M. pneumoniae does lead to chronic pulmonary inflammation
"The aim of the present study was to determine whether chronic M. pneumoniae pulmonary infection could be established in mice and to characterize its course. Our investigations demonstrated that M. pneumoniae can establish a chronic pulmonary infection for up to approximately 18 months after inoculation and revealed evidence that M. pneumoniae infection in the respiratory tract can lead to chronic pulmonary inflammation and long-term functional sequelae."
I wonder if it could be longer. Could the chronic pulmonary inflammation lasts a lifetime?
And can we detect this?
My X-rays show nothing but I have chronic inflammation of the lungs.
VERY INTERESTING!
"M. pneumoniae respiratory infection is often regarded as a self-limited infection, and the resolution of acute infection within a few weeks without treatment, as shown in our model of acute infection, partly supports this concept. However, a subset of individuals may handle this infection in a less favorable manner and later develop chronic pulmonary abnormalities. Indeed, recent investigations have suggested that timely and effective antimicrobial treatment of acute M. pneumoniae respiratory infection in children can improve the course of reactive airway disease beyond the acute episode of wheezing and can prevent development of deleterious changes in pulmonary function tests (14; S. Esposito, F. Blasi, C. Arosio, et al., Abstr. 39th Intersci. Conf. Antimicrob. Agents Chemother., abstr. 2234, p. 700, 1999). With the findings of chronic infection, inflammation, and functional sequelae in this model, evaluation of effective therapeutic regimens to modulate inflammation and to eradicate M. pneumoniae has more relevance.
In conclusion, we have documented that M. pneumoniae is able to establish chronic respiratory infection, evoke chronic pulmonary inflammation, and elicit chronic pulmonary function abnormalities in mice. These findings provide strong evidence supporting the postulated association between M. pneumoniae infection and chronic pulmonary disease, possibly asthma, in humans. Future studies directed at characterizing the immunopathogenic mechanisms responsible for these abnormalities will provide the basis for novel therapeutic and preventative strategies aimed at reducing the potential impact of M. pneumoniae infections."
I wonder if I could start taking azythromycine? And for how long?
I have a chronic sore throat and earaches.
I'm already dealing with severe IBS problems...