An In Vitro Study of the Susceptibility of Mobile and Cystic Forms of Borrelia burgdorferi to Metronidazole
Date of Publication:
June, 1999 Source:
APMIS, 107(6):566-576 Authors: (1) Brorson O; (2) Brorson S. Institution: (1) Department of Microbiology, Vestfold Sentralsykehus, Tonsberg (2) Department of Pathology, Ulleval Hospital, Oslo, Norway Abstract
The aim of this study was to examine the susceptibility of mobile and cystic forms of Borrelia burgdorferi to metronidazole. Because B. burgdorferi is a microaerobic bacterium like Helicobacter pylori, metronidazole (MZ) was chosen in the susceptibility test. For both microaerobic and aerobic incubation the normal mobile spirochetes were resistant to this antibiotic with an MBC >=512 [micro]g/ml.
Conversion of mobile spirochetes to cystic forms was not observed when they were incubated with MZ.
When they were incubated under microaerobic conditions, the biologically active cystic forms had an MBC >=4 [micro]g/ml, but the MBC was >=32 [micro]g/ml with aerobic incubation at 37[degrees]C.
Staining with acridine orange (AO), dark field microscopy (DFM), and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) revealed that the contents of the cysts were degraded when the concentration of MZ was >=MBC.
Some cysts were also ruptured. When incubated with a sufficient concentration of MZ, core structures did not develop inside the cysts, and AO revealed less RNA in the cysts.
Our observations may help efforts to treat resistant infections caused by B. burgdorferi with a combination of MZ and other antibiotics in order to eradicate both cystic and mobile forms of B. burgdorferi. ------------------------------------ Quotations From The Full-Text Article ``Serology, PCR, and cultivation are important for the conclusive diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis, but all these techniques have shortcomings, and false-positive and false-negative results are frequent. Many reports claim that all known antibiotics have shortcomings in the treatment of Lyme borreliosis.
B. burgdorferi has the ability to make cystic forms both in vivo and in vitro, e.g. when exposed to antibiotics commonly used for treating Lyme borreliosis.
This phenomenon, combined with the ability of the cysts to reconvert to normal mobile spirochetes may explain a reactivation of the disease after an illusory cure - and not a ``post Lyme syndrome'' as postulated by other researchers.'' (p.566)
``Helicobacter pylori is also [like B. burgdorferi] capable of transforming to coccoid (cystoid) forms and reversing to normal mobile forms, and for this bacterium treatment with three or more antibiotics has been established.
Therefore duel medication with MZ [metronidazole] as one of the antibiotics could be of value, also for curing infections caused by mobile and cystic forms of B. burgdorferi.
BRORSON's Work on Borrelia burgdorferi
Theres a list for yins
Posted by nellypointis (Member # 1719) on :
quote:Originally posted by 4Seasons: My LLMD just put me on Albendizole for the cyst form of lyme. I can't find any info about using this medicine for the cyst form. Can anybody refer me to any info about it?
Yes, it's albendazole, and I don't think you will find any info related to using albendazole for cyst forms of Bb.
I am also taking albendazole and I am finding it is definitely helping me a lot with my gut symptoms as well as giving me (when I first took it or when I re-take it after a break) the same kind of monster headaches that the nitroimidazoles give me.
Brain clearer after albendazole (// tinidaole for me), but in my case I strongly parasites to be an issue
btw: when I used flubendazole (very similar to albendazole) I sprouted crops of what looked like (and behaved like ie spredaing outwards) secondary EM rashes, so I think the flubendazole either dislodged Bb that were sequestred in Bb cysts or in parasitic unidentified objects