Scientist discover possible Lyme Disease breakthrough | The Woodsman Hut | Forums

My SIL had this, what a nasty disease

Researchers working to develop a way to prevent Lyme disease say they've had promising results with an unusual approach that stimulates the immune system to ward off infection.

They've developed a lab-engineered antibody that they say could protect against Lyme for a whole season. Tests in mice show it completely protects them against the Borrelia bacteria that cause the disease, the team told a meeting in San Diego of infectious disease experts.

It's called a monoclonal antibody and is not a vaccine, but an approach that builds on the gamma globulin shots that were once frequently used to try to prevent tuberculosis and hepatitis, says Dr. Mark Klempner of the University of Massachusetts' nonprofit vaccine development arm, MassBiologics.

"This is not a vaccine and has many advantages over a vaccine," Klempner told NBC News. "The way a vaccine works is that you give people pieces of the bacteria or the virus that you are interested in preventing and then the body mounts a big immune response."

more http://www.nbcnews.c.....ay-n441946