Lyme Science Blog

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH The seroprevalence of positive tests for B. burgdorferi in dogs was highest in areas with close proximity to the United States. The highest seroprevalence was 15.7% in Nova Scotia and 5.1% in Eastern Ontario with surrounding areas of “moderate to low seroprevalence,” according to the study’s lead author, Herrin, […]

Feng and colleagues from Johns Hopkins University have identified FDA-approved drugs that might work on in vitro B. burgdorferi persisters. [2] Persistence may be a subset of dormancy. “Evidence suggests dormancy consists of a continuum of interrelated states including viable but nonculturable (VBNC) and persistence states,” according to Mali. “VBNC and persistence contribute to antibiotic

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH Susan, a 7-year-old girl who had difficulty focusing in school, was initially diagnosed by a neurologist with probable attention deficit disorder. But she exhibited numerous other symptoms consistent with Lyme disease, as described by Fallon from the Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Medical Center and the Lyme Disease Research

More than half of the cases were from three countries: 16 (25.4%) from Germany, 9 (14.3%) from Switzerland, and 8 (12.7%) from France. Five cases (8%) were from the United States, notes Garkowski from the Medical University of Białystok in Poland. [1] Many of the cases involved relatively young patients, with more than 50% under

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH In the Archives of Clinical Neuropsychology, the authors report a substantial number of patients who suffered from severe fatigue, pain and Post-Treatment Lyme disease Syndrome (PTLDS) six months after completing a three-week course of antibiotics for an erythema migrans rash. [4] Out of 107 patients,  6 of the 107

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH The cut-offs for fatigue and pain were chosen to reflect clinically significant levels of that symptom based on the literature. A cut-off of 36 or greater was chosen for the Fatigue Severity Score (FSS) to indicate “high fatigue symptoms.” A score of greater than 3 was chosen for the

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH In the article, published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases, Pavletic, from the National Institute of Mental Health, reports “two cases of false positive Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) serologies in early-disseminated Lyme disease.” In the first case, a 16-year-old male from Virginia developed fatigue, myalgias and three brief episodes of

The woman presented with asthenia, weakness, and diffuse paresthesias. The electromyography assessment showed mild demyelination. Lyme disease was ruled out based on negative serum and cerebrospinal fluid serologic tests. Intravenous immunoglobulin treatment was performed 8 times for CIDP with subsequent partial response and relapse. Chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy is a neurological disorder in which there

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH In the British Journal of General Practice, Cooper and colleagues discuss their results which are based on hospital episode statistics (HES) data in England from the Health and Social Care Information Centre. [1] The geographic location was based on the patient’s postcode. Patients may have been admitted more than

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH One month prior to being evaluated, the man had removed a tick from his outdoor cat. His laboratory tests were positive on both a Lyme enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay screening and confirmatory Western blot with 3 IgM bands: p41, p39, and p23. His electrocardiography revealed new second-degree Mobitz type I