How Does a Strong Immune System Help to Aid in the Treatment of Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is an infective disorder, which can spread to humans due to the bite of blacklegged ticks. The primary cause of Lyme disease includes an exposure to the bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi. The symptoms of this condition include fever, fatigue, headache and a skin rash called erythema migraine. Typical treatment includes prolonged treatment with antibiotics and sometimes steroids. But naturally increasing immune response can greatly improve the efficiency of the treatment of Lyme Disease and prevent complications.
The symptoms of this disease occur in phases. An expanding ring of redness at the site of the tick bite marks the beginning of the initial phase of this illness.
Patients with a weak immune system are prone to develop complications. These complications are associated with the later stages of this disease. At this later stage, it involves multiple organs such as the heart, joints and brain. Patients may develop palsies, meningitis, severe arthritis and nerve damage.
The risk of Lyme disease is higher in children between the ages of 5 and 14 years as well as adults between the ages of 40 and 50 years.
Prevalence of Lyme Disease
According to the CDC (The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), there are about 30,000 patients with Lyme disease every year in the United States. It is also widespread, affecting many parts of the world. The prevalence of this infection is higher in New York, China, Japan, Australia and Europe. There is a need for increasing awareness about the cause of Lyme disease. People should be aware of its symptoms and preventive strategies to control incidence of this disease across the world. There is also a need to educate patients about the role played by the immune system as we are learning about its ability to aid in the treatment of Lyme disease. It is scientifically proven that strengthening the immune system can help in the prevention and aid symptom treatment of this infection. Let us have a look at how a weak immune system can increase the risk of Lyme disease.How does your immune system modify the risk factors and aid in the treatment of Lyme disease?
Affects adaptive immunity
Research studies have indicated a reduced response of the immune system to Borrelia burgdorferi in patients with a weak immune system. This infection can affect the adaptive immunity of patients and cause widespread inflammation in the body thus affecting multiple organs and tissues. It has been observed that γδ T cells are activated following an exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi. The activated γδ T cells, in turn, stimulate the dendritic cells. These produce chemokines and cytokines, which play a role in regulating the adaptive immune response. However, patients having a weak immune system tend to exhibit a blunted adaptive immunity response, which is evident in the forms of a reduced expansion of B and T cells and lower levels of cytokines, chemokines and anti-Borrelia antibodies. These findings suggest that patients with a weak immune system are not able to fight this infection effectively due to which they have a high risk of developing inflammation in vital organs. This indicates the need for strengthening the immune system to aid in the treatment of Lyme disease.