Category Archives: Medical Publications

Recent in: Medical Publications

Presence of Babesia odocoilei and Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Stricto in a Tick and Dual Parasitism of Amblyomma inornatum and Ixodes scapularis on a Bird in Canada

John D. Scott, Kerry L. Clark  and Lance A. Durden  published 20 March 2019 Abstract: Wild birds transport ticks into Canada that harbor a diversity of zoonotic pathogens. However, medical practitioners often question how these zoonotic pathogens are present in their locality. In this study, we provide the first report of an Amblyomma inornatum tick cofeeding with a blacklegged tick, Continues →

Systemic Sarcoidosis Associated with Exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi in a 21-Year-Old Man

ABSTRACT Objective: Here we describe a rare case of systemic sarcoidosis in a healthy young man with neuroborreliosis as a putative trigger. Case: A 21-year-old forestry worker was diagnosed with systemic sarcoidosis involving his lungs, kidneys and skin. Additional diagnostics revealed signs indicative of a recent infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. The patient was treated successfully with prednisolone and antibiotics. Conclusion: Sarcoidosis is a multisystem Continues →

Study of pediatric patients shows two-tier testing results cannot rule out Lyme borreliosis.

Two-Tier Lyme Disease Serology Test Results Can Vary According to the Specific First-Tier Test Used Published: February 22, 2019 Abstract Background Variability in 2-tier Lyme disease test results according to the specific first-tier enzyme immunoassay (EIA) in children has not been examined rigorously. In this study, we compared paired results of clinical 2-tier Lyme disease tests to those of the Continues →

Chronicle Herald: Chief medical officer’s Lyme disease retweet likely violated policy — legal expert

January 29th, 2019 by Andrew Rankin The Chronicle Herald HALIFAX, N.S. —  A recent tweet by Nova Scotia’s top doctor dismissing chronic Lyme disease as a pseudoscience supported by a cult following appears to violate the province’s social media policy, says a Dalhousie University law professor. “What I also don’t understand is what does he really mean by the retweet,” said Continues →

Establishment of a continuous in vitro culture of Babesia duncani in human erythrocytes reveals unusually high tolerance to recommended therapies. [ie Mepron not too effective?]

November 21st, 2018 Abstract Human babesiosis is an emerging tick-borne disease caused by apicomplexan parasites of the genus Babesia. Clinical cases caused by Babesia duncani have been associated with high parasite burden, severe pathology and death. In both mice and hamsters, the parasite causes uncontrolled fulminant infections, which ultimately lead to death. Resolving these infections requires knowledge of B. duncani biology, virulence, and susceptibility to  antiinfectives, but Continues →

Evaluating polymicrobial immune responses in patients suffering from tick-borne diseases

October 29 2018, Garga K et al There is insufficient evidence to support screening of various tick-borne diseases (TBD) related microbes alongside Borrelia in patients suffering from TBD. To evaluate the involvement of multiple microbial immune responses in patients experiencing TBD we utilized enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Four hundred and thirty-two human serum samples organized into seven categories followed Centers for Continues →

Learning From Patients’ Experiences Related To Diagnostic Errors Is Essential For Progress In Patient Safety

Health Affairs : Nov 2108 10.1377/hlthaff.2018.0698 HEALTH AFFAIRS 37, NO. 11 (2018): 1821–1827 ABSTRACT Diagnostic error research has largely focused on individual clinicians’ decision making and system design, while overlooking information from patients. We analyzed a unique new data source of patient- and family-reported error narratives to explore factors that contribute to diagnostic errors. From reports of adverse medical events Continues →

Symptoms of Ehrlichiosis [with treatment recommendations]

Nov 26th, 2018 “Patients with ehrlichiosis (regardless of the putative organism) clinically present with fever, chills, severe headache, confusion, malaise, nausea, vomiting, and generalized body aches. Respiratory symptoms such as cough may also be observed, but they are more common in adults than in  children. Symptoms are typically seen one to two weeks following a tick bite, with a median Continues →

Epidemiology of Ehrlichiosis, Anaplasmosis [Can be coinfection with other tick borne disease(s) or stand alone infections]

Nov 26th, 2018 Ehrlichiosis “Ehrlichiosis is a disease caused by several Gram-negative obligate intracellular bacteria that are transmitted by a tick vector. The frequency of ehrlichiosis is increasing, which is ascribed to the increased awareness and diagnostic availability, as well as the expansion of regions populated with the most common tick vector – Amblyomma americanum (also known as the Lone Star tick).”  Continues →

Human Babesiosis Caused by Babesia duncani Has Widespread Distribution across Canada

Published May 17, 2018 Abstract: Human babesiosis caused by Babesia duncani is an emerging infectious disease in Canada. This malaria-like illness is brought about by a protozoan parasite infecting red blood cells. Currently, controversy surrounds which tick species are vectors of B. duncani. Since the availability of a serological or molecular test in Canada for B. duncanihas been limited, we conducted a seven-year surveillance study (2011–2017) to ascertain the Continues →

Detection of tick-borne infection in Morgellons disease patients by serological and molecular techniques

Marianne J Middelveen, Iris Du Cruz, Melissa C Fesler, Raphael B Stricker, Jyotsna S Shah 1Atkins Veterinary Services, Calgary, AB, Canada; 2IGeneX Laboratories, Palo Alto, CA, USA; 3Union Square Medical Associates, San Francisco, CA, USA Background: Morgellons disease (MD) is a skin condition associated with Lyme disease (LD) and tick-borne illness. Patients with this skin disorder experience ulcerative lesions that contain multicolored filamentous collagen and keratin inclusions. Continues →

Tick-borne disease is multiple microbial in nature

Nov. 1, 2018 A study recently published in Scientific Reports discovered that 65% of Lyme disease patients irrespective of their disease stage respond to several microbes. As a consequence, the authors have demonstrated that microbial infections in individuals suffering from Lyme disease do not follow the “one microbe, one disease” status-quo. Moreover, the probability that Lyme disease patients would respond Continues →

Lyme disease can be transmitted from tick in 12 hours new research shows.

[CanLyme Note: Will the Canadian government labs and physicians now stop telling everyone they cannot have Lyme because the tick was not attached for 24 or more hours?] Infection Kinetics and Tropism of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato in Mouse After Natural (via Ticks) or Artificial (Needle) Infection Depends on the Bacterial Strain ORIGINAL RESEARCH ARTICLE Front. Microbiol., 31 July 2018 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.01722 Continues →

Neuropsychiatric Lyme Borreliosis: An Overview with a Focus on a Specialty Psychiatrist’s Clinical Practice

Pulished August 25, 2018 Robert C Bransfield Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, Piscataway, NJ 08854, USA Abstract   There is increasing evidence and recognition that Lyme borreliosis (LB) causes mental symptoms. This article draws from databases, search engines and clinical experience to review current information on LB. LB causes immune and metabolic effects that result in a Continues →

Borrelia burgdorferi adhere to blood vessels in the dura mater and are associated with increased meningeal T cells during murine disseminated borreliosis

Published: May 3, 2018 https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0196893 ABSTRACT Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, is a vector-borne bacterial infection that is transmitted through the bite of an infected tick. If not treated with antibiotics during the early stages of infection, disseminated infection can spread to the central nervous system (CNS). In non-human primates (NHPs) it has been demonstrated that the Continues →