Lyme Science Blog

Babesia and Bartonella in Children: Severe Psychiatric Symptoms Babesia infection and Bartonella co-infections in children may be more common than previously recognized. In some pediatric patients, these infections have been associated with severe neuropsychiatric symptoms, autonomic dysfunction, developmental regression, anxiety, hallucinations, and behavioral deterioration. Researchers using advanced molecular testing identified multiple co-infections in children who […]

Homicide, two assaults, and suicide in Lyme disease patient The article entitled “A Fatal Case of Late Stage Lyme Borreliosis and Substance Abuse,”1 describes a patient exhibiting aggressiveness, violence, and homicidality. Like many Lyme disease patients, the man experienced a delay in diagnosis and treatment. (One study reports that subjects enrolling in a trial of

Chronic Lyme Disease Remission With Low-Dose Flagyl: Case Report Persistent Lyme symptoms may relapse after treatment ends. Some patients improve again when antibiotics are restarted. Recovery patterns may differ significantly between individuals. A published case report described a 55-year-old man with chronic Lyme disease who experienced repeated neurologic relapses over several years before eventually achieving

Facial paralysis due to Lyme disease initially attributed to a virus The patient was admitted to the emergency department for acute back pain that had been progressively worsening over an 8-week period. The pain began 5 weeks after a minor surfing accident. Repeated X-rays and additional tests were normal. “The intensity of the pain is

Lyme Disease Associated With Kidney Problems Kidney complications from Lyme disease are uncommon in humans but have been described in several published case reports. These cases suggest that Borrelia burgdorferi infection may trigger immune-mediated kidney inflammation in susceptible individuals. Two published cases highlight how Lyme disease-associated kidney problems may present with nephritis, hematuria, or glomerular

Can Lyme Disease Cause Endocarditis? Lyme disease may rarely involve heart valves. Culture-negative endocarditis can delay diagnosis. PCR testing of valve tissue may help confirm infection. A 40-year-old man presented to the emergency department with a severe headache lasting 5 days along with intermittent numbness in his left arm. CT scan and MRI of the

Can Ticks Fly With the Help of Static Electricity? Ticks do not truly fly. But static electricity may help them launch onto nearby hosts. That discovery is changing how scientists think about tick attachment. Scientists from the University of Bristol studied naturally occurring electrostatic charges in animals and discovered that ticks may use static electricity

Cardiac problems after a 10-day course of treatment for Lyme disease Cardiac symptoms may persist after treatment Heart rhythm problems can have multiple explanations Persistent symptoms require careful evaluation Lyme disease heart problems may include palpitations, chest pain, dizziness, shortness of breath, heart murmur, or rhythm disturbances. Some patients report persistent or new cardiac symptoms

Neck Pain After a Tick Bite: A Missed Neurologic Sign of Lyme Disease Neck pain after a tick bite may signal neurologic Lyme disease Radiculoneuritis can occur even without meningitis or Bell’s palsy Delayed recognition may postpone appropriate treatment A child presented with fatigue, posterior neck pain, and a low-grade fever without a known tick