Category: Uncategorized

This case involves a 7-year-old girl who developed multiple physical and neuropsychiatric symptoms six months after vacationing in a tick endemic region of the US.  I first read about this case by Cross and colleagues in the journal Frontiers in Psychiatry. The patient’s symptoms were extensive, Jones explains, and included “dramatic declines in cognitive functioning,…

The man had been diagnosed with the tick-borne illness Babesia in Florida 10 weeks after travelling to New York. Initially, he presented with a 4-day history of fever, generalized weakness, and flu-like symptoms.  I first read about this case by Patel and colleagues in the journal Cureus . His fever was 104.8 F.  His hemoglobin…

Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive motor neuron disease. “In July 2018, that is, within six months, he developed paraparesis of both arms and also suffered from cramps in the shoulder girdle and hand muscles,” wrote the authors. “By August 2018, the patient was severely impaired in everyday…

a 61-year old woman who was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer and later Lyme disease.   The woman underwent a  lumpectomy, chemotherapy and radiation. I first read about this case in the journal Diagnostics  by Ørbæk  and colleagues. One  year later, she developed leg and back pain so severe that narcotics would not even…

A 36-year-old man suffered with severe neuropathic pain in both feet. The pain was severe at a level 10 out of 10 despite methadone 5 mg every four hours as needed. The doctors elected not to treat with antibiotic under the assumption that the tick-borne infection had resolved. I first read about this case in…

The symptoms of Lyme disease can be severe and persist for year. Patients often report having extreme fatigue, sleep disturbances, mood disturbances, poor memory and concentration, headaches, dizziness, neck pain, tingling in hands and feet, and joint pain. Chronic and debilitating manifestations have been described, such as: Lyme encephalopathy 1,3 Lyme neuropathy 4 Neuropsychiatric Lyme disease 5…

“The probability of being infected with Lyme disease is related to the risk of encounters with Ixodes scapularis ticks infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, which reflects both the environmental tick hazard and human behaviors,” writes Bron and colleagues in the journal Ticks and Tick-borne Diseases¹  on the prevention of Lyme disease The authors compared…

I will be discussing autonomic dysfunction in a 64-year old woman with a history of Lyme disease and COVID-19.  She was initially diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease at the age of 60.  She was diagnosed with two autonomic disorders. Her distal burning sensation without weakness were diagnosed as small fiber neuropathy (SNF).  Her dizziness,…

Gastrointestinal symptoms in Lyme disease patients can be fairly common. For decades studies have reported B. burgdorferi bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of Lyme patients. In fact, a 1999 study found “the presence of Lyme disease in the gastrointestinal tract when confirmed by PCR for B. burgdorferi DNA in 14 of 20 patients with the…

Dr. Cameron feels that the best way to get to know Lyme disease is through reviewing actual cases. In this Inside Lyme Podcast episode, he will be discussing a 25-year-old man with transverse myelitis and Lyme disease. Dumic and colleague first discussed this case in the journal IDCases in 2019. “A previously healthy 25-year-old man…