Address of Corresponding Author

Chemotherapy 2006;52:53-59 (DOI: 10.1159/000091726)

  Key Words

• Anaplasma
• Babesia
• Bartonella
• Borrelia
• Coinfections
• Ehrlichia
• Lyme disease

  Abstract

Lyme disease represents a growing public health threat. Recent molecular and genetic studies have confirmed that Borrelia burgdorferi, the spirochetal agent of Lyme disease, is one of the most complex bacteria known to man. Affinity for multiple cell types and the presence of non-replicating forms of B. burgdorferi have contributed to persistent infection and failure of simple antibiotic regimens. The controversial clinical science of Lyme disease has impeded reliable diagnosis and effective treatment of this protean illness. Two major clinical hurdles are the absence of a therapeutic endpoint in treatingLyme disease and the presence of tick-borne coinfections that may complicate the course of the illness. New strategies for the diagnosis, treatment and prevention of Lyme disease are urgently needed.

Copyright © 2006 S. Karger AG, Basel

  Author Contacts

Raphael B. Stricker, MD
California Pacific Medical Center
450 Sutter Street, Suite 1504
San Francisco, CA 94108 (USA)
Tel. +1 415 399 1035, Fax +1 415 399 1057, E-Mail rstricker@usmamed.com

  Article Information

Presented at the 1st World Conference on Magic Bullets - EHRLICH 2004, Nürnberg, Germany, September 9-11, 2004.

Received: September 22, 2004
Accepted after revision: June 20, 2005
Published online: February 22, 2006
Number of Print Pages : 7
Number of Figures : 0, Number of Tables : 0, Number of References : 92