Studies by Kim Lewis, at Northeastern University in Boston, show that some Borrelia form persister (dormant) cells that evade antibiotics, so the best way to attack them is pulsing (on and off) instead of continuous use of antibiotics. “The trick is to give the dormant cells time to wake up,” said Lewis. Now that the idea has been proved in animal labs, the next step is to do human trials.
Mary Dell Harrington, 59, of Larchmont, N.Y., considers herself lucky. In 2009, she caught Lyme disease from a tick bite but recovered after taking antibiotics.
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