All Posts Tagged With: "lymphadenopathy"

Linda’s comments:  What amazes me is they have said for years that those who suffered from MONO ended up having Lyme disease.  So now they feel they have made a discovery that many doctors and patients have known about in the alternative arena….Bottom-line, at least they are now publishing about these issues…

Link: http://www.healthtalkandyou.com/uc-davis-finds-lyme-disease-bacteria-in-lymph-nodes/

Excerpt:

UC Davis Finds Lyme Disease Bacteria in Lymph Nodes
by Maejoy Tutor in Diseases on Jun 15, 2011 

One of the most significant and considered as threatening and rising diseases in US is the Lyme disease. The bacteria which causes this seems to be hiding particularly in lymph nodes. University of California Davis researchers have reported that this can trigger a considerable immune response, except that it is not too strong to defeat the infection.

Full article: http://www.amc.edu/amr/archives/200606/case1.html

Excerpt:

A 52-year-old male marathon runner with a past medical history significant for glaucoma presented to the emergency department with a two-week history of increasing fatigue after an episode of syncope.

He initially presented to his primary care doctor’s office complaining of flu like symptoms one week after running a marathon and three weeks prior to admission. He described fever, chills, night sweats, increasing fatigue and body aches. He was noted to be an avid runner who had finished within the top five to ten athletes in prior marathons. He stated that despite training intensely, he only finished in 50th place. During this visit, a chest x-ray was obtained which showed no evidence of pneumonia or other abnormalities. He was diagnosed with a minor viral upper respiratory tract infection and over the following week began to notice improvement of his symptoms.

He returned to the office two weeks after the initial visit with worsening fatigue and decreased exercise tolerance. He had become increasingly short of breath after running more than 2 milles. A serologic test for Lyme disease was performed to rule out Lyme carditis after an EKG showed first-degree heart block.

Full article: http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic4.htm

Excerpt:

Acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) is the third or late stage of European Lyme borreliosis (LB). This unusual, progressive, fibrosing skin process is due to the effect of continuing active infection with Borrelia afzelii. Buchwald first delineated it in 1883; Herxheimer and Hartmann described it in 1902 as a tissue paper–like cutaneous atrophy. It is evident on the extremities, particularly on the extensor surfaces, beginning with an inflammatory stage with bluish red discoloration and cutaneous swelling and concluding several months or years later with an atrophic phase. Sclerotic skin plaques may also develop. Physicians should use serologic and histologic examination to confirm this diagnosis.

Pathophysiology: B afzelii is the predominant, but may not be the exclusive, etiologic agent of ACA. Another genospecies of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato complex, Borrelia garinii, has also been detected.

ACA is the only form of LB in which no spontaneous remission occurs. Its pathophysiology is not yet fully understood. ACA appears to be associated with long-term persistence of Borrelia organisms in the skin; several nonspecific reactions together with a specific immune response may contribute to its manifestations.

The persistence of the spirochetes despite a marked cutaneous T-cell infiltration and high serum antibody titers may be connected with resistance of the pathogen to the complement system; the ability to escape to immunologically protected sites (eg, endothelial cells, fibroblasts); and the ability to change antigens, which may lead to an inappropriate immune response. Lack of protective antibodies, with a narrow antibody spectrum and a weak cellular response with down-regulation of major histocompatibility system class II molecules on Langerhans cells, has been observed in patients with LB.