by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH In a study entitled “A Drug Combination Screen Identifies Drugs Active against Amoxicillin-Induced Round Bodies of In Vitro Borrelia burgdorferi Persisters from an FDA Drug Library,” Feng and colleagues hypothesize that when Borrelia burgdorferi, the Lyme bacterium, is confronted with certain stressors, such as starvation or exposure to antibiotics, […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH The study focuses on the similarities and differences in male and female Lyme disease patients. However, the authors give little attention to the fact that both the male and female participants suffered from Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome a decade after treatment. A growing number of studies describe individuals sick […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH As early as 1990, Logigian and colleagues hypothesized that a two-week course of intravenous ceftriaxone would not successfully eradicate the Lyme bacterium. “The likely reason for relapse is failure to eradicate the spirochete completely with a two-week course of intravenous ceftriaxone therapy.” [3] A recently published clinical trial from […]

According to Rolling Stone, doctors believed the 79-year-old singer’s “increasingly debilitating memory loss was due to either Alzheimer’s or to dementia brought on by blows to the head from the boxing, football and rugby of his teens and early twenties.” He reportedly could not remember what he was doing from one moment to the next, […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH Altmetrics are metrics and qualitative data that are complementary to traditional, citation-based metrics that track and demonstrate the reach and influence of research publications to key stakeholders. [1] The Altmetrics score “can signal that research is changing a field of study, the public’s health, or having any other number of […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH In the article, Randomized Trial of Longer-term Antibiotic Therapy for Symptoms Attributed to Lyme Disease, the authors “assessed whether longer-term antibiotic treatment of persistent symptoms attributed to Lyme disease leads to better outcomes than does shorter-term treatment.” They report that “longer-term antibiotic treatment did not have additional beneficial effects […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH “Multiple trials have shown efficacy for a 10-day course of oral doxycycline for treatment of erythema migrans and for a 14-day course for treatment of early neurologic Lyme disease in ambulatory patients,” the review concludes. Furthermore, “Evidence indicates that a 10-day course of oral doxycycline is effective for HGA […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH The Journal of Vector Ecology was talking about deer keds seen below (family Hippoboscidae, genus Lipoptena), not deer flies (family Tabanidae, genus Chrysops). Thomas Mather pointed out a fun blog about this “tick with wings” at https://www.tickencounter.org/tick_notes/tick_notes_deer_keds#top 2. The Anaplasma phagocytophilum identified in the paper has not been identified […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH In the recent Clinical Infectious Diseases article entitled “Long-term follow-up of patients with Lyme disease: Longitudinal analysis of clinical and quality of life measures,” the authors conclude that “both mental health and physical health scores increased to be at or above national average over time, regardless of Lyme disease […]

Lyme disease was first identified in 1975 in a group of children and adolescents living in Connecticut, who suffered from recurrent attacks of asymmetric swelling and pain in several large joints, particularly in the knee. The patients were initially diagnosed with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis. “The typical patient has had 3 recurrences, but 16 patients have […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH Fatal Lyme carditis is rarely identified. In reviewing five post mortem cases, Muehlenbach and colleagues found that Lyme disease was not suspected for one patient who complained of episodic shortness of breath, while the second patient tested negative for Lyme disease. Two other patients did not seek medical care. […]

The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) published evidence-based treatment guidelines in 2006 which states, “Considerable confusion and controversy exist over the frequency and cause of this process [chronic Lyme disease] and even over its existence.” Furthermore, any “[ongoing] symptoms appear to be more related to the aches and pains of daily living rather than […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH There are at least 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease every year in the United States. As this patient group requires antibiotic therapy to treat Lyme and other tick-borne illnesses, there is a chance they can develop C. difficile. However, a rush decision to not prescribe or to discontinue […]

In 2013, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) described three cases of sudden deaths associated with Lyme-induced myocarditis. “During November 2012 and July 2013, one woman and two men (ranging in age from 26 to 38 years) from high-incidence Lyme disease states experienced sudden cardiac death and, on postmortem examination, were found to […]

by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH Study examines doxycycline as cause of acute pancreatitis in patient initially treated for suspected Lyme disease. A 51-year-old man was admitted to the hospital with a one-week history of extreme fatigue, malaise, and confusion. Three days prior to admittance, the man had started oral doxycycline for presumed Lyme disease […]