"To make diagnosis more scientific, researchers at Columbia's new Lyme center are trying to identify biomarkers, bodily characteristics that signal the disease's presence. In a forthcoming paper coauthored with Fallon, Columbia brain imaging experts led by radiologist Ronald Van Heertum, neuropsychologist Harold Sackeim '72CC, and mathematician James Moeller identify a specific region of the brain in which blood flow appears to be altered by B. burgdorferi. ``This research eventually might tell us whether the Lyme bacteria have invaded the central nervous system,'' Fallon says, ``and therefore whether to risk giving patients the powerful IV antibiotics that are designed to reach nerve cells.''
Fallon and his colleagues recently completed another study that suggests repeated courses of the IV antibiotic Ceftriaxone provide long-term benefits in physical functioning but only short-term cognitive improvement to chronic Lyme patients. The researchers also are investigating the genetic basis of Lyme disease. If they can explain why some people are less effective at fighting the Lyme infection or why their immune systems produce an overly intense inflammatory response, Fallon says, it could open up new treatment possibilities."
``Part of what makes Lyme disease devastating is that there's so much confusion in the medical community,'' Fallon says. ``Now we have two prominent medical organizations saying that the question about antibiotics is closed, but I don't think it's closed. We still don't know what causes chronic Lyme, and evidence suggests that more antibiotics might help some people. At Columbia, we're trying to keep these questions open.''
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