Are there phage therapy options for persistant lyme disease? Lyme disease is caused by the pathogen Borrelia burgdorferi. A quick pubmed search ([1],[2]) turned up two papers describing phage that interact with Borrelia.
Neither discussed their suitability for phage therapy. The most recent investigated phages as a potential mechanism for horizontal gene transfer b/w Borrelia burgdorferi: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27811049
They seem to have developed phages for clinical treatment of chronic infections (perhaps biofilm mediated) of typical pathogens, and suggest that patients suffering from chronic lyme disease may actually be testing false-positive for Borrelia, and if so, may actually be suffering from chronic biofilm-mediated infection of a more common pathogen. In their words:
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Sometimes patients who have a legitimate, or otherwise, diagnosis of Chronic Lyme Disease, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue are actually suffering from a toxin overload that is produced by a particular strain of bacteria. By clearing the treatable bacterial infections and utilizing various techniques to help reduce the toxin loads, there can be much improvement in the patient's overall condition.
Patients who have or who have had Lyme and Lyme co-infections may have serious damage to their immune systems, making them more susceptible to infection. Chronic infections are biofilms, they are colonies of a number of bacteria that together form colonies in various parts of the body - the sinuses, urinary tract, prostate and elsewhere that are inherently more resistant to antibiotics. While in-vitro lab tests may show sensitivity to various antibacterials, such infections typically do not respond to antibiotics. Dr. Tim Lu (MIT), a professor at MIT, explains why biofilms are antibiotic resistant, and why bacteriophage therapy can be effective:
"A classic example of a patient who had a Western Blot test that detected antibodies for Borrelia bergdorferi: Laura Roberts nearly died from her "non-Lyme co-infection", due to a deadly strain of MRSA which was detected by the lab. There are other similar cases." - Dr. Tim Lu - Biofilms and Phage Therapy
To reiterate, if your infection is a biofilm containing Borrelia or any of the Lyme co-infections, phage therapy from our clinic is NOT going to help you. If the infection is caused by one of the treatable genuses (Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., E. coli, Proteus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Clostridium difficile (C.Diff), Klebsiella spp., Morganella spp. and several others) there is a good chance we can - but NO GUARANTEE. You will need to test for the presence of these treatable pathogens and even if they are cleared, sometimes symptoms will persist.
Neither discussed their suitability for phage therapy. The most recent investigated phages as a potential mechanism for horizontal gene transfer b/w Borrelia burgdorferi: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27811049
More searching led me to a page titled "Chronic Lime Disease" at the "Phage Therapy Center": https://www.phagetherapycenter.com/pii/PatientServlet?comman...
They seem to have developed phages for clinical treatment of chronic infections (perhaps biofilm mediated) of typical pathogens, and suggest that patients suffering from chronic lyme disease may actually be testing false-positive for Borrelia, and if so, may actually be suffering from chronic biofilm-mediated infection of a more common pathogen. In their words:
>>>> quote <<<<
Sometimes patients who have a legitimate, or otherwise, diagnosis of Chronic Lyme Disease, fibromyalgia or chronic fatigue are actually suffering from a toxin overload that is produced by a particular strain of bacteria. By clearing the treatable bacterial infections and utilizing various techniques to help reduce the toxin loads, there can be much improvement in the patient's overall condition.
Patients who have or who have had Lyme and Lyme co-infections may have serious damage to their immune systems, making them more susceptible to infection. Chronic infections are biofilms, they are colonies of a number of bacteria that together form colonies in various parts of the body - the sinuses, urinary tract, prostate and elsewhere that are inherently more resistant to antibiotics. While in-vitro lab tests may show sensitivity to various antibacterials, such infections typically do not respond to antibiotics. Dr. Tim Lu (MIT), a professor at MIT, explains why biofilms are antibiotic resistant, and why bacteriophage therapy can be effective:
"A classic example of a patient who had a Western Blot test that detected antibodies for Borrelia bergdorferi: Laura Roberts nearly died from her "non-Lyme co-infection", due to a deadly strain of MRSA which was detected by the lab. There are other similar cases." - Dr. Tim Lu - Biofilms and Phage Therapy
To reiterate, if your infection is a biofilm containing Borrelia or any of the Lyme co-infections, phage therapy from our clinic is NOT going to help you. If the infection is caused by one of the treatable genuses (Staphylococcus spp., Streptococcus spp., Enterococcus spp., E. coli, Proteus spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Shigella spp., Clostridium difficile (C.Diff), Klebsiella spp., Morganella spp. and several others) there is a good chance we can - but NO GUARANTEE. You will need to test for the presence of these treatable pathogens and even if they are cleared, sometimes symptoms will persist.
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[1] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=%22Borrelia%22%5BM...
[2] https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed?term=%22Borrelia%2Fvirol...