Category Archives: Research

CanLyme is dedicated to promoting advancements in Lyme disease research. More research is needed to accurately diagnose and treat Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses and CanLyme has taken measures to address this, see our Venture Grants Policy.

CanLyme board member Reuben Kaufman, PhD has an ambitious tick study project underway on Salt Spring Island, BC and his program is also able to feed ticks to another CanLyme board member Janet Sperling who is completing her doctorate on examining the various pathogens that are found in the guts of Canadian ticks.
The articles and abstracts below have primarily been sourced from: PubMed.gov or the individual journals in which they were published. Please click the PubMed or journal link to read the whole article on their site.

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Recent in: Research

Non-anticoagulant heparin as a pre-exposure prophylaxis prevents Lyme disease infection.

Abstract Lyme disease (LD) is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl). After transmission to humans by ticks, Bbsl spreads to multiple organs, leading to arthritis, carditis, and neuroborreliosis. No effective prophylaxis against human LD prior to tick exposure is currently availa-ble. Thus, a pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) against LD is needed. The establishment of LD bacteria at diverse sites is Continues →

Prevalence of Infection and Co-Infection and Presence of Rickettsial Endosymbionts in Ixodes Scapularis (Acari: Ixodidae) in Connecticut, USA.

Abstract Ixodes scapularis is currently known to transmit 7 pathogens responsible for Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, babesiosis, tick-borne relapsing fever, ehrlichiosis, and Powassan encephalitis. Ixodes scapularis can also be colonized by endosymbiotic bacteria including those in the genus of Rickettsia. We screened 459 I. scapularis ticks submitted to the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station Tick Testing Laboratory with the objectives to (1) examine differences in infection prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Anaplasma Continues →

Talking Ticks and Lyme Disease Testing with Dr. Vett Lloyd

Most researchers are inspired to specialize in a particular field by a fascinating graduate course, an inspiring professor or a promising lab test. Dr. Vett Lloyd has a slightly more unique reason for devoting a large portion of her career to the study of Lyme disease: she was actually diagnosed with it. A geneticist by training, with an MSc-equivalent degree Continues →

Lyme disease in children: Data from the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program

Online November 30th, 2019 Abstract BACKGROUND: Lyme disease (LD) is an infectious disease that is emerging in eastern and central Canada associated with the spread of the tick vector Ixodes scapularis. National surveillance shows that children are an at-risk age group. OBJECTIVES: To study the epidemiology of LD in Canadian children using the Canadian Paediatric Surveillance Program (CPSP) to better understand exposure history, clinical manifestations, Continues →

‘No one wanted to touch it’: Why a Lyme disease vaccine has been so elusive

Cassandra Willyard December 16th, 2019 …”If the new vaccine does make it to market, will it fare any better than LYMErix? According to >Gregory Poland, co-director of the Vaccine Research Group at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, who has given scientific advice to Valneva, that’s “a multi-million dollar question.” One factor that led to LYMErix’s demise hinged on how the vaccine Continues →

Dr. Neil Spector presents new research on diagnostics and treatment

November 18th, 2019 Dr. Neil Spector, a world famous cancer researcher who contracted Lyme disease, gives an amazing presentation of potential new diagnostics and treatments for Lyme borreliosis and other infections. He is grateful for the support of the Steven and Alexandra Cohen Foundation. Watch full presentation

Disulfiram (Tetraethylthiuram Disulfide) in the Treatment of Lyme Disease and Babesiosis: Report of Experience in Three Cases

Abstract   Three patients, each of whom had required intensive open-ended antimicrobial therapy for control of the symptoms of chronic relapsing neurological Lyme disease and relapsing babesiosis, were able to discontinue treatment and remain clinically well for periods of observation of 6–23 months following the completion of a finite course of treatment solely with disulfiram. One patient relapsed at six Continues →

Repurposing disulfiram (Tetraethylthiuram Disulfide) as a potential drug candidate against Borrelia burgdorferi in vitro and in vivo

This article is a preprint and has not been certified by peer review – Posted Nov 15th, 2019 ABSTRACT Lyme disease caused by the Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb or B. burgdorferi) is a most common vector-borne, multi-systemic disease in USA. Although, most Lyme disease patients can be cured with a course of antibiotic treatment, a significant percent of patient population fail to be Continues →

Extensive Distribution of the Lyme Disease Bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi Sensu Lato, in Multiple Tick Species Parasitizing Avian and Mammalian Hosts across Canada

Abstract Lyme disease, caused by the spirochetal bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl), is typically transmitted by hard-bodied ticks (Acari: Ixodidae). Whenever this tick-borne zoonosis is mentioned in medical clinics and emergency rooms, it sparks a firestorm of controversy. Denial often sets in, and healthcare practitioners dismiss the fact that this pathogenic spirochetosis is present in their area. For distribution of Bbsl Continues →

Rickettsial infections of the central nervous system

[CanLyme Note: The Canadian medical community is absolutely under-informed on tick-borne disease. Medical leadership in Canada, managed by non-medical (PHAC), medically unethical (AMMI), scientifically unethical (CIHR), taxpayer funded gatekeepers for the for-profit medical industry insure never ending sickness that generates billions of dollars while denying access to policy making decisions of those most affected… patients and their experts. When will there Continues →

Tick-borne disease can be transmitted in as little as 15 seconds of attachment new study reveals.

[CanLyme Note: In the western regions of North America Dermacentor andersonii is a major vector of Rickettsia rickettsii. Because rickettsial infections in humans appear to be expressed from mild to fatal it is possible many misdiagnoses have occurred over the decades. “Rickettsial infections can affect many organs, including the central nervous system (CNS) ” Also, the possibility of congenital transmission must be explored Continues →

Watch TV news series on Lyme disease…. Lyme and Reason

  Segment 1  LYME AND REASON: THE CAUSE AND CONSEQUENCE OF LYME DISEASE Segment 2 LYME AND REASON: BATTLES AND BREAKTHROUGHS AGAINST LYME Segment 3 LYME & REASON 2.0: LYME DISEASE & THE VOICES OF CHANGE Segment 4 LYME & REASON: THE POWER OF INNOVATION Segment 5 LYME & REASON: DR. KRISTEN HONEY

Review of the National Institute for Health and Care Excellence in UK guidelines for Lyme disease

[CanLyme Note: NICE in the UK, similar to the Public Health Agency of Canada (PHAC) is given statutory distinction.  NICE published Lyme disease guidelines using their legislated privilege.  In Canada, the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (AMMI) and PHAC have openly supported the NICE guidelines. PHAC regularly abuses its legislated privilege and AMMI continually makes misleading false statements to Continues →

Parenting When Children Have Lyme Disease: Fear, Frustration, Advocacy

Emilie M. Gaudet 1 , Odette N. Gould 1,*, Vett Lloyd 2 1 Department of Psychology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB E4L 1C7 Canada 2 Department of Biology, Mount Allison University, Sackville, NB E4L 1G7 Canada * Author to whom correspondence should be addressed. Healthcare 2019, 7(3), 95; doi.org/10.3390/healthcare7030095 Abstract Increasing numbers of Canadians, including children and adolescents, are being infected with Borrelia burgdorferi and contracting Lyme disease. Continues →

Mouse genome unraveled. Perhaps new strategies to curtail the proliferation of tick-borne and other infectious diseases.

The genome of Peromyscus leucopus, natural host for Lyme disease and other emerging infections July 24, 2019 Abstract   The rodent Peromyscus leucopus is the natural reservoir of several tick-borne infections, including Lyme disease. To expand the knowledge base for this key species in life cycles of several pathogens, we assembled and scaffolded the P. leucopus genome. The resulting assembly was 2.45 Gb in total Continues →