The Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) has agreed to reassess controversial treatment guidelines for Lyme disease after an unprecedented antitrust investigation was launched against the group last year, according to the Wall Street Journal Health Blog.

Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal launched the investigation into the IDSA's 2006 guidelines on treating a severe form of the disease known as chronic Lyme disease, or CLD. Those guidelines recommended against long-term antibiotic treatment, because the group doesn't recognize the chronic form of the disease. But some physicians say the tick-borne bacteria can linger in the bloodstream for years, and requires antibiotic treatment for six months or longer.

Announcing the results of the investigation in Hartford yesterday (May 1), Blumenthal said that some IDSA members who wrote the guidelines had financial stakes in companies that develop Lyme disease tests and treatments, according to the Hartford Courant. The IDSA has now agreed to form a new panel to determine whether the 2006 guidelines should be revised.

In a statement released yesterday, the IDSA said: "[P]anel members had no financial interests that would have affected, or been affected by, recommendations in the guidelines."

In his own statement, Blumenthal accused IDSA members of "refus[ing] to accept or meaningfully consider information regarding the existence of chronic Lyme disease," and he stated that the guidelines are "commonly applied by insurance companies in restricting coverage for long-term antibiotic treatment."