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Page: << Prev | 1 | 2 | 3 | Next >> Efforts to develop a vaccine for either Lyme disease or anaplasmosis haven't met with much success. So, doctors stress prevention measures when outdoors, such as the use of insect repellants with DEET and covering up with clothing.
As for treatment, the CDC suggests that two to four weeks of repeated oral antibiotics -- such as doxycyline, amoxicillin, and cefuroxime axetil -- can effectively treat most patients, particularly when the infection is caught early.
But, some doctors and patient-advocacy groups have argued that chronic infections may require a much longer antibiotic regimen -- despite treatment guidelines issued in 2006 by the Infectious Disease Society of America that warned that long-term antibiotic use raises the risk for drug resistance and medical complications.
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Searching for a way to address such concerns, Zeidner and his colleagues focused on the potential benefits of a single dose sustained-release version of the antibiotic doxycycline. They noted that a standard single oral dose of the drug is quickly cleared from the body (about eight hours) -- requiring continuous and repeated use. By contrast, the sustained-release version is injected and continues to circulate for approximately 19 days after delivery.
In their mice study, the researchers exposed 6-week-old female mice to ticks infected with both Lyme disease and anaplasmosis. Three days after infection, some mice were randomly assigned to receive a single dose of either oral or sustained-release injected doxycycline, while others were given just water or a non-antibiotic compound.
The results: 100 percent of the mice injected with the long-acting antibiotic were fully protected from developing either disease. Only 20 percent to 30 percent of the mice given the oral antibiotic were similarly protected, the researchers said.
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