B cell suppressive therapy led to a delayed diagnosis of Lyme disease
I will be discussing a 20-year-old girl with a 3 year history of multiple sclerosis treated with B cell suppressive therapy . She was prescribed two biological disease-modifying antirheumatic drug (DMARD).
This article was written by Sjowall and colleagues in the journal Frontiers in Neurology.
She was initially prescribed tocilizumab, marketed in the US as Actemra. Tocilizumab is a monoclonal antibody blocks signals from IL-6 receptors them, is a monoclonal antibody against the interleukin-6 receptor. Tocilizumab can lower the ability of your immune system to ...
What do Ebola, COVID-19, and Lyme disease have in common?
In this podcast episode, Dr. Daniel Cameron reviews the commonalities between long COVID-19, Ebola and Lyme disease.
Lyme disease as a reversible cause of chronic illness for some patients
As the number of individuals with chronic illnesses continues to rise, clinicians and patients are looking for reversible causes to chronic symptoms that are often debilitating to patients. Reversible causes have included dementia, [1] coma, [2] complex arrhythmia, [3] and autoimmune encephalitis. [4]
Visual changes due to Lyme disease
Visual disturbances have been reported in Lyme disease patients. A recent study suggests that changes in visual function for some of these patients may be related to a loss in contrast sensitivity (CS).
Choosing a doctor experienced to treat Lyme disease cannot be overemphasized
Oh, for the good old days, when Lyme disease was easy to diagnose and treat. Well, those days are over. As the illness has become increasingly challenging for clinicians and other tick-borne diseases continue to emerge, the role of doctors experienced in treating Lyme disease cannot be overemphasized.
Two children ill with both Lyme disease and Mono
In this Inside Lyme Podcast episode, Dr. Daniel Cameron discusses two cases involving children who were ill with both Lyme disease and Mononucleosis.
Two children ill with both Lyme disease and Mono.
I will be discussing two children ill with both Lyme disease and Mono. This case was described by Koester and colleagues in the journal Clinical Medicine & Research.Mono and Lyme disease are common diseases. What happens when child living in an area endemic for Lyme disease has both conditions?These are not the first time patients with both mono and Lyme disease. Koester and colleagues described a study where 52 patients tested positive for Lyme disease and Mono.Koester and colleagues urged caution before dismissing a positive IgM western blot test and run the risk ...
Could monoclonal antibodies prevent Lyme disease better than a vaccine?
Researchers say they have had “promising results” in developing a unique method to prevent Lyme disease in humans. It does not involve a vaccine, but rather a process which stimulates the immune system to ward off infections.
Who is more likely to fail Lyme disease treatment?
In a recent article entitled “Risk Factors and Outcomes of Treatment Delays in Lyme Disease: A Population-Based Retrospective Cohort Study,” Hirsch and colleagues described which Lyme disease patients were more likely to fail treatment.¹
Young child with a “false brain tumor” due to Lyme disease
I will be discussing a case involving a 9-year-old boy with a pseudotumor cerebri due to Lyme disease
This case was described by Ezequiel and colleagues in the journal BMJ Case Rep (2018).
Pseudotumor cerebri means “false brain tumor” because its symptoms are similar to those caused by brain tumors. It's also known as idiopathic intracranial hypertension.
The boy was admitted to the hospital with “daily pulsatile frontotemporal headache, pallor, photophobia and phonophobia, without night awakening, vomiting or visual changes,” wrote the authors...