With deer tick season peaking, the debate surrounding Lyme disease and its various treatments and vaccine is raging. The tiny deer tick carries the bacteria that cause the sometimes debilitating condition. In a study published in this month's New England Journal of Medicine, Dr. Mark Klempner of Boston University found that some people who suffer from chronic Lyme disease symptoms do not appear to benefit from antibiotic treatment. The finding has bolstered the view that the symptoms are caused not by bacteria, but rather by the body's own autoimmune response. Researchers theorize that the body may attack its own healthy cells, mistaking them for harmful bacteria. If such is the case, and there are no bacteria to destroy, antibiotic therapy in these patients may be unproductive.

Lyme disease affects over 15,000 people each year, primarily in the Northeast, Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Northern California. Chronic Lyme disease symptoms include arthritis-like pain and neurological problems such as confusion, memory loss, fatigue, and muscle weakness.

In January 1999 GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals introduced LYMErix, a vaccine that the company claimed would protect those living in deer tick infested areas from the ravages of Lyme disease. While the effectiveness of LYMErix is still open to debate, many people who have taken the vaccine have reported serious side effects such as painful and debilitating arthritis. Currently, the FDA is investigating the connection between LYMErix and arthritis.