Dr. Daniel Cameron

In a retrospective study, entitled “Secondary dementia due to Lyme neuroborreliosis,” Kristoferitsch and colleagues describe several case reports of patients diagnosed with dementia-like syndromes due to Lyme neuroborreliosis or Lyme disease that help address the question – can lyme disease cause dementia.2 Rapid improvement with antibiotic treatment The authors’ case report featuring a 76-year-old woman […]

Doctors described a 67-year-old avid outdoorsman who received treatment for Lyme arthritis after having had knee surgery. Ten months earlier, the man had received a partial knee replacement for his left knee due to advanced single compartment degenerative arthritis. Over a 3-month-period, the man developed progressive left knee pain and swelling.  He later presented with a

Two recently published case reports address the question: Can Lyme disease cause jaundice?  While it is uncommon, the authors conclude, hyperbilirubinemia can be a sign of Lyme disease, and should be considered as a differential diagnosis in patients with severe jaundice and exposure to areas endemic for Lyme disease. 1,2  39-year-old man with fever and

“A 58-year-old woman was seen in the outpatient neurology clinic of this hospital in early autumn because of hypoesthesia [numbness], paresthesia, and weakness,” writes Reda and colleagues in a paper describing atypical symptoms of Lyme disease. Her initial symptoms began 10 weeks prior with back pain occurring between her shoulders. But the pain resolved without

Subacute transverse myelitis is a neurologic syndrome caused by inflammation of the spinal cord.  It can be caused by various infections, including Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria causing Lyme disease. Immune system disorders, vascular and other inflammatory disorders can also trigger the condition which damages or destroys myelin, an insulating substance that surrounds nerves, including those in

When doctors dismiss your heart block as anxiety or assume you’re “too young” for cardiac problems, the SILC score for Lyme carditis gives you objective evidence to demand testing. This evidence-based scoring system assigns points for risk factors like outdoor work, endemic area residence, and tick exposure. A 20-year-old Wisconsin camp counselor scored 9 out

One study found a high prevalence of depression in Lyme disease patients. Between 2008 and 2014, one in five patients treated at the Lyme Center Apeldoorn in the Netherlands was diagnosed with depression and Lyme disease. Dr. Robert Bransfield, a psychiatrist specializing in tick-borne illness, reports that depression is the most common psychiatric syndrome associated

Lyme disease can present with a broad range of symptoms. Many of them are familiar to clinicians. But in some cases, a patient may exhibit atypical symptoms, including rashes other than the well-known “bull’s eye” rash. These unique presentations of Lyme disease can make diagnosing the illness particularly difficult. For instance, Sharma reports, “Our case

POTS brain fog is one of the most disabling symptoms reported by patients with postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome — and it’s especially common in patients who also have Lyme disease. A study by Wells and colleagues confirms what many patients already know: POTS brain fog involves measurable impairments in short-term memory and alertness, not just

Gastrointestinal symptoms in Lyme disease patients can be fairly common. For decades studies have reported B. burgdorferi bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of Lyme patients. In fact, a 1999 study found “the presence of Lyme disease in the gastrointestinal tract when confirmed by PCR for B. burgdorferi DNA in 14 of 20 patients with the