September 2020 The MHC class II antigen processing and presentation pathway has evolved to derive short amino acid peptides from proteins that enter the endocytic pathway, load them onto MHC class II molecules and display them on the surface of antigen presenting cells for recognition by CD4+ T cells. Under normal circumstances, peptides bound to MHC…
[CanLyme Note: As new research unfolds we are discovering that borrelia other than Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) are pathogenic to humans. Much research is required to garner a broader understanding of cardiovascular and other system involvement and presentation. Testing currently is too focused on Bb and even with that it has many limitations and inaccuracies resulting in many…
Nov. 21, 2020 W5 TV show delves into Lyme disease and the lack of proper diagnostics and treatment in Canada. Patients stories are told and important issues are discussed that can affect most Canadians either by themselves, family or friends in the coming years. Watch Bitten
September 1st, 2020 Dr. Hawkins has been treating Lyme patients in Canada for many years, gaining a wealth of knowledge about the disease. He recounts his introduction to the shortcomings of Lyme disease testing in Canada while treating a patient with a history of multiple previous tick bites, many common symptoms of Lyme disease, but…
RE: Lyme carditis and neuroborreliosis Edward J Cormode [MD, FRCP], Retired paediatrician, Canadian Medical Association The three cases presented in the “Practice “section of the May 25, 2020 CMAJ provide an informative discussion of the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme carditis and neuroborreliosis in a tertiary care centre. I am a retired Ontario pediatrician and coroner, having practiced for…
[CanLyme Note: The rashes shown in this case are dismissed Canada-wide by doctors who are not taught about multiple rashes, and the worst of it is that if you are not in a “known endemic area” Lyme disease will be dismissed. In reality, Lyme disease occurs anywhere in Canada where our songbirds birds fly. If you…
“Her symptoms started quickly: neck pain, extreme fatigue and intermittent fever and chills. The woman had been healthy until then, and since she enjoyed gardening and landscaping at her rural Maryland home, she wondered if a tick bite might have given her Lyme disease although she had not noticed the telltale bull’s-eye skin lesion. Her…
Rian Michelsen is a rising star. Fifteen years ago, he was the toddler who burst out from behind the curtains singing Elvis’ Viva Las Vegas. As a young boy, he played the lead role in Oliver in his birthplace of Bermuda, before moving with his family to Toronto five years ago. Now, as a 17 year-old high school…
The next time a tick feeds on you, Washington State University researchers hope to make sure persistent arthritis caused by Lyme disease doesn’t linger for a lifetime. Troy Bankhead, associate professor in WSU’s Veterinary Microbiology and Pathology department, and his team have spent more than a decade analyzing an immune evasive protein of Borrelia burgdorferi,…
NO TICK IS A GOOD TICK, all species of ticks that will attach to humans and pets can carry various diseases. May, 2020 May is National Lyme Disease Awareness Month in Canada. It gives us a chance to remind and educate others about the disease and how to avoid it. Ticks aren’t going to give…
Minister of Health Patty Hajdu readily admits there is “still lots to learn” about treatment of Lyme disease but as typical opts to keep sick people sick without options of extended antibiotic treatment that has helped hundreds of thousands of people who had to leave Canada for help. Instead she wants more research, none of…
[CanLyme Note: The term post treatment Lyme disease syndrome is controversial and excludes those not effectively treated following the current treatment guidelines imposed upon physicians and patients.] “It has long been observed in clinical practice that a subset of patients with Lyme disease report a constellation of symptoms such as fatigue, cognitive difficulties, and musculoskeletal…
[CanLyme Note: The term post-treatment Lyme disease syndrome (PTLDS) referenced in this article is contentious as it implies treatment has eradicated the infectious Lyme disease borrelia bacteria. There is an abundance of evidence showing that the bacteria can survive recommended treatment periods. Many people do well with longer term treatment while others do not respond…
Presenting at a Lyme disease conference held in Bridgewater, NS, in November 2019, it was said that Nova Scotia lacks proper protocols when dealing with the ignored epidemic of Lyme and tick-borne diseases [TBD’s]. We have the highest incidence in Canada conservatively estimated as 454/ 100,000 across the province to as high as 1,826/100,000 in…
In today’s Big Story podcast, it’s a disease we never expected to see with any regularity in Canada, only to realize—perhaps too late—that maybe that was dumb. It’s a mistake to think of Lyme Disease as a rare illness now. Because all the data we have—and we don’t have enough—shows us that it is exploding…
Andrew Rankin (arankin@herald.ca) February 11, 2020 SACKVILLE, N.B. — The federal U.S. public health agency has set an example for Canada to follow by acknowledging that Lyme disease could be passed from mother to fetus with serious consequences, says a Mount Allison University expert. “The first step is acknowledging that the transmission happens,” said Vett…
The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation is dedicated to promoting research, education, diagnosis and treatment of Lyme and associated diseases.