All Posts Tagged With: "Lyme disease"

Ticks can transmit a variety of viruses, bacteria or parasites
that can cause serious infections or conditions in humans and
animals. While tick-borne diseases are becoming an increasing and
serious problem in Europe, tick-borne diseases are also
responsible for major depressions in livestock production and
mortality in sub-Saharan Africa, Latin America and Asia. This
review will focus on the most important circulating
tick-transmitted pathogens in Europe (Borrelia spp., Anaplasma
phagocytophilum, Babesia spp., tick-borne encephalitis virus,
Rickettsia spp. and Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus).

Linda’s comment:  I suggest you copy and paste this and/or print out and take to your doctors or any healthcare practitioners and make sure they are recording things properly in your charts.  When you know your symptoms are attributed to Lyme disease, make sure this is noted.

In general, social security does not make decisions on a diagnosis, but on the restrictions and functional limitations a person has that results on their inability to work based on any training, education and experience the person had in the past.
 
Because Lyme disease is not listed in the “blue book”, it is even more important for those with Lyme disease to do the following.
Make sure all treating physicians understand the importance of documenting actual functional limitations in the actual patient notes.
 
Many physicians actually write “non-descriptive” patient notes which later are determined to be useless for SSDI purposes.
 
If a Lyme patient is suffering from neurological deficits that result in loss of balance and coordination, this should be clearly indicated in the patient record as attributable to Lyme disease.

Excerpt:

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) represents the third most common cause of heart
failure and the most frequent cause of heart transplantation. Infectious, mostly
viral, and autoimmune mechanisms, together with genetic abnormalities, have been
reported as three major causes of DCM. We hypothesized that Lyme disease (LD),
caused by spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb), might be an important cause of
new-onset unexplained DCM in patients living in a highly endemic area for LD
such as the Czech Republic.

Continued

Lyme disease (borreliosis) is a systemic illness resulting from infection
with the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi. It is transmitted to humans by the
bites of infected ticks belonging to several species of the genus Ixodes.
After the bacteria enter the body via the dermis, most patients develop the
early, localised form of Lyme disease, which is characterised by erythema
migrans and influenza-like symptoms. This disease may also affect the heart,
nervous system and joints. The neurological findings of this disease may
include peripheral and central nervous system signs.
A 21-year-old woman attended a family medicine outpatient clinic complaining
of unexplained pain and muscle power loss in her lower extremities. The
problem had started in her right leg 3 months earlier and worsened in the
last week. She had a neurology consultation and was hospitalised. Her
neurological examination revealed bilateral facial paralysis and sensory
impairment. Immunoglobulin M antibody to B. burgdorferi was positive on
Western blotting in both serum and cerebrospinal fluid. The patient was
diagnosed with subacute neuroborreliosis and treated.

Acta Neurol Belg. 2009 Dec;109(4):326-9.

Koc F, Bozdemir H, Pekoz T, Aksu HS, Ozcan S, Kurdak H.

Department of Neurology, Cukurova University School of Medicine, Adana,
Turkey.
koc.filiz@gmail.com

Linda’s comment:  Excuse me but this is very common AND TRAGIC!!  I don’t know what it is going to take to get treatments for those suffering from Lyme.  I personally treated both Lyme infections with alternatives, BUT then again I live in a state that has many licensing boards so doctors don’t have to FEAR the authorities.  The AMA can’t touch the method of treatment that alternative doctor prescribe.  The tragic part of this is insurance companies will NOT pay for alternatives…unless of course, you live in Alaska and there many of the insurance companies are paying for alternative treatments and modalities….

A month ago, Bart Fenolio was told he had Lou Gehrig’s disease and had two months to live. Doctors advised his wife, Heidi, to take him home and call a hospice.

Continued

To read the full article:

http://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2247054

Posted By MONIQUE BEECH , STANDARD STAFF
January 5, 2010

Excerpts…
In the Ontario wine industry, Gabe Magnotta was a maverick. Continued

 Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato, carried by Ixodes ticks, is one of the
most significant human pathogens responsible for Lyme disease. As there
is no standardized method of polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for
detection and identification of spirochetes’ DNA, we carried out a
comparative analysis using a set of complementary primers for three
regions in the genomic DNA of these bacteria (genes fla, rrs and
non-coding rrs-rrlA region). DNA extracted from 579 Ixodes ricinus ticks
was subjected to nested PCR. DNA of the examined spirochetes was
detected in 43 (7.4 %) lysates when we used fla gene as molecular
marker, in 7 (1.2 %), using primers complementary to the rrs gene, and
in 12 (2.1 %) lysates complementary to the non-coding rrs-rrlA sequence.
Restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) analysis, based on fla
gene, helped identify species from the B. burgdorferi sensu lato (B.
burgdorferi sensu stricto, B. afzelii, B. garinii, B. valaisiana),
detect co-infections, and also identify B. miyamotoi. Therefore the fla
gene is the most sensitive and specific molecular marker for the
detection and identification of Borrelia spirochetes in I. ricinus.

Objective:We report a typical case of earlobe lymphocytoma.
Method:A case report and literature review are presented.
Results:A 10-year-old girl presented with a blue-coloured earlobe. A
diagnosis of Lyme disease was confirmed by serological tests. Lyme
borreliosis is the most common tick-borne disease in the northern
hemisphere. It is caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi sensu
lato. The patient was successfully treated with antibiotics.
Conclusion:The diagnostic process and ENT symptomatology of Lyme disease
and borrelial lymphocytoma are summarised and discussed. Continued

Lyme Disease, caused by the spirochete Borrellia burgdorferi, is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States. Clinically, it primarily affects the skin, joints, nervous system, and heart. Lyme carditis occurs in 4%-10% of adults with Lyme disease. Transient variable-level atrioventricular blocks, occurring in 77% of adults with Lyme carditis, are the most common cardiac manifestation. Up to 50% of Lyme carditis patients may develop complete heart block. The incidence of Lyme carditis in the pediatric population is not well established. We present a pediatric patient with a transient asymptomatic complete heart block resulting from Lyme carditis, an under-recognized complication of Lyme disease in the pediatric population. Continued

Abstract: The life transmission cycle of B. burgdorferi requires migration of spirochetes from tick’s gut to its salivary glands during vertebrate’s blood sucking, penetrating to the vertebrate’s tissues and their colonization. A special feature of these bacteria, despite
its relatively small genome, is the ability to adapt in different host environments. Continued