All Posts Tagged With: "borrelia burgdorferi"

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20595179&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

Results
27 different non-specific bands were detected in both groups. Six
of 27 (22%) of the non-specific bands were detected significantly
more in the western blot positive patients compared to the
western blot negative patients (20 kDa, p<0.0001; 28 kDa,
p<0.002; 36 kDa, p<0.002; 37 kDa, p<0.007; 48 kDa, p<0.023; 56
kDa, p<0.028; two-tailed F test). 

Conclusion
Results suggest that the 20, 28 and 48 kDa bands should be
regarded as specific.

Full article: http://jnnp.bmj.com/content/78/12/1409.extract

Excerpt:

Retrobulbar optic neuritis (RON) is an unusual complication of Lyme disease. The diagnosis of early Lyme disease is difficult, and the relationship between RON and Lyme disease remains controversial. None of the 14 cases of optic neuritis described in the literature in association with Lyme disease fulfilled the Halperin and Sibony criteria for active Lyme disease. We report the first case of acute Lyme disease complicated by RON established using the Halperin and Sibony criteria.

Lyme disease is a multisystem infectious disease caused by tick borne spirochetes of the Borrelia burgdorferi group. Diagnosis of this infection can be difficult and serological testing such as western blot can be useful. Cranial neuropathies are common but RON has been reported in a few isolated cases.1 A causal link between optic neuritis and Lyme disease has not been established and remains controversial. We report a case of active neuro-Lyme disease complicated by RON

Full article: http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.med.diseases.lyme/2008-06/msg00078.html

Excerpt:

IDSA knows that chronic Lyme exists

The IDSA is aware that chronic Lyme exists. We know this because
members of the 2000 and 2006 Lyme disease guideline panels wrote, in
research articles and patents, that chronic Lyme exists.

Evidence about the existence of chronic Lyme borreliosis has increased
since the 2006 LD guidelines were published.

Scientists in California recently reported that not only can Bb persist
in mice despite treatment with ceftriaxone, but the Borrelia can also
infect other ticks and mice. (1) This study buttresses previous
studies that showed that Borrelia can persist in mice (2, 3), dogs (4,
5, 6), and ponies (7).

Studies have also shown that Bb can persist despite antibiotic
treatment in the following human cells, tissues, organs, and body
fluids:

* Fibroblasts (8; Mark Klempner, an IDSA LD guideline panel member in
2006, is an author of this study)

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20561635&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

Excerpt:

RESULTS: Eleven patients who presented with acute central nervous
system (CNS) syndrome fulfilled the diagnostic criteria for
neuroborreliosis. In the CSF studies, lymphocytic pleocytosis
with elevation of total protein and normal glucose was noted in 9
patients. The clinical syndromes were confirmed by magnetic
resonance imaging and electrophysiological studies. Ten of 11
patients were found to have brain stem or spinal cord lesions on
neuroimaging studies, and 8 patients had concomitant peripheral
nervous system involvement with electrophysiological evidence of
multiple root lesions with an acute or subacute course.
CONCLUSIONS: Lyme neuroborreliosis presenting as acute CNS
syndrome with peripheral nervous system involvement
simultaneously in the disease course, especially acute
myelopolyradiculitis, in Taiwan is different from Lyme
neuroborreliosis seen in Europe and North America. The treatment
outcome is variable and based on the severity of initial
neurological deficits, early diagnosis, and early management.
Copyright (c) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Excerpt:

Lyme disease is reported across Canada, but pinpointing the source of infection has been problematic. In this three-year, bird-tick-pathogen study (2004–2006), 366 ticks representing 12 species were collected from 151 songbirds (31 passerine species/subspecies) at 16 locations Canada-wide. Of the 167 ticks/pools tested, 19 (11.4%) were infected with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.). Sequencing of the rrf-rrl intergenic spacer gene revealed four Borrelia genotypes: B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) and three novel genotypes (BC genotype 1, BC genotype 2, BC genotype 3). All four genotypes were detected in spirochete-infected Ixodes auritulus (females, nymphs, larvae) suggesting this tick species is a vector for B. burgdorferi s.l. We provide first-time records for: ticks in the Yukon (north of 60° latitude), northernmost collection of Amblyomma americanum in North America, and Amblyomma imitator in Canada. First reports of bird-derived ticks infected with B. burgdorferi s.l. include: live culture of spirochetes from Ixodes pacificus (nymph) plus detection in I. auritulus nymphs, Ixodes scapularis in New Brunswick, and an I. scapularis larva in Canada. We provide the first account of B. burgdorferi s. l. in an Ixodes muris tick collected from a songbird anywhere. Congruent with previous data for the American Robin, we suggest that the Common Yellowthroat, Golden-crowned Sparrow, Song Sparrow, and Swainson’s Thrush are reservoir-competent hosts. Song Sparrows, the predominant hosts, were parasitized by I. auritulus harboring all four Borrelia genotypes. Our results show that songbirds import B. burgdorferi s.l.-infected ticks into Canada. Bird-feeding I. scapularis subadults were infected with Lyme spirochetes during both spring and fall migration in eastern Canada. Because songbirds disperse millions of infected ticks across Canada, people and domestic animals contract Lyme disease outside of the known and expected range.

Excerpt:

Lyme arthritis in dogs can be induced under experimental and
natural conditions.
However, the veterinary relevance of canine borreliosis is still
under extensive investigation. The prevalence of symptoms is
clearly low although the risk of tick exposure is high. Current
research focuses on case definitions, methods for diagnosing
clinical disease in dogs, and discrimination between an immune
response to a natural infection versus vaccination.
In this experimental study,
23 dogs raised under tick-free conditions were allocated to two
groups: 11 dogs were vaccinated with a commercial borrelia
vaccine and subsequently developed detectable antibody titers; 12
were walked in a tick-endemic area on two consecutive days. On
day five after exposure engorged ticks were removed from the 12
dogs and analyzed for Borrelia DNA in real-time PCR assay. Blood
samples were taken before exposure/vaccination and at defined
time points thereafter.

Excerpt:

The known spectrum of skin manifestations in cutaneous Lyme disease is continuously expanding and can not be regarded as completed. Besides the classical manifestations of cutaneous borreliosis like erythema (chronicum) migrans, borrelial lymphocytoma and acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans evidence is growing that at least in part also other skin manifestations, especially morphea, lichen sclerosus and cases of cutaneous B-cell lymphoma are causally related to infections with Borrelia. Also granuloma annulare and interstitial granulomatous dermatitis might be partly caused by Borrelia burgdorferi or similar strains. There are also single reports of other skin manifestations to be associated with borrelial infections like cutaneous sarcoidosis, necrobiosis lipoidica and necrobiotic xanthogranuloma. In addition, as the modern chameleon of dermatology, cutaneous borreliosis, especially borrelial lymphocytoma, mimics other skin conditions, as has been shown for erythema annulare centrifugum or lymphocytic infiltration (Jessner Kanof) of the skin.

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Summary Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha antagonists are very effective treatments for immune-mediated inflammatory disorders. Adverse events include severe infections and episodes of lupus-like syndrome, multiple sclerosis-like demyelination and other neuropathies. The pathomechanisms of these autoimmune-like syndromes after TNF-alpha blockade are still unknown. We report a patient with psoriasis who developed a lupus-like syndrome during infliximab treatment, which was finally diagnosed as an exaggerated systemic infection with Borrelia burgdorferi. This case suggests that autoimmune-like syndromes may actually represent pre-existing or newly acquired nonseptic bacterial or viral infections, which have escaped immune surveillance during TNF-alpha blockade. Each autoimmune-like syndrome during TNF-alpha blockade should therefore be carefully examined for potential causative infection.

Full article: https://www.thieme-connect.com/ejournals/abstract/neuropediatrics/doi/10.1055/s-2006-974121

Excerpt:

Neuroborreliosis often presents with cranial nerve palsy, aseptic meningitis or meningoencephalitis. Cerebral arteriopathy has rarely been reported as single cases. Here we present a retrospective analysis from 1997 to 2005 in the Berlin area. In this period neuroborreliosis was confirmed in 47 children through the finding of specific antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi in CSF.

22 (47%) suffered from facial palsy as a presenting symptome, in one of them the palsy was bilateral. Four children (9%) had palsies of other cranial nerves, and four patients (9%) presented with paresis of an arm, hemiparesis, or spastic paraparesis. 16 children (34%) reported headache on admission, 15 (32%) presented with myalgia and/or arthralgia. Two patients (4%) had paraesthesia, another two (4%) were atactic. Ten (21%) had unspecific symptoms such as fever, fatigue, loss of appetite, or nausea. Other symptoms included general slowdown, sensoric or motoric aphasia, agitation, confusion, incomplete Horner’s syndrome, and mucosa haemorrhage, each in one patient.

In 19 patients (40%) cerebral imaging was performed. 13 (68%) were found to be normal, or rather revealed typical lesions in a patient with an underlying neurofribromatosis type 1. In one child with hemiparesis, and in one with multiple cranial nerve palsies, arterial subtraction angiography (DAS) confirmed multifocal vasculitis and dissection of the left Aa. vertebralis and basilaris, respectively. In one girl with hemiplegia, MRI revealed an infarction of the according internal capsule. Although angiography was not done this finding is suspicious of focal arteriopathy. The girl also had a homozygous mutation of factor V Leiden.

Full article: www.emedicine.com/DERM/topic381.htm 

Excerpt:

BACKGROUND: Sarcoidosis is a multisystemic granulomatous disease of unknown etiology, while Lyme borreliosis is a multisystemic disorder caused by Borrelia burgdorferi. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the relationship between sarcoidosis and Lyme borreliosis in a region of Japan where Lyme borreliosis is endemic. METHODS: We determined the seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies as well as antibodies three Japanese Borrelia strains by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and dotblot assay using purified Borrelia-specific proteins in 46 patients with confirmed sarcoidosis and 150 controls (50 disease controls and 100 healthy controls) in Hokkaido, the affected region. RESULTS: Fifteen patients with sarcoidosis (32.6%) tested positive for Borrelia spirochete in both assays, compared with two disease controls (4.0%) and two healthy controls (2.0%). The seroprevalence of anti-Borrelia antibodies in patients with sarcoidosis was much higher in the affected region than in the region in our previous study were Lyme borreliosis is non-endemic. CONCLUSION: In a region where Lyme borreliosis is endemic, Borrelia infection may be partially associated with sarcoidosis.