Lyme Science Blog

Neurologic symptoms that worsen despite psychiatric treatment rarely prompt infectious disease testing—even when a patient presents with progressive paralysis and urinary incontinence. Teodoro and colleagues describe a case that illustrates this diagnostic pattern: a 62-year-old woman initially treated for conversion disorder who was later diagnosed with Guillain-Barré syndrome, possibly triggered by neurologic Lyme disease. Conversion […]

Two Children Who Contracted Babesia From Their Mothers From the Archives (2020) This article reflects clinical discussion of pediatric Babesia cases at a time when maternal–fetal transmission was rarely considered outside of published case reports. Two pediatric cases raised concern for possible maternal–fetal transmission of Babesia. These cases were originally described by Saetre and colleagues

The people who did seem to suffer from chronic symptoms were those with neurologic problems.  “Those that have confirmed neurological Lyme disease  in England- a late complication present in about one in 10 cases – have a higher rate of long term subjective symptoms, such as fatigue and poor concentration,” writes Harvey. Matthew Dryden, consultant

Babesia exchange transfusion is a life-saving procedure reserved for the most severe cases. In their article, “Repeat exchange transfusion for treatment of severe babesiosis,” Radcliffe and colleagues describe the case of a 73-year-old immunocompromised woman with 43% parasitemia who required two exchange transfusions and 12 weeks of treatment to survive this tick-borne infection. The Case:

According to an annual, cross-sectional, nationwide survey, 20.3% were treated for 5 to 8 weeks, while 35.6% were treated for more than 8 weeks. The CDC authors were surprised at the number of Lyme disease (LD) cases being treatment with long term antibiotics “A surprisingly large proportion of respondents reported receiving more than 8 weeks

In an effort to better understand the role of the immune responses in the clinical course and post-treatment outcome of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE), Bogovič  and colleagues “assessed 24 cytokines and chemokines associated with innate and adaptive (T and B cell) immune responses.” A black-legged (Ixodes spp) tick can transmit tick-borne encephalitis and Lyme disease. The

Neuroborreliosis manifestations typically include headaches and symptoms of meningitis, encephalopathy and stroke-like symptoms. The diagnosis is based on clinical symptoms and lumbar puncture findings. The woman had other serious health problems, which included lupus, a left-posterior parietal ventriculoperitoneal (VP) shunt due to congenital hydrocephalus, and migraine headaches, explains Khan. Diagnostic tests revealed renal failure and

Study of 18 Lyme carditis cases reveals broader spectrum of ECG abnormalities than previously recognized. Findings show that clinicians should expand their diagnostic thinking beyond classic AV block when evaluating cardiac patients in endemic areas. By Dr. Daniel Cameron Understanding the Mechanism “[Lyme carditis] is caused by direct invasion of myocardial tissue by spirochetes and

Looking for a Lyme disease news? Here are the top 10 Lyme disease news items for 2019 for www.DanielCameronMD.com. 1) A growing number of doctors are treating Lyme disease for longer than 21 days.Tseng and colleagues described 488 physicians who treated for more than five weeks in a review of insurance claims data in the

Doctors have also shared their frustration in a survey taken by Dr. Lynora Saxinger, an infectious disease specialist and associate professor at the University of Alberta’s medical school. Lyme disease myths may lead to frustrations for doctors. The survey reported that “30% [of doctors] said they have been pressured to give antibiotics and almost 90%