Multiple Sclerosis and Lyme disease are diseases that are difficult to recognize and distinguish from each other. All because they both cause similar neurological symptoms. Could some of the cases treated as MS be in fact Lyme disease for this reason? How to distinguish between these two diseases?

Multiple SclerosisandNeuroborreliosisare diseases that have similar symptoms but different causes.

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the central nervous system caused by autoimmune causes (i.e. the patient's immune system begins to destroy its own cells and tissues because it mistakenly considers them foreign). It damages the nerve tissue, which results in the demyelination of nerve fibers in the brain and spinal cord. It is believed that environmental, genetic, infectious (viral or bacterial) factors and autoimmune processes may be responsible for this.

Lyme disease, on the other hand, is a disease caused by a bacterium of theBorrelia genus, which is transmitted by ticks .The bacteriumBorreliaeasily penetrates the blood-brain barrier and can cause neurological and psychological symptoms. Neuroborreliosis is then diagnosed.

Multiple sclerosis and neuroborreliosis - similar symptoms

The neurological symptoms associated with MS include: changes in sensation, loss of sensitivity, tingling or numbness especially in the limbs, muscle weakness, muscle spasms, poor coordination, difficulty swallowing, visual disturbances, extreme fatigue, acute and chronic pain relief and many others.

The onset and course of Lyme disease are similar.It can cause symptoms such as weakness and fatigue, confusion and cognitive impairment, visual disturbance caused by inflammation of the optic nerve, inflammation of the cranial nerves (e.g. drooping mouth corner, problems with speech, numbness of the tongue, hypersensitivity to sounds and light) or peripheral (e.g. jerking limbs or burning sensation in certain areas of the body).

Neuroborreliosis can also cause psychological symptoms such as depression, memory loss, and irritability. Symptoms of Lyme disease, as in the case of multiple sclerosis, may be recurring.

In addition, Lyme disease can also cause other disorders that are similar to those seen in MS, includingincluding positive results in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain and analysis of the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF).

Important

In Lyme disease, as in multiple sclerosis, autoimmune reactions can develop.The immune system attacks its own cells and tissues in response to the pathogen.Therefore, some people believe that MS may be the body's own response to an infectious agent, such as the bacteriaBorrelia . According to this theory, bacteriaBorreliacan be located on the myelin sheath of the nerve, which can trigger a reaction of the immune system in the form of lymphocytes attacking the bacteria, and thus destroy the myelin sheath.

Multiple sclerosis and neuroborreliosis - different treatments

The symptoms of Lyme disease are very similar to the symptoms of multiple sclerosis (MS) and it is very difficult to distinguish between the two diseases. Thereforean accurate diagnosisis extremely important, especially since the treatment of both cases is different.

Multiple sclerosis is only treated symptomatically , with steroids and immunomodulating drugs.Neuroborreliosis is treated causally , i.e. using therapies against Borrelia . Antibiotics, as well as some herbs, can penetrate the blood-brain barrier and combat not the symptom, but the cause of the disease.

Treatment of neuroborreliosis is based on many months of strong antibiotic therapy.Due to the specificity of Borrelia bacteria, treatment is difficult. TheBorreliabacterium often develops antibiotic resistance, and long-term antibiotic therapies have many side effects, such as organ damage or weakened immunity.

That is why it is worth supporting yourself with natural herbal therapies. Many herbs have strong properties against Borrelia bacteria, but at the same time increase the body's resistance, mobilizing it to fight the disease and have a protective effect on internal organs and the nervous system.

Read:Herbs for Lyme disease

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Herbs in Lyme disease

The most effective herbal protocol for Lyme disease is the regimen developed by the American phytotherapist Stephen Harrod Buhner. The Buhner protocol can be used both with antibiotics and alone. The main herbs from the Buhner Protocol that are used in neuroborreliosis include, inter alia, Japanese knotweed, which is currently considered the best herb for Lyme disease. It also includes herbs such as cat's claw, andrographis,Stefania's root and thorns.

Source: press materials of the Lymeherbs store

Neuroborreliosis

Neuroborreliosis is one form of Lyme disease where the infection affects the nervous system. It may occur, among others as meningitis, radiculitis, or facial nerve paralysis. The course of Lyme disease can occur in two phases - in the early and in the chronic phase. What symptoms are characteristic of neurobereliosis and how it is treated, says our expert Agnieszka Motyl, an epidelmiologist from Medicover.

Category:

Neurology