Lyme Science Blog

Causes of Long-Term Lyme Disease Symptoms Long-term Lyme disease symptoms may arise from a complex interaction between infection, immune response, and inflammation. Many patients continue to experience fatigue, pain, and cognitive symptoms months or years after initial infection. These symptoms are often difficult to explain through standard testing alone. Understanding the underlying mechanisms—rather than focusing […]

Breast Cancer and Lyme Disease: One Woman’s Message Patients living with Lyme disease often experience a wide range of symptoms. Because the illness can affect many body systems, it can sometimes be difficult to know when a new symptom is related to Lyme disease—or when it may represent something entirely different. One woman’s experience illustrates

Low Awareness of Lyme Disease in Canada, Survey Finds Awareness of Lyme disease in Canada remains surprisingly low, even among people who spend large amounts of time outdoors. Researchers surveyed 137 participants from 11 professional and recreational organizations across New Brunswick between December 2018 and February 2019 to better understand knowledge of Lyme disease in

How to Find a Lyme Doctor Finding a doctor experienced in diagnosing and treating Lyme disease can be challenging. Many patients live outside endemic areas, do not recall a tick bite, or develop symptoms that do not follow the classic presentation of Lyme disease. Because Lyme disease can affect multiple organ systems, patients often seek

Do Antibiotics Work for Lyme Disease? Evidence and Studies Antibiotics for Lyme disease are widely used, but an important question remains: do they help patients who present primarily with non-specific symptoms? An article entitled “Antibiotic treatment in patients that present with solely non-specific symptoms and positive serology at a Lyme centre,” published in the European

Flaws in Lyme Disease Clinical Trials: ALDF Article Critiqued Debate continues over whether persistent symptoms after Lyme disease treatment may reflect ongoing infection. An article from the American Lyme Disease Foundation (ALDF) argues that clinical trials show no evidence of persistent infection, but important limitations of those trials are often overlooked. Dr. Phillip Baker, former

Is Suppressing Immunity Harmful to Lyme Disease Patients? Some Lyme disease patients take medications that suppress the immune system to treat autoimmune or inflammatory diseases. But does suppressing immunity worsen Lyme disease? A study examining Lyme disease patients receiving tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-α) inhibitors found these individuals were more likely to develop complications and treatment

Are Lyme Disease Symptoms Misdiagnosed as Psychosomatic? Lyme disease symptoms are sometimes dismissed as psychosomatic when laboratory tests are inconclusive. But according to psychiatrist Robert Bransfield, MD, this labeling reflects deeper problems in how clinicians diagnose complex multisystem illnesses. Lyme disease is sometimes misdiagnosed when symptoms are complex, fluctuate over time, or involve both neurologic

Is Lyme Disease Overlooked in Infectious Disease Consultations? In their article “Functional signs in patients consulting for presumed Lyme borreliosis,” Voitey et al. [1] examined patients referred to infectious disease specialists for suspected Lyme disease. Patients referred for infectious disease consultations often present with complex symptoms. When diagnostic criteria rely heavily on laboratory testing, some