Borrelia burgdorferi-Induced Changes in the Class II Self-Immunopeptidome Displayed on HLA-DR Molecules Expressed by Dendritic Cells

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…

Phase 4 Block of the Right Bundle Branch Suggesting His-Purkinje System Involvement in Lyme Carditis

[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…

New Podcast: Dr. Ralph Hawkins shares his medical expertise and hands on experience diagnosing and treating Lyme disease

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…

Fatal Lyme carditis presenting as fluctuating high-grade atrioventricular block

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…

Unravelling the mystery of Lyme disease: Why Canada needs to do more

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…

WSU researchers crack the Lyme disease code

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,…

Canadian MP Len Webber addresses Minister of Health on Lyme disease

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…

Post-treatment Lyme Disease as a Model for Persistent Symptoms in Lyme Disease

[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…

The General Symptom Questionnaire-30 (GSQ-30): A Brief Measure of Multi-System Symptom Burden in Lyme Disease

[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…

Canada: Serious flaws in a medical system lacking medical and scientific ethic

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…

What’s driving the explosion in Lyme Disease in Canada?

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…

Time for Canada to follow U.S. recognition of mother-to-fetus Lyme disease transmission, says Mount Allison biologist

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…