Test finds that Lyme PrEP is 100% Effective against Lyme Disease

Jun 9, 2020 by Kamran Ahmed

A vaccine has yet to be developed to prevent humans from contracting Lyme disease, but now researchers claimed to have developed an annual antibody shot that shows promise against this debilitating disease. 

 

Mark Klempner, a professor of Medicine and Executive Vice Chancellor for Mass Biologics at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, and his colleagues have made a breakthrough in treating Lyme disease with a novel method treatment they call Lyme PrEP.

 

Lyme PrEP is an antibody that is administered to patients in the form of an injection. Unlike a vaccine that triggers the person's immune system to create antibodies, the new treatment directly delivers a single antibody to the patient's body.

 

The new treatment is yet to be tested on humans, however, investigators have successfully tested it on mice who displayed 100% protection to the disease.

 

The first phase of clinical trials is expected to take place by the end of 2020. If the trials are successful, the antibody shot will be administered once a year, with the expectation it will last for the nine months of tick season. 

 

Moreover, it will have very minimal side effects since it is based on a single and defined antibody. Researchers believe they can complete more extensive studies into the disease and protection against it by 2023. 

 

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, around 300,000 US citizens contract Lyme disease each year. It is an illness that is caused by a tick bite, insects that are very common in the United States. The symptoms include fatigue, fever, muscle, and joint aches, headache, and swollen lymph glands.

 

In 1998, a vaccine was created, but its production came to a halt within three years of being started after becoming a subject of controversy despite showing promising results.

 

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