Lyme Science Blog

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH The article, Hemifacial spasm from Lyme disease: Antibiotic treatment points to cause, examines the case of a 44-year-old patient who was diagnosed with Lyme disease as a result of her rapid improvement following antimicrobial therapy. “Antibiotic administration for diagnostic purposes is not a recommended medical practice, of course, but the […]

The patient, who had been well until 5 days prior to her admission into the hospital, displayed atypical symptoms. Her illness was never attributed to a tick-borne disease, although she had reported removing a tick from her groin two weeks prior to being admitted to the hospital. The patient’s husband reported she began slurring her

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH Researchers at New York Medical College have presumed that such fatigue is related to the presence of proinflammatory cytokines and other acute phase proteins. “Because prior studies have demonstrated the presence of elevated levels of proinflammatory cytokines and other molecules in the serum of highly symptomatic patients with erythema

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH The patients were prescribed anti-inflammatory therapies, primarily disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs). “These treatments included steroids (3%), NSAIDS (20%), disease-modifying anti-rheumatic drugs (DMARDs) (57%), most commonly methotrexate, but also TNF-inhibitors, or combinations of these agents,” reported Arvikar. [1] The authors assumed that the persistent Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) infection had been

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH Participants in the PLEASE trial were scored using an SF-36 physical component of Health (PCS) scale. Their PCS scores of 31 to 32 were worse than those of a diabetic and cancer patient. [3] These patients’ PCS scores have been 42 and 41, respectively. While PCS scores have been

Physicians are warned of the importance in distinguishing between viral or idiopathic facial paralysis (e.g., Bell’s palsy) from Lyme disease-associated facial palsy. Authors of the study, “Steroid Use in Lyme Disease-Associated Facial Palsy Is Associated With Worse Long-Term Outcomes,” used the term Lyme disease-associated facial palsy (LDFP) rather than Bell’s palsy to highlight the differences

According to a study by Wormser and colleagues, from New York Medical College, “Patients with chronic Lyme disease were significantly more likely to be female than were patients diagnosed with either Lyme disease or with post-Lyme disease syndrome.” “This finding,” says Wormser, “suggests that illnesses with a female preponderance, such as fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome,

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH Doctors from the Tufts University School of Medicine, New England Medical Center described the financial damage Lyme disease caused to 27 individuals with chronic neurologic Lyme disease. “Although most were able to remain employed, three quit their jobs, three decreased their work load to part-time, and two retired earlier,”

The study, “CCL19 as a Chemokine Risk Factor for Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome: A Prospective Clinical Cohort Study,” found T-cell chemokines are an important part of the immune response in early Lyme disease (LD). Researchers at Johns Hopkins identified T-cell chemokines CCL19 that rise in early LD then drop to normal in 86% of patients

The aspiring young scientist, Jackie Flynn, reported that her informal study found ticks were killed after 5 minutes in the dryer, not one hour. The time difference was significant and caught the attention of researchers at the CDC, who decided to investigate further. Now, three years later, a new study published in Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases has,