“Recent data suggest that infection either directly or indirectly plays a major role in the pathogenesis of childhood acute ischemic stroke,” states Monteventi, from the Pediatric Neurology Unit at Geneva Children’s Hospital in Switzerland. [1] The goal of this study was to “identify all children who suffered from a stroke that can be attributed with […]

The numbers of individuals in the US who are unaware they are infected with Babesia could be significant. At least 300,000 people are diagnosed with Lyme disease every year in the US. And up to 40% of those with Lyme disease in the northeast have been found to also be infected with Babesia. [2] In […]

In Europe, the most common tick-borne diseases are Lyme disease and tick-borne encephalitis. However, “in recent years the number of infections caused by pathogens from Bartonella, Babesia, Anaplasma, Brucella and other species has also been increasing,” writes Sowula. This study looked at not only the prevalence of otolaryngological symptoms in patients with Lyme disease, but in […]

Four of the citizen scientists collectively recovered several hundred ticks over a 3-year period starting in 2014. The Saint John, New Brunswick collection process went beyond conventional flagging. “Ticks were obtained by flagging backyard vegetation with a white hand towel, removing ticks from flowers harvested in the backyard, and collecting ticks from the household cat,” […]

The authors describe the quality of the sleep of Lyme disease (LD) patients who were “ideally treated” for an erythema migrans rash. They defined “ideally treated” as a 3-week course of doxycycline. Their study excluded individuals with more complicated presentations including self-reported history of prior LD, having Lyme symptoms for greater than 3 months duration, […]

The study, led by Gupta from the Department of Public and Allied Health Sciences at Delaware State University, found that “participants’ knowledge of tick-borne diseases was poor,” with less than half (38.4%) believing ticks were problematic in Delaware. In fact, while more than half of the study’s respondents indicated having seen such prevention campaigns, only […]

“Her functionality was severely affected; she was bedbound for approximately 5 years and required a wheelchair,” writes Lim from the University of California in San Francisco. [1] Her medical history also included fibromyalgia, hypothyroidism, anxiety/depression, and insomnia. Her skin, spine, bones and joint pain was severe and difficult to treat. “She had severe pain episodes […]

“Our model predicted vector status with over 91% accuracy,” the authors state, “and identified 14 Ixodes species with high probabilities (80%) of transmitting infections from animal hosts to humans on the basis of their traits.” They found several intrinsic features that predict which tick is more likely to transmit an infection from animals to humans. […]

The article published in General Hospital Psychiatry examines the temporal incidence of obsessive compulsive symptoms (OCS) among 147 subjects, ages 18 – 82, with Lyme disease. The study found that 84% of these individuals reported having “clinically significant” OCS. However, only 44% identified themselves as experiencing OCS. Their obsessions and compulsions included washing, checking, ordering, […]

In their study, Buchholz and colleagues, from Western Kentucky University, found that more than half of the mice in Kentucky tested positive for Borrelia burgdorferi. They also discovered that the prevalence of B. burgdorferi was higher in tissue than in blood – a finding consistent with other studies. “Overall prevalence of B. burgdorferi in mammals […]

A 30-year-old man presented to the ER with “a pulse of 53/min and annular macular rash located over the anterior and posterior aspect of the left chest wall,” writes Cunha. Laboratory evidence confirmed Lyme disease by ELISA and both an IgG and IgM western blot. His ejection fraction was slightly reduced at 50%. The rash […]

According to the authors, Lyme disease mimicked a myocardial infarction (heart attack)  in a 45-year-old woman who presented with a sudden onset of chest pain, radiating to her neck. The evidence supporting a diagnosis of myocardial infarction was strong. A medical workup showed the woman had EKG changes, high admission levels of Troponin and CK-MB, […]

In their article published in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, the authors state, “Results from the physical exam and laboratory testing our sample of patients with PTLDS did not show a pattern of significant objective abnormalities.” However, “the most notable exception was the higher rate of diminished vibratory sensation on physical exam among participants with […]

According to Rebman and colleagues, writing in the journal Frontiers in Medicine, PTLDS is a severe complication of Lyme disease. [1] The authors identified PTLDS using the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) proposed case definition. [2] “Briefly, this definition relies on prior physician-documented Lyme disease, treatment with standard of care antibiotics, and the development […]

The 6-year-old girl presented with an erythema migrans (EM) rash before developing an areolar lymphocytoma involving her breast. She had recently travelled to Germany, where her parents recalled her developing an asymptomatic, annular, erythematous eruption of the right flank 1 week after a “bite,” writes Ogimi. The initial tests for Lyme disease were negative. Then, […]