The Charger Blog
Charger Blogger Shares Perspective on Failure and New Beginnings
Beatrice Glaviano '26 reflects on the importance of bouncing back after setbacks.
University News
Professor and Her Students May Have Found a Cure for Lyme Disease
Could a common sweetener that's already in the kitchen cupboards in many American homes — stevia — prove to be an effective treatment for a disease as debilitating and persistent as Lyme disease?
July 07, 2017
It's too early to say that for sure, but research by Eva Sapi, a University of New Haven professor of cellular and molecular biology, and the students in her Lyme Disease Research Group looks promising.
In a paper published in the European Journal of Microbiology & Immunology, Sapi and her students found that the most antibiotic resistant form of Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria that causes Lyme disease — called biofilm — actually increased in mass with individual antibiotics.
But liquid, whole-leaf stevia extract — not the powdered varieties that people most commonly use — reduced the biofilm mass by about 40 percent, they found.
WFSB 3 CT News
"Is it the one?" Sapi asked. "I don't know." But in confirmation test after confirmation test, "that is the one that jumped out."
A small clinical trial based out of New York got underway just a few months ago, and researchers there are using stevia along with antibiotics to try and treat Lyme disease, while others are taking the extract themselves.
I've got emails from people saying they're getting better, but again, we need to have double-blind clinical trials before we say ‘yes'. Everybody is holding their breath to see if it helps, and let's hope for it. That would be wonderful.
– Professor Eva Sapi, Ph.D.
Recent News
The Charger Blog
Tagliatela College of Engineering Inducts Two Outstanding Alumni and a Corporate Partner into its Hall of Fame
Kadmiel B. Adusei '20 M.S. was presented the Outstanding Young Alumni Award, Anil Shah '86 M.S. received the Distinguished Lifetime Alumni Award, and RBC Bearings was presented with the Exemplary Partner Award.
The Charger Blog
University of New Haven Students Are Shaping Their Futures Managing an Investment Fund
Members of the Gaia Initiative gained insights and expanded their professional networks at the Student Managed Investment Fund Consortium (SMIFC) conference in Chicago, boosting their skills to benefit a University scholarship fund and their careers.