Lyme Science Blog

Brachial plexopathy from Lyme disease can present as progressive arm weakness, neck pain, and shock-like pains radiating from shoulders — initially misdiagnosed as cellulitis or peripheral nerve injury. A 76-year-old man developed left arm weakness following what he thought was a mosquito bite, received antibiotics for presumed cellulitis with temporary improvement, then returned 24 days […]

A new study looks at the risk of severe COVID-19 in patients with a history of exposure to Lyme disease. In their study “Correlation between COVID-19 severity and previous exposure of patients to Borrelia spp.,” Szewczyk‑Dąbrowska et al.² examined 3 groups of patients: those with severe COVID-19 (hospitalized), asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 (home treated or

Carson and colleagues surveyed clinicians between August 2020 and February 2022 and reported their findings in the article “Knowledge, attitudes, and practices of Illinois medical professionals related to ticks and tick-borne disease.” ¹ The respondents included RNs (61.3%), physicians (21.4%), and APNs/PAs (17.3%). The authors found that clinicians were best at identifying Lyme disease. Out

The study, entitled “The Impact of Telemedicine in the Diagnosis of Erythema Migrans during the COVID Pandemic: A Comparison with In-Person Diagnosis in the Pre-COVID Era,” compares clinical data of 439 patients with an erythema migrans (EM) rash before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.¹ Participants in the study were being treated at

Lyme disease sudden hearing loss can develop up to one year after initial infection, demonstrating how neuroborreliosis symptoms can manifest long after tick exposure. A woman in her 40s developed sudden bilateral sensorineural hearing loss, tinnitus, and rapidly progressive facial palsy — yet only upon further questioning did she mention removing a tick from her

Disulfiram was initially marketed in the U.S. as Antabuse as an alcohol sobriety aid which deters alcohol consumption by eliciting physical discomforts (e.g., headache, nausea, hypotension). It’s use as a possible treatment for Lyme disease has been described in several recent studies. Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, possesses survival strategies in humans.

Babesiosis stroke symptoms can mimic transient ischemic attacks (TIAs) with confusion, slurred speech, ataxia, and cognitive impairment — leading doctors to miss the underlying tick-borne infection. Two patients in their 70s presented with stroke-like neurologic manifestations that resolved completely after treating Babesiosis with antibiotics and antiparasitics. Their cases expose a critical gap: neurologic symptoms from