United States: Standard pneumonia treatment exposures enabled researchers to eliminate Lyme disease from mice using 100 times reduced drug amounts.
The drug administered at reduced measurements preserved most of the animals’ gut microbial populations through its specific pathogen-targeting mechanism.
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The bacteria from the Borrelia genus primarily infect birds and rodents, yet human beings become infected by tick bites that were previously fed to these animals.
The pathogen causes both flu-analogous symptoms and distinctive circular rash patterns in patients.
Medical experts have identified fatigue and aches as severe long-term complications that develop from untreated Lyme disease cases.
New Scientist: 'Lyme disease treated with antibiotic that doesn't harm gut microbiome'
— Billy Hanlon (@bhanlon15) April 23, 2025
'Jutras’s team hopes to test piperacillin in human Lyme disease trials within the next few years.'https://t.co/GgisMCBmwX
Doctors recommend patients take doxycycline at high doses two times per day for an extended period of three weeks to treat the condition.
The treatment stops bacterial protein production for survival; however, it lacks any selective action on Borrelia species.
As per Brandon Jutras at Northwestern University in Illinois, “It wreaks havoc on the normal [gut] microbiome,” newscientist.com reported.
Jutras, together with his colleagues, began by testing 450 different FDA-approved antibiotics in laboratory conditions against Borrelia burgdorferi, which is the primary Lyme disease bacterium.
Lingering Bacterial Debris May Drive Post-Treatment Lyme Symptoms
— Neuroscience News (@NeuroscienceNew) April 24, 2025
A new study reveals that persistent symptoms after Lyme disease treatment may be caused by lingering fragments of the bacteria’s cell wall, specifically a molecule called peptidoglycan.
Unlike in other bacterial… pic.twitter.com/dG3yT8eCUp
Research investigators tested the top pick medications to evaluate their impact on regular bacteria that populate human and mouse intestinal tracts, specifically Escherichia coli bacteria strains.
Research conducted by the scientists indicated piperacillin achieved the highest level of selectivity in destroying B. burgdorferi, an antibiotic that belongs to the penicillin class.
The researchers proceeded to administer B. burgdorferi to 46 mice through injections.
After three weeks passed, the researchers administered different doses of piperacillin or doxycycline to the animals through twice-daily treatments for one week.