The Problem
Lyme disease makes hundreds of thousands of people sick every year; it is the most commonly reported tick-borne infection in the United States. Children are especially hard-hit by Lyme disease with the highest in incidence among children between the ages of 5 to 14.
Problems with Diagnosis and Treatment
- Some people miss the chance to diagnose the characteristic rash of Lyme disease and do not get treated for the disease at its earliest stage: either they don’t go to their doctor or the doctor doesn’t recognize the diagnostic Lyme rash.
- Some people infected by Lyme disease never have early symptoms or they may mistake the fever and aches for a summer virus.
- Lyme can be hard to diagnose because many of its symptoms are non-specific and occur in many other diseases.
- Lyme disease can infect several parts of the body, such as the joints and nerves, producing different symptoms at different times.
- There is currently no vaccine to prevent Lyme disease.
Without treatment, Lyme disease can become more and more debilitating.
The Needs
There is an urgent need for research into the complex problem of chronic Lyme disease. Physicians need new tools to identify and treat patients who have persistent symptoms even after antibiotic therapy.
Better diagnostic tests and treatments can only be developed through research and expanded knowledge.
The Need for Research
Lyme disease can permanently change a person’s health. Currently, doctors lack the clinical tools to deal with the epidemic of Lyme disease and are searching for answers to help their patients.
- Diagnostic tests cannot yet accurately identify the earliest stage of Lyme disease when making the diagnosis is crucial. Because of this and the inconsistent ability to identify the hallmark rash, early Lyme disease is difficult to diagnose in a community practice setting.
- No objective test to confirm cure and eradication of infection is available.
- Treatment options for patients with persistent symptoms after standard therapy have not been successfully tested or approved by the FDA.
- The lack of research into the cause of persistent symptoms has severely limited the ability of physicians to treat and restore health to Lyme victims.
- There is an urgent need for research leading to clinical tools that can improve the care of patients with Lyme disease.
The Solution
LymeMD is a national leader in the search for solutions to the Lyme disease epidemic. Our mission is to promote research leading to the understanding of Lyme disease and its varied manifestations. At LymeMD, we focus on translating research into clinical practice and we strive for a future where accurate diagnosis and effective treatment will
bring new hope to Lyme disease patients and their families.