Post by LymeEnigma on Dec 27, 2008 13:49:16 GMT -8
Depression and the chronic pain syndrome fibromyalgia are common in patients who suffer from chronic Lyme disease and seem to correlate with poor functional outcomes, results of a study indicate.
The term chronic Lyme disease describes patients with persistent Lyme disease despite prior treatment with a conventional 2- to 4-week course of antibiotics.
Dr. Afton L. Hassett from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick and colleagues studied 159 patients seen at an academic Lyme disease referral center.
They evaluated the prevalence and role of psychiatric "co-morbid" illness and psychological factors in 77 patients with chronic Lyme disease and 82 (comparison) patients without chronic Lyme disease. The comparison patients either recovered from Lyme disease or had Lyme-like symptoms explained by other conditions.
The investigators found that depression and anxiety disorders were far more prevalent in chronic Lyme disease patients than in comparison patients.
The term chronic Lyme disease describes patients with persistent Lyme disease despite prior treatment with a conventional 2- to 4-week course of antibiotics.
Dr. Afton L. Hassett from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick and colleagues studied 159 patients seen at an academic Lyme disease referral center.
They evaluated the prevalence and role of psychiatric "co-morbid" illness and psychological factors in 77 patients with chronic Lyme disease and 82 (comparison) patients without chronic Lyme disease. The comparison patients either recovered from Lyme disease or had Lyme-like symptoms explained by other conditions.
The investigators found that depression and anxiety disorders were far more prevalent in chronic Lyme disease patients than in comparison patients.
Read the full article:
in.reuters.com/article/health/idINTRE4BP23320081226