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Single dose of doxycycline for Lyme disease led to poor outcome for 61-year-old man
Ever wonder what the outcome might be if a patient were prescribed a single dose of oral doxycycline for Lyme disease? Not so good, according to a case report by Ebner and colleagues from the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. [1]
Ticks and Lyme disease bacteria with us since the Ice Age
Until now, scientists have known little about the evolutionary history of Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. This lack of knowledge “limits our ability to track and predict the direction of ongoing spread and implement public health interventions,” state the authors of a new study “Genomic insights into the ancient spread of Lyme disease across North America.” [1]
Lyme patient fails to seek treatment until illness renders him unconscious
“Despite weeks of symptoms, a patient did not seek treatment until his illness rendered him unconscious,” writes Sharma from the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine at Lahey Hospital Medical Center in Massachusetts.
Tracking ticks in West Virginia using man’s best friend
Dogs can be effective sentinels in assessing the risks of Lyme disease to humans in non-endemic regions. “Domestic pets, such as dogs, are significant risk factors for disease acquisition, and six times more likely to be exposed to infected ticks due to the increased potential exposure time in tick habitat,” explains Hendricks and colleagues in the journal Geospatial Health. [1]
Borrelia spirochete are masters at evading immune system
If the Borrelia spirochete were actively dividing and spreading during infection, it would be easier to detect Lyme disease and possibly diagnose it earlier, says Embers and colleagues. [1] “Bacterial pathogens are well known to cause tissue damage by colonization, induction of intense inflammation, invasion of host cells, and production of toxins.”
Case report: Persistent pain and fatigue after treatment for Lyme disease
“A previously healthy 48-year-old woman living in rural Maryland presented in early June with a 2-week history of neck pain, fatigue, anorexia, nausea, and intermittent fevers and chills,” states Novak from the Division of Rheumatology at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Year in Review: All Things Lyme: Top 10 blogs for 2017
Following is a list of the most popular All Things Lyme blogs for 2017. Click on the headline to read the complete article.
1) 12-year-old boy suffers cardiac arrest due to Lyme disease
In the February 2017 issue of HeartRhythm Case Reports, doctors describe what they believe is the first case of a Lyme disease patient presenting as fulminant myocarditis and cardiac arrest.
“The patient is a 12-year-old previously healthy boy with a recent history of participation in an outdoor camp for 2–3 weeks who began to gasp for air while riding as a passenger in a car, with subsequent cyanosis and cardiac arrest, following participation in recrea...
40 years after first case, Lyme disease still a burden for Connecticut
“The town of Lyme in Connecticut was the first spot that LD [Lyme disease] was recognized in the U.S.,” writes Mollalo and colleagues in the journal Geospatial Health. [1] In 1977, Steere et al. described the initial cluster of cases in children. Today, 40 years later, Lyme disease continues to be a burden for Connecticut.
Case report: 46-year-old Canadian man with Bell’s palsy
The number of reported cases of Lyme disease in Canada has jumped dramatically ─ with a 6-fold increase between 2009 and 2015, according to the most recent statistics. Most cases are believed to occur in Ontario, Quebec, and Nova Scotia. Given the alarming rise, knowing which symptoms to watch for to accurately diagnose the disease has never been more important.
How to test for Lyme disease using a tick
It can be difficult to prove Lyme disease with serologic tests. So, doctors took an unusual approach with the first in-human study to identify the infection with Xenodiagnosis. Using this methodology, uninfected larval ticks fed on 23 study participants. Two of them tested positive for B. burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease. [1]
