Lyme Science Blog

Are Military Family Members at Risk for Lyme Disease? Lyme disease risk for military families may be higher than previously recognized. A study by Schubert and Melanson examined exposure to the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), the primary vector for Lyme disease, among military personnel and their families at West Point, New York. The study, entitled […]

Diagnosing Lyme arthritis of the hip in children “The clinical presentation of Lyme arthritis (LA) of the hip can be similar to both acute bacterial septic arthritis (SA) and transient synovitis (TS),” explains Cruz and colleagues. ¹ “Differentiating between SA, LA, and TS of the hip can be challenging, even for the most discerning clinician.”

Case review: 80-year-old with Lyme encephalopathy instead of dementia “While mostly vigilant and awake, he intermittently lacked full orientation, had reduced attention, concentration, short-term memory function, increased motor activity, mild formal thought disorder (incl. some tangential thinking), but no frank psychotic symptoms,” the authors explain. The man was diagnosed with delirium, potentially related to dementia.

Lyme Carditis Heart Block Progression Can Occur Within Hours Lyme carditis heart block progression can occur with alarming speed. Two cases show conduction deteriorating from normal rhythm or first-degree block to complete heart block within hours to overnight. A 33-year-old woman progressed from first-degree to complete block within hours of admission, while a 72-year-old man

Babesiosis missed diagnosis can have serious consequences—especially when patients are infected with both Lyme disease and Babesia. This case highlights why clinicians must consider tick-borne co-infections in endemic areas. The woman had a three-week history of fever (maximum temperature 104°F), chills, nausea, and a productive cough with yellow sputum. Six weeks before the onset of

Top 10 Podcasts for 2021!   1.) Involuntary body movements due to Lyme disease dismissed as psychosomatic A man in his 70’s had an abrupt onset of involuntary body movements, including jerks in his left arm. Doctors initially dismissed him as having a functional disorder. However, his involuntary body movements were due to Lyme disease.

Top 10 Lyme disease blogs for 2021!   1.)  Should Lyme disease patients with an impaired immune system get the COVID-19 vaccine? The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) posted mRNA COVID-19 vaccination considerations for people who have a weakened immune system. “People with HIV and those with weakened immune systems due to other

Pediatric Lyme Disease Seasonality in Endemic Regions A study examining pediatric Lyme disease seasonality found that most children in endemic regions present during the summer months. However, the findings also raise questions about how Lyme disease is diagnosed in children and how many cases may be overlooked. The study’s objective was to evaluate the seasonality

Lyme Disease Patients and Physicians: Different Points of View The relationship between Lyme disease patients and physicians can become strained when symptoms persist but clear diagnostic findings are lacking. A study by Raffetin and colleagues explored the perceptions, experiences, and frustrations of patients with suspected Lyme disease who had nonspecific symptoms without objective clinical findings.

High cost of treating Lyme arthritis in children with surgery In their article “The Impact of Operative Intervention in Pediatric Lyme Arthritis,” Tout et al. described 149 children admitted to a tertiary care children’s hospital in Pennsylvania who had been diagnosed with Lyme arthritis between 2008 and 2018.¹ All of the children met the CDC