Lyme Science Blog

They found that out of 181 patients, 32 presented with an erythema migrans rash. The Lyme disease cases were positive on a C6 peptide and confirmed with a Western blot test. The veterans exhibited: joint pain (58), myalgias and fatigue (34), headache/neck pain (27), peripheral neuropathy (14), seventh nerve palsy (5), and palpitations (2). Several […]

The first case involved a 50-year-old woman, who was admitted to the hospital in South Korea with a fever, abdominal pain, and nausea. She had visited a forest in New Jersey four weeks earlier and had reportedly developed an erythematous lesion on her lower right calf. Two days later she developed headaches, myalgia, fever and

Clinical signs and symptoms depend on the affected region of the spinal cord, explains Kaiser and colleagues in a recently published case report, “Lyme myelopathy: Case report and literature review of a rare but treatable disorder.” [1] The causes of ATM include “demyelinating processes, infections, autoimmune disorders, malignancies, vascular insults, and nutritional deficiencies,” writes Kaiser. There

Some doctors have suggested that a blood smear should be used to confirm the diagnosis of BMD. But as Telford and colleagues demonstrate, a blood smear may not be so reliable. [1] In an effort to determine whether blood smears can detect B. miyamotoi in the blood of acute BMD patients, researchers examined sera from

Opsoclonus is typically due to an infectious disease or a form of cancer, known as neuroblastoma. In some cases, the cause is unknown. But the condition is rarely seen in Lyme disease patients, explains Gibaud and colleagues in the case report “Opsoclonus in a child with neuroborreliosis.” [1] In fact, only 2 cases have been

The 1-year prospective study included 52 adult Lyme disease patients with erythema migrans (EM) rashes. Their somatic symptoms included fatigue, headache, joint pain, muscle pain, and cognitive complaints. Individuals with the worst symptoms had the worst BDI-II scores. The BDI-II scale has been used as a screening tool for patients who might benefit from further psychological

In March 2017, a 68-year-old man was admitted to the Mayo Clinic, in Rochester, Minnesota with symptoms suggestive of heart failure. “He had a chronic cough and progressive dyspnea, which were consistent with New York Heart Association class IV symptoms of heart failure,” writes Fatima. “He also had atrial fibrillation with rapid ventricular response.” His

Both studies, published in 1996 and 1998, required that the participants meet the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) surveillance case definition for Lyme disease. This definition requires that the erythema migrans rash be at least 2 inches in diameter. But the incidence of an EM rash is lower in studies that are all-inclusive

The previously healthy woman presented to the emergency room with a sudden-onset of dyspnea and chest pain. She had reported a syncopal episode 4 days prior to being admitted to the hospital. Her EKG revealed a third degree heart block. The woman, who lived in Nuevo Leon, had traveled in the past 4 weeks to

The authors reviewed the records of 1,220 young, middle-aged and elderly patients, comparing disease course and long-term outcomes for each group. The patients had been treated at an outpatient clinic at the University Medical Center Ljubljana in Slovenia. The study included 224 elderly patients, with 173 between 65-74 years old, 48 between 75-84 years old