UC Davis Finds Lyme Disease Bacteria in Lymph Nodes
by Maejoy Tutor in Diseases on Jun 15, 2011
One of the most significant and considered as threatening and rising diseases in US is the Lyme disease. The bacteria which causes this seems to be hiding particularly in lymph nodes. University of California Davis researchers have reported that this can trigger a considerable immune response, except that it is not too strong to defeat the infection.
The results of this study, which engaged mice, might explain why there are some people who get the disease repeatedly.
Professor Nicole Baumgarth from the UC Davis Center for Comparative Medicine explained that the results suggested that the bacteria which causes Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, have built up a new way in destabilizing the immune response of the infected beings – human, dogs and wildlife.
Moreover, Baumgarth noted, “Borrelia burgdorferi have apparently struck an intricate balance that allows the bacteria to both provoke and elude the animal’s immune response.” She also expressed that on the first prospect, it seems to be contradicting, but the bacteria can actually migrate to lymph nodes which would involuntarily activate an immune response.
One of the traits of Lyme disease is lymphadenopathy or better known as swollen lymph nodes. The researchers from UC Davis conducted a study involving mice to discover why such situation is occurring, the cause of lymph nodes increasing and also to find out the character of the immune response.
Results show that those mice infected with Borrelia burgdorferi gathered these in the lymph nodes. With this, the lymph nodes have responded by means of a strong, swift gathering of white blood cells, which generates antibodies to fight off infections. Researchers also added that the bacteria’s presence also affected the destruction of the very distinctive structure of lymph nodes.
Baumgarth explained, “Overall, these findings suggest that Borrelia burgdorferi hinder the immune system from generating a response that is fully functional and that can persist and protect after repeat infections.” As a conclusion, Baumgarth conveyed that this study might perhaps clarify the queries of people, especially to those who are wondering why people who live in prevalent areas can be infected repeatedly.
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