CSF proteome of post treatment lyme disease

The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases awarded Bioscience Development Inc. $210,000 on September 1, 2026, under the Allergy and Infectious Diseases Research program (CFDA 93.855) to advance proteomics research on post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS).

The recipient will conduct cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) proteome analysis using mass spectrometry to identify protein biomarkers associated with PTLDS, the chronic condition affecting 10–20 percent of Lyme disease patients who do not recover normal health following antibiotic treatment. The CDC estimates over 476,000 new Lyme disease cases annually. Building on prior unbiased mass spectrometry work that first demonstrated PTLDS as a distinct disease, the project will leverage advances in mass spectrometry technology to increase protein discovery in CSF by 50 percent, producing a comprehensive protein list for PTLDS. Results are intended for publication and to support subsequent blood-based biomarker development. Work will be performed in New York, New York, with a period of performance from September 1, 2026, through August 31, 2028.

Abstract

The CDC estimates there are >476,000 lyme disease cases/YR. 10-20% do not return to their normal health post treatment (ptlds). The magnitude is serious and cases are accumulating. The cause and pathogenesis of this failure to recover from a cases of lyme disease is unknown. This knowledge is important to treating physicians and often insurance companies. One of the most relevant sites to look for the main life-altering symptoms of ptlds, fatigue, cognitive impairment, and pain is the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) because IT is the liquid closest to the brain. We were the first to use unbiased mass spectrometry (MS) to prove that ptlds was a real disease and different from chronic fatigue syndrome(me/CFS). This was a landmark for many government agencies to consider that ptlds is real. With new advances in mass spectrometry, we can now increase the discovery of the proteins in the CSF by 50%. At the end of this project we will have the most precise list of CSF proteins for ptlds in the world. We can publish within months. This will also be a necessary prerequisite to search for the same or derivatives in blood.