intolerance to standard treatment
Treatment Treatment of toxoplasmosis in immunocompetent patients is usually unnecessary. In immunocompromised patients, the recommended treatment is a combination of pyrimethamine given at 25-100 mg daily and trisulfapyrimidines given at 2-6 g daily, both for a month. This drug combination inhibits dihydrofolate reductase in T. gondii, preventing synthesis of DNA and protein. Folinic acid can also be administered to reduce bone marrow depression caused by the pyrimethamine. Clindamycin has been found to be effective at treating toxoplasma encephalitis in AIDS patients.
In acutely infected pregnant women, the recommended treatment includes spiramycin if the fetus has not yet acquired toxoplasmosis. Spiramycin is an antibiotic that localizes to the placenta and has been shown to reduce placental infection by 60%. It does have some teratogenic effects, which must be weighed against the risk of congenital infection. If the fetus is infected, the aforementioned drug combination is administered instead of spiramycin.
hey, I was shortly positive in arm-testing for toxoplasmosis after a bad cat scratch. I did not really feel it but poeple are sopposed to more prone to take risks if they have it or had it. With me it went away on its own, even though my immune system isnt the best and constantly has to deal with lyme and colds.... once we need to get lucky Petra
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