Lyme Science Blog

Alpha-gal syndrome is a serious tick-borne allergy that can develop after a Lone Star tick bite, causing severe reactions to red meat and mammalian products. Unlike typical food allergies that trigger immediate symptoms, alpha-gal reactions occur 2-6 hours after eating beef, pork, or other mammalian meat—often waking patients from sleep with severe abdominal pain, hives, […]

In their article “Case report: Subacute transverse myelitis with gait preservation secondary to Lyme disease and a review of the literature,” Colot and colleagues describe a 10-year-old boy who suffered from neck pain with irradiation in the upper limbs for 13 days. Transverse myelitis (TM) is an inflammation of both sides of one section of

Two Cases Profiles in Lyme disease – Sophie Profiles in Lyme disease – Ira 17 minute introduction to Lyme disease Lyme 101: an introduction (4 minutes) Symptoms and manifestations of Lyme disease (4 min) Co-infections (5 min) Treatment decisions (4 min) Top blogs Babesia and Lyme, It’ s worst than you think What does a

Orbital myositis in Lyme disease is an unusual but recognized manifestation of Borrelia infection. Two case reports demonstrate how this condition presents and responds to antibiotic treatment. Orbital myositis is typically caused by systemic diseases such as Graves’ disease or hematological disorders like lymphomas. In these cases, myositis is often bilateral. It has also been

A 70-year-old man developed Lyme carditis with heart block but no rash, no tick bite, and no classic Lyme symptoms. The case demonstrates why cardiac patients in endemic areas need Lyme testing even when typical signs are absent. By Dr. Daniel Cameron The Diagnostic Challenge The authors describe a 70-year-old male who presented to the

In an effort to better understand their significance, Corak and colleagues “grew B. burgdorferi spirochete, round body, bleb, and biofilm-dominated cultures and recovered their transcriptomes by RNAseq profiling.” Their non-spirochete morphotypes were induced by simple changes in growth conditions. The authors described three pleomorphic forms as follows: “Spherical B. burgdorferi cells with intact and flexible

In their study “Efficacy and safety of antibiotic therapy for post-Lyme disease? A systematic review and network meta-analysis,” Zhang and colleagues described a meta-analysis review of four Randomized Clinical Trials (RCT) addressing Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome.¹ The four randomized controlled trials included 485 subjects who met the following inclusion criteria: Randomized controlled trials Patients with

What does Borrelia miyamotoi cause? The Borrelia miyamotoi symptoms vary depending on the patient’s immune status. The authors explain, “Immunocompetent, and otherwise healthy, patients present with milder, flu-like symptoms: fever, fatigue, sleepiness, chills, muscle and joint stiffness, aches and pains, and nausea.” And, “While uncommon, relapses of febrile episodes can occur.” In fact, the Borrelia

Heartland virus is an emerging tick-borne disease that can be fatal. Now, investigators have identified the Heartland virus in the Maryland and Virginia region – an area where the virus is not widely recognized. In their article “Fatal Case of Heartland Virus Disease Acquired in the Mid-Atlantic Region, United States,”¹ Liu and colleagues describe the

Borrelia miyamotoi ticks can transmit the infection in multiple ways. In their article “Borrelia miyamotoi: A Comprehensive Review. Pathogens,” Cleveland and colleagues discuss Borrelia miyamotoi as an emerging tick-borne pathogen and how it can be transmitted from a mother tick to their offspring. Vertical transmission in Borrelia miyamotoi ticks Cleveland et al. reviewed the proposed