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One tick bite: six diseases
Doctors created the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) in recognition of the need for a medical organization to address the growing number of tick-borne illnesses.
Lyme carditis causes complete heart block in 26-year-old man
In the June issue of Clinical Case Reports, doctors describe a 26-year-old man with complete heart block due to Lyme carditis. The man, who had no significant medical history, had been on a fishing trip three weeks prior to being admitted to the hospital. He reported having a mild erythematous rash, along with a tick bite on his right second toe, which became swollen but resolved within 2 days. Two weeks later, he began having episodic fevers and chills and developed a well-circumscribed macular rash on his left upper abdomen.
Atypical presentation of early disseminated Lyme disease
A case report by Kantamaneni and colleagues demonstrates the difficulty in diagnosing patients with atypical presentations of Lyme disease. The authors describe an 80-year-old woman, living in Pennsylvania, who was admitted to the hospital in June 2015 with nonspecific neurological symptoms including fever, confusion, headaches, bilateral lower extremity weakness, and an episode of stool incontinence. [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. Lyme disease has been associated with junctional ectopic tachycardia (JET) and fascicular tachycardia. In this instance, JET was secondary to fulminant myocarditis.
Dogs in Canada at risk for Lyme disease
It’s not just humans who are at risk for developing Lyme disease in Canada, but dogs, as well. According to a 2017 study, published in the journal Parasites and Vectors, out of 115,636 dogs, 2,844 (2.5%) were positive using a SNAP test for the antibody to B. burgdorferi. [1]
Could dormancy allow Lyme disease to survive antibiotics?
“Dormancy is a protective state where diverse bacteria including M. tuberculosis, S. aureus, T. pallidum (syphilis), and B. burgdorferi (Lyme Disease) curtail metabolic activity to survive external stresses including antibiotics,” states Mali from the University of Houston in the Journal Bacteriology. [1]
7-year-old girl with Lyme disease presenting as attention deficit disorder
Children are at the greatest risk for developing Lyme disease, with the highest rates of infection occurring in those ages 5 to 9. And out of the more than 300,000 people diagnosed annually in the U.S. with Lyme disease, 25% are children, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). This is particularly alarming given that the disease can be difficult to identify in younger patients with symptoms often overlooked or attributed to other medical conditions.
Stroke as a manifestation of Lyme disease
Strokes should be added to the list of manifestations of Lyme disease based on a 2007 systematic review published in Frontiers in Neurology. [1] The authors identified 88 patients in the literature presenting with cerebrovascular course of Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB).
Johns Hopkins’ study supports early identification of Lyme disease patients for re-treatment
Lyme disease patients can suffer for years following antibiotic treatment. According to one study, patients with chronic neurologic Lyme disease were ill for up to 14 years. [1] Patients enrolling in three trials sponsored by the National Institutes of Health were sick an average of 4.7 years respectively. [2,3] Meanwhile, researchers at Johns Hopkins recently identified Lyme disease patients who might benefit from early interventions. [4]
The risk of pain and fatigue after three weeks of Lyme disease treatment
Researchers at John Hopkins describe the risk of pain and fatigue after three weeks of treatment with doxycycline for an erythema migrans rash. According to the article published in Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, 23 of 107 patients (21%) had a high fatigue total score and 33 of 107 patients (31%) had a high pain score. Only 5 of 107 patients (5%) had a high depression total score.
