Borrelia, Bartonella & Babesia in the Brain: What New Evidence Reveals, with Nicole Bell
Dec 2, 2025 Pathobiome Perspectives
Guest: Nicole Bell, Galaxy Diagnostics CEO In this episode of Pathobiome Perspectives, we sit down with Nicole Bell — author of What Lurks in the Woods, CEO of Galaxy Diagnostics, and leading advocate for tick-borne and neurodegenerative disease.
This episode is a must watch for anyone suffering or suspecting that they may have Borrelia, Babesia or Bartonella. Nicole’s work sits at the rare intersection of cutting-edge diagnostic science and lived experience. Her family’s story—detailed in her memoir—began as a confusing neurological decline and ultimately became a lesson in how the pathobiome can masquerade as mental health and aging.
Nicole presented at the AlzPI & PCOM Symposium on the topic: “When the brain pathobiome becomes personal.”She shared new results from her late husband Russ’s donated brain including laboratory evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi, Chlamydia pneumoniae, and Babesia otocoli—the latter a parasite historically believed to infect only deer—detected in human brain tissue for the first time.
Elevated heavy metals (lead and mercury) were also identified, highlighting how polymicrobial infection + toxic exposure may fuel neuroinflammatory decline that looks like Alzheimer’s.
Inside the Conversation Nicole discusses:
- How repeated “nothing’s wrong” neurology evaluations can mask a complex infection-driven process
- The limitations of the standard two-tier Lyme test and why direct detection matters
- Why patients with neurological, psychiatric, or cognitive symptoms should consider Bartonella and Babesia—not just Borrelia Bartonella red flags that are often overlooked: Striæ that mimic stretch marks (especially noticeable after heat exposure)
- Mood and behavioral changes (irritability, OCD, anxiety, tics)
- Visual disturbances and joint issues Fleas and household cats as major non-tick vectors
- The need for diagnostic toolkits that identify not just exposure—but activity across pathogens
- Looking ahead, Nicole imagines a future where memory loss or personality change prompts a comprehensive screening panel that includes pathogen burden, immune markers, and toxin load—allowing targeted treatment before cognitive decline takes hold.
- Why This Conversation Matters Nicole’s voice bridges science and lived experience. Her family’s unimaginable loss is catalyzing a shift in how medicine approaches mystery neurological illness—away from symptom labels and toward precision diagnostics, pathogen-informed care, and early intervention. Her advocacy underscores a core truth emerging across pathobiome research: what looks psychiatric or “idiopathic” may, in fact, be biologically explainable—and treatable—when we look deeper.
For more:
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 