Lyme persistence and use of combination therapies

Researchers at Tulane University have found that a combination of antibiotics is more effective in treating Lyme disease than the commonly prescribed course of one single antibiotic. This finding, published in Frontiers in Microbiology, could pave the way for improved Lyme disease treatments, particularly in persistent cases that have not responded to standard antibiotic treatment.

While none of the single antibiotics completely eradicated the persistent infection after a 28-day treatment course, several combination therapies of already FDA-approved drugs, were successful in clearing the infection. Specifically, four different dual combinations of antibiotics (doxycycline and ceftriaxone; dapsone and rifampicin; dapsone and clofazimine; doxycycline and cefotaxime) and three triple combinations of antibiotics and antimicrobials (doxycycline, ceftriaxone and carbomycin; doxycycline, cefotaxime and loratadine; dapsone, rifampicin and clofazimine) eradicated persistent infections of the bacteria. These results suggest a need for further studies of combination antibiotic therapies in successfully eradicating Lyme disease.

Dr. Monica Embers, the lead researcher on the study, will discuss why Lyme persists and how her recent research may help to address it.