Author: Dr. Daniel Cameron
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Powassan virus encephalitis contracted during winter months
In their article “Powassan Encephalitis: A Case Report from New York, USA,” Bazer and colleagues describe a male patient who was admitted to the hospital in December due to altered mental status, dysarthria, and a left facial droop.¹ The man also had a history of multiple medical problems including of a right putamen infarct, hepatitis…
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3 benefits of telemedicine for Lyme disease
The study, entitled “The Impact of Telemedicine in the Diagnosis of Erythema Migrans during the COVID Pandemic: A Comparison with In-Person Diagnosis in the Pre-COVID Era,” compares clinical data of 439 patients with an erythema migrans (EM) rash before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.¹ Participants in the study were being treated at…
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Can Lyme disease be mistaken for herpes?
In their article “Disseminated Lyme disease with a herpetiform center,” Zhang et al.¹ described a patient who presented with a Lyme disease rash that could have been mistaken for herpes. The woman in her 30’s developed a herpetiform rash, which resembles herpes lesions. Initially, the patient developed a “small red bump and surrounding swelling on…
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Could Lyme disease have led to a spinal cord lesion?
In their article “Case report: Dueling etiologies: Longitudinally extensive spinal cord lesion mimicking spinal cord infarct with simultaneous positive Lyme serology and amphiphysin antibody,”¹ Kalaszi and colleagues discuss the case of a patient who presented with a Bull’s-eye rash 6 months prior to his illness and whose testing was suggestive of Lyme disease as a…
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Lyme disease triggers neuropathy in the legs
A case report by Lazaro and Butt, published in the International Medical Case Reports Journal, describes a 67-year-old patient with Lyme disease and femoral neuropathy.¹ This is believed to be the first reported case of isolated femoral neuropathy triggered by Lyme disease. Femoral neuropathy, also referred to as femoral nerve dysfunction, involves a loss of…
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Can Lyme disease cause cognitive dysfunction or dementia?
The question of whether Lyme disease could cause dementia was addressed by Wormser and colleagues in an article entitled “Lack of Convincing Evidence That Borrelia burgdorferi Infection Causes Either Alzheimer Disease or Lewy Body Dementia,” published in the journal Clinical Infectious Diseases.¹ The authors reviewed a paper by Gadila et al.² which concluded that a…
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One year after infection, patient shows signs of Lyme meningitis
In their article “Lyme neuroborreliosis as a cause of sudden sensorineural hearing loss and facial palsy,” Nitro and colleagues present a case involving a woman in her 40’s who developed a sudden loss of hearing in both ears, along with facial palsy and was later diagnosed with Lyme meningitis.¹ “Bilateral hearing loss is rare,” the…
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Use of disulfiram for Lyme disease
Disulfiram was initially marketed in the U.S. as Antabuse as an alcohol sobriety aid which deters alcohol consumption by eliciting physical discomforts (e.g., headache, nausea, hypotension). It’s use as a possible treatment for Lyme disease has been described in several recent studies. Borrelia burgdorferi, the bacteria responsible for Lyme disease, possesses survival strategies in humans.…
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Neurological manifestations of Babesiosis
Individuals with babesiosis can experience fevers, chills, myalgias, anorexia, headache, nausea, and vomiting. According to the authors, “The least common are shortness of breath, sore throat, neck stiffness, emotional lability, photophobia, and dark urine.” In their study entitled “Atypical Presentation of Babesiosis With Neurological Manifestations as Well as Hematological Manifestations,” the authors summarize two cases…
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Mother describes challenges in getting treatment for newborn with Lyme disease
The mother saw a tick on her newborn daughter. “Three days later, she was very sleepy and hard to rouse,” the mother wrote. The infant had a red rash but not a Bull’s-eye rash. She was hospitalized. Intravenous antibiotics were prescribed via a PICC [peripherally inserted central catheter] line. The mother described sleeping in a…