In 2015, Nikki Schultek was at her best: A young mother of two sons, she had just finished a half marathon. Then a mysterious illness struck. Her previously well-controlled asthma grew worse. Over the next few months, she experienced chronic pain, digestive issues, and heart rhythm disturbances. Then came “the final nail in the coffin”: signs of neurodegeneration, including brain fog and memory loss. “That was my lowest point,” she recalls. “I started making plans for my kids, writing down what I wanted to tell them if I got any worse.”
Schultech had been diagnosed with various personal issues, but none quite fit her set of symptoms. Finally, a doctor thought her chronic pain and breathing difficulties might be caused by an undetected infection. She tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi and Chlamydia pneumoniae She was given a cocktail of antibiotics for an infection, and after taking them, she found that all of her symptoms, including brain fog and memory loss, had eased.
Schultech has since formed a research group to more broadly explore the role of infection in cognitive decline. The idea was once considered outlandish, but interest in the brain’s microbiome is growing rapidly. It turns out that our gray matter is teeming with bacteria, viruses, and fungi, and a better understanding of this unexpected microbiome has huge potential for preventing neurodegenerative diseases. As Schultech has discovered, it can even reverse symptoms of decline once the condition has worsened. And, most excitingly, some potential treatments have already been demonstrated…
