Understanding Persistent Symptoms After Lyme Disease
Official title: A Prospective Study of Persistent Symptoms of Lyme Disease
Funded at Tufts University Boston · NIH-11184277 · Data updated 2026-11-12
This project aims to understand why some people continue to feel sick after being treated for Lyme disease by following them closely from the time they are first diagnosed.
Quick facts
| Grant type | P01 program project |
|---|---|
| Study type | NIH-funded research |
| Funding institution | Tufts University Boston NIH-funded |
| Lab location | 1 site (Boston, United States) |
| Project start | September 5, 2024 |
| Project end | June 30, 2029 |
| Funding year | 2025 |
| Award (this year) | $4,520,306 |
| NIH project number | 5P01AI181934-02 |
| Project ID | NIH-11184277 on NIH RePORTER |
Who could benefit from this research
✓Could help
Ideal candidates for this project are individuals who have recently been diagnosed with acute Lyme disease.
✕Less likely to help
Patients who have not had a recent acute Lyme disease diagnosis or who do not experience persistent symptoms may not directly benefit from participating in this specific project.
What this research studies
Many people experience ongoing symptoms even after receiving antibiotic treatment for Lyme disease, a condition known as post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS). Currently, there isn't a clear diagnostic test or agreed-upon treatment for PTLDS, and we don't fully understand what causes it. This project will follow individuals from their initial Lyme disease diagnosis to see who develops PTLDS and why. By looking at various factors like immune responses and bacterial characteristics, researchers hope to uncover the complex reasons behind these persistent symptoms.
Why it matters
Potential benefit: If successful, this work could lead to better ways to diagnose, treat, and even prevent the long-lasting symptoms of Lyme disease.
How similar studies have gone: While previous smaller studies have offered intriguing findings, this project represents a novel, large-scale prospective approach to confirm and expand upon those observations.
Where this research is happening
-
Tufts University Boston
Boston, United States Active
Researchers
- Principal investigator: Hu, Linden T — Tufts University Boston
- Study coordinator: Hu, Linden T
Related research
Other NIH-funded projects on the same topics.
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Understanding why some people have ongoing symptoms after Lyme disease
A long-term study follows people diagnosed with acute Lyme disease to see who develops persistent symptoms and why, with care from a team of Lyme experts.
-
CSF Protein Map in Post-Treatment Lyme Disease
A short study to map proteins in spinal fluid of people who had Lyme disease and still feel sick after standard treatment, to understand what’s going on.
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Lyme disease vaccine research aimed at preventing infection
Researchers are developing a Lyme disease vaccine by studying how the immune system responds to Borrelia burgdorferi and testing vaccine approaches to prevent illness.
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Lyme disease brain health: tracking brain signals and blood clues after treatment
This study follows people with early Lyme disease and compares them to healthy volunteers to see how the brain and blood markers change over a year after starting antibiotics.
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Lyme disease symptoms lingering after treatment may be driven by special bacterial fragments
A human-friendly look at a study exploring why some Lyme patients keep symptoms after antibiotics and whether tiny fragments from the bacteria are to blame.
-
Understanding Lyme disease immune signals to predict recovery after antibiotics
A research project at MIT aims to find immune biomarkers that tell which Lyme patients will recover after standard antibiotics and who might have lasting symptoms.
About this research
- This is an active NIH-funded research project — typically early-stage science, not a clinical trial accepting patient enrollment.
- Some NIH-funded labs run parallel clinical studies or seek volunteers for related work. To check, contact the principal investigator or institution listed above.
- For full project details, budget, and progress reports, visit the official NIH RePORTER page.