Disulfiram (Tetraethylthiuram Disulfide) in the Treatment of Lyme Disease and Babesiosis: Report of Experience in Three Cases

Liegner, Kenneth B.

doi:10.3390/antibiotics8020072

Cited by 33 publications

(46 citation statements)

References 105 publications

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“…Case reports are a very useful approach for drawing attention to the possible effectiveness of a new treatment. Undoubtedly, the case report published by Liegner (27) has played such a role. However, the next logical step should have been to examine the potential toxicity of DSF for Lyme patients.…”

Section: Basic Science Vs Social Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, evidence to support this claim is not provided. The clinical trial document refers to three previous articles (22,26,27). In 2016, Pothineni et al published an in vitro high-throughput screening of more than 4,300 drug candidates, against Borrelia burgdorferi grown to its stationary-phase (26).…”

Section: A Clinical Trial With Dsf For Treating Lyme Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In 2017, Dr. Long has shown that, in vitro, DSF is cytostatic for Grampositive bacteria, such as Staphylococcus or Streptococcus, but not for Gram-negative species (22). Finally, in 2019, Dr. Liegner reported three cases of patients who had been treated with DSF after a Lyme Disease that had lasted for several years with heavy treatments (27). For instance, at one point, one patient simultaneously took amoxicillin, clarithromycin, hydroxychloroquine, metronidazole, atovaquone / proguanil, and amitriptyline.…”

Section: A Clinical Trial With Dsf For Treating Lyme Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

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Potential Patient-Reported Toxicities With Disulfiram Treatment in Late Disseminated Lyme Disease

Trautmann

Gascan

Ghozzi³

2020

Front. Med.

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Recently, disulfiram has been proposed as a promising treatment for people suffering from persistent symptoms of Lyme Disease. Disulfiram has several distinct molecular targets. The most well-known is alcohol dehydrogenase, a key enzyme for detoxifying the organism after alcohol ingestion. Other targets and modes of action of disulfiram, that may present problematic side effects, are less commonly mentioned. The French Federation against Tick Borne Diseases (French acronym, FFMVT), which associates three main Lyme patient organizations, MDs and PhDs, has recently been alerted to severe and persistent toxic events in a patient suffering from a late disseminated form of Lyme Disease following disulfiram intake. FFMVT reacted by launching a national call to examine whether other patients in France following a similar treatment could be identified, and what benefits, or side effects could be reported. The statements of 16 patients taking disulfiram have been collected and are presented here. Thirteen out of 16 patients reported toxic events, and seven out of 16 reported benefits for at least part of their symptoms. Based on the collected observations, it seems too early to promote disulfiram as a promising new treatment until the reasons underlying the reported toxicities have been explored, and the results of a well-conducted double blind clinical trial published. The importance of taking into account patient-reported outcomes in Lyme Disease is underlined by the present study.

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Section: Basic Science Vs Social Networkmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Clinical Trial With Dsf For Treating Lyme Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

Section: A Clinical Trial With Dsf For Treating Lyme Diseasementioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Potential Patient-Reported Toxicities With Disulfiram Treatment in Late Disseminated Lyme Disease

Trautmann

Gascan

Ghozzi³

2020

Front. Med.

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“…Dapsone, a drug used for dermatological pathologies such as acne and leprosy, has shown some efficacy for treating persistent Lyme symptoms in a preliminary clinical trial [289]. An anti-alcoholism drug, disulfiram, demonstrated positive outcomes for three patients with relapsing neuroborreliosis symptoms who were monitored on the drug after conventional treatment failed to adequately control their disease [290], and a clinical trial has been initiated to study the safety of disulfiram treatment for post-treatment LD symptoms (clinicaltrials.gov, NCT 03891667).…”

Section: Clinical Antibiotic Treatmentmentioning

confidence: 99%

Lyme Disease Frontiers: Reconciling Borrelia Biology and Clinical Conundrums

Bamm

Mainprize

et al. 2019

Pathogens

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Lyme disease is a complex tick-borne zoonosis that poses an escalating public health threat in several parts of the world, despite sophisticated healthcare infrastructure and decades of effort to address the problem. Concepts like the true burden of the illness, from incidence rates to longstanding consequences of infection, and optimal case management, also remain shrouded in controversy. At the heart of this multidisciplinary issue are the causative spirochetal pathogens belonging to the Borrelia Lyme complex. Their unusual physiology and versatile lifestyle have challenged microbiologists, and may also hold the key to unlocking mysteries of the disease. The goal of this review is therefore to integrate established and emerging concepts of Borrelia biology and pathogenesis, and position them in the broader context of biomedical research and clinical practice. We begin by considering the conventions around diagnosing and characterizing Lyme disease that have served as a conceptual framework for the discipline. We then explore virulence from the perspective of both host (genetic and environmental predispositions) and pathogen (serotypes, dissemination, and immune modulation), as well as considering antimicrobial strategies (lab methodology, resistance, persistence, and clinical application), and borrelial adaptations of hypothesized medical significance (phenotypic plasticity or pleomorphy).

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“…Once established in the human body, this babesial piroplasm is refractory, and recalcitrant to treat with standard antimicrobials. When human babesiosis is advanced, this zoonosis is commonly recrudescent, and often associated with the presence of severe anemia and persistent parasitemia [99,[109][110][111].…”

Section: Impact Of Babesia and Bbsl On Humansmentioning

confidence: 99%

Detection and Transstadial Passage of Babesia Species and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in Ticks Collected from Avian and Mammalian Hosts in Canada

et al. 2019

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Lyme disease and human babesiosis are the most common tick-borne zoonoses in the Temperate Zone of North America. The number of infected patients has continued to rise globally, and these zoonoses pose a major healthcare threat. This tick-host-pathogen study was conducted to test for infectious microbes associated with Lyme disease and human babesiosis in Canada. Using the flagellin (flaB) gene, three members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) complex were detected, namely a Borrelia lanei-like spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (Bbss), and a distinct strain that may represent a separate Bbsl genospecies. This novel Bbsl strain was detected in a mouse tick, Ixodes muris, collected from a House Wren, Troglodytes aedon, in Quebec during the southward fall migration. The presence of Bbsl in bird-feeding larvae of I. muris suggests reservoir competency in three passerines (i.e., Common Yellowthroat, House Wren, Magnolia Warbler). Based on the 18S ribosomal RNA (rRNA) gene, three Babesia species (i.e., Babesia divergens-like, Babesia microti, Babesia odocoilei) were detected in field-collected ticks. Not only was B. odocoilei found in songbird-derived ticks, this piroplasm was apparent in adult questing blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, in southern Canada. By allowing live, engorged ticks to molt, we confirm the transstadial passage of Bbsl in I. muris and B. odocoilei in I. scapularis. Bbss and Babesia microti were detected concurrently in a groundhog tick, Ixodes cookei, in Western Ontario. In Alberta, a winter tick, Dermacentor albipictus, which was collected from a moose, Alces alces, tested positive for Bbss. Notably, a B. divergens-like piroplasm was detected in a rabbit tick, Haemaphysalis leporispalustris, collected from an eastern cottontail in southern Manitoba; this Babesia species is a first-time discovery in Canada. This rabbit tick was also co-infected with Borrelia lanei-like spirochetes, which constitutes a first in Canada. Overall, five ticks were concurrently infected with Babesia and Bbsl pathogens and, after the molt, could potentially co-infect humans. Notably, we provide the first authentic report of I. scapularis ticks co-infected with Bbsl and B. odocoilei in Canada. The full extent of infectious microorganisms transmitted to humans by ticks is not fully elucidated, and clinicians need to be aware of the complexity of these tick-transmitted enzootic agents on human health. Diagnosis and treatment must be administered by those with accredited medical training in tick-borne zoonosis.

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Disulfiram (Tetraethylthiuram Disulfide) in the Treatment of Lyme Disease and Babesiosis: Report of Experience in Three Cases

Cited by 33 publications

References 105 publications

Potential Patient-Reported Toxicities With Disulfiram Treatment in Late Disseminated Lyme Disease

Potential Patient-Reported Toxicities With Disulfiram Treatment in Late Disseminated Lyme Disease

Lyme Disease Frontiers: Reconciling Borrelia Biology and Clinical Conundrums

Detection and Transstadial Passage of Babesia Species and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato in Ticks Collected from Avian and Mammalian Hosts in Canada

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