Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

Symptomatic High-Grade AV Block & Phase 4 Right Bundle Branch Block – A Previously Unreported Manifestation in Lyme Carditis

https://www.heartrhythmcasereports.com/article/S2214-0271(20)30263-3/fulltext#secsectitle0020

Phase 4 Block of the Right Bundle Branch Suggesting His-Purkinje System Involvement in Lyme Carditis

Open AccessPublished: December 01, 2020DOI:https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hrcr.2020.11.017
We describe an adolescent with symptomatic high-grade AV block and evidence of phase 4 right bundle branch block, a previously unreported manifestation of infra-nodal conduction system involvement in LC.

A previously healthy 14-year-old boy presented via emergency medical services in mid-summer because of syncope (fainting).

Interesting findings:

  • Patient frequently hunts and fishes in wooded, Lyme-endemic region 
  • Didn’t remember tick bites or EM rash
  • Two weeks prior to ER visit patient had a runny nose, cough, abdominal pain, followed by headache and nausea.
  • In the ER he had bradycardia, altered mental status, headache, and vomiting.
  • Initial ECG showed complete heart block
  • He was given 2,000mg of IV Ceftriaxone every 24 hours
  • Testing supported clinical suspicion of Lyme
  • He was given a temporary pace-maker which was removed after 5 days of IV antibiotics and he was switched to oral doxycycline to complete a total of 21 days of antibiotics
  • After being monitored in hospital for 7 days, he was discharged with an auto-detecting wireless monitor until a follow-up appointment and stress test
  • Follow-up appointment patient was well with normal ECG

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**Comment*

Case study states: 

Significant AV block due to LC occurs in about 1% of LD cases.

I believe this statistic is premature considering many do not test positive and therefore are undiagnosed. I’ve posted numerous articles where patients are sent packing even when they present with positive test results three times in a row! We will never know how many patients with AV block have an underlying tick-borne illness due to abysmal testing and the lack of training and experience of most doctors with tick-borne illness.

And then there’s that nagging concern about long-term effects and if 21 days of antibiotics were enough for his patient. It often isn’t.

Please see:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/11/25/what-makes-a-doctor-lyme-literate/

Category:

Heart Issues, Lyme, research, Testing, Treatment

Risk of Development of Chronic Kidney Disease After Exposure to Borrelia Burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33152525/

Risk of Development of Chronic Kidney Disease After Exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp

Corie Drake 1, Michael Coyne 2, Donald J McCrann 1, Jesse Buch 1, Rebekah Mack 1

PMID: 33152525

DOI: 10.1016/j.tcam.2020.100491

Free article

Abstract

Lyme disease is a multi-faceted illness caused by infection due to Borrelia burgdorferi. Acute kidney damage secondary to Lyme disease is well described but less so as a chronic event. The role of Anaplasma spp. and secondary kidney dysfunction is not known. A retrospective cohort study was performed to determine if dogs within a defined Lyme disease and anaplasmosis region with B. burgdorferi or Anaplasma spp. antibodies had an increased risk of chronic kidney disease (CKD). Patient exposure was defined as having a B. burgdorferi or Anaplasma spp. antibody positive result recorded at any point in the available patient history. CKD was defined as concurrent increased symmetric dimethylarginine and creatinine (Cr) for a minimum of 25 days with inappropriate urine specific gravity (USG). Patients were matched using propensity scoring to control for age, region, and breed. Contingency tables were used to compare dogs seropositive and not seropositive to B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp. and CKD outcome. For each comparison that was performed, statistical significance was defined by a P-value of <.025. The risk ratio of CKD for patients exposed to B. burgdorferi and Anaplasma spp. were found to be 1.43 (95% confidence interval [CI, 1.27, 1.61], P < .0001) and 1.04, (95% CI [0.87, 1.24], P = .6485), respectively.

Results suggest in this cohort no increased risk for developing CKD when exposed to Anaplasma spp. but a significant increase in risk for developing CKD with exposure to B. burgdorferi.

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For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/03/08/lyme-nephritis-in-humans-physio-pathological-bases-spectrum-of-kidney-lesions/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/12/15/lyme-disease-is-a-small-vessel-disease-dr-klemann/

Category:

Lyme, research

Interactions Between Borrelia Burgdorferi & Ticks

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32651470/

Interactions between Borrelia burgdorferi and ticks

Cheyne Kurokawa 1, Geoffrey E Lynn 1, Joao H F Pedra 2, Utpal Pal 3 4, Sukanya Narasimhan 1, Erol Fikrig 5 6

    Free PMC article

    Abstract

    Borrelia burgdorferi is the causative agent of Lyme disease and is transmitted to vertebrate hosts by Ixodes spp. ticks. The spirochaete relies heavily on its arthropod host for basic metabolic functions and has developed complex interactions with ticks to successfully colonize, persist and, at the optimal time, exit the tick. For example, proteins shield spirochaetes from immune factors in the bloodmeal and facilitate the transition between vertebrate and arthropod environments. On infection, B. burgdorferi induces selected tick proteins that modulate the vector gut microbiota towards an environment that favours colonization by the spirochaete. Additionally, the recent sequencing of the Ixodes scapularis genome and characterization of tick immune defence pathways, such as the JAK-STAT, immune deficiency and cross-species interferon-γ pathways, have advanced our understanding of factors that are important for B. burgdorferi persistence in the tick. In this Review, we summarize interactions between B. burgdorferi and I. scapularis during infection, as well as interactions with tick gut and salivary gland proteins important for establishing infection and transmission to the vertebrate host.

    Category:

    Lyme, research, Ticks

    Weaponized Ticks/Human Experiments/The Lyme Disease Truth With Kris Newby

    http://  Approx. 55 Min

    Dec. 14, 2020

    Weaponized Ticks/Human Experiments/The Lyme Disease Truth with Kris Newby

    With Chris Mathieu

    Forbidden Knowledge News

    The censorship mentioned is very real.  I was just kicked off LinkedIn.  It’s going to be harder to find information that does not follow the accepted narrative spun out by our public ‘authorities’ and main stream media whom have severe conflicts of interest.

    We are indebted to all of Newby’s work.  She is behind the documentaries “Under Our Skin”and “Emergence” which accurately portray what Lyme/MSIDS patients experience.  I diagnosed myself and my husband by watching these.  

    We are still waiting to hear the results of an investigation into all of this (don’t hold your breath – you will pass out first):  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/07/22/house-passes-chris-smith-measure-to-probe-if-government-turned-ticks-into-bioweapons/

    For more:  

    Lastly, here’s a short piece of Willy Burgdorfer shortly before he died where he candidly explains Lyme/MSIDS is far from a simple illness and is nearly impossible to find.

    http://

    Dec. 1914

    There’s many similarities between how Lyme/MSIDS AND COVID-19 have been mishandled.

    For more:  

    Help keep FKN alive with a Donation https://www.paypal.me/forbiddenknowle…

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    Forbidden Knowledge News on LBRY.com https://open.lbry.com/@forbiddenknowl…

    Category:

    Activism, Lyme, Ticks

    Brain Fog in COVID-19 & Lyme Disease Patients

    https://danielcameronmd.com/covid-19-brain-fog/

    BRAIN FOG IN COVID-19 AND LYME DISEASE PATIENTS

    man with COVID-19 and brain fog

    COVID-19 patients report having brain fog, as do patients with Lyme disease. Brain fog can be a common symptom following an infection, Marie Grill, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic tells Wired magazine. There are several theories regarding the cause of brain fog, including immune dysfunction, a reaction to a cocktail of medications, changes in blood flow to the brain, and post-traumatic stress.

    By

    Lyme disease patients often describe suffering from brain fog. So do COVID-19 patients. Sara Harrison wrote about COVID-19 brain fog in the online journal Wired.

    What are examples of COVID-19 brain fog?

    Dr. Aluko Hope from Montefiore Hospital in New York City described what he has learned from listening to COVID-19 patients. “About a third of his patients say they can’t recall telephone numbers they used to know, or that they struggle to remember the right word, feeling like it’s on the tip of their tongue but just out of reach. They can’t remember where their keys are, what basic traffic rules are.”

    Dr. Adam Kaplan, a neuropsychiatrist at Johns Hopkins University, adds “This mental fuzziness, often referred to as ‘brain fog,’ has become one of a number of reported COVID-19 recovery symptoms.”

    “They say their brains work more slowly,” explains Kaplan. “They can’t pick up information in conversation as easily as they used to, and they struggle with short-term memory: They’ll walk to the kitchen, for instance, and forget what they were looking for. Multitasking is impossible. It takes them longer to get things done, and they often feel confused and overwhelmed. Some patients struggle to return to work or to school.”

    What are the causes of COVID-19 brain fog?

    The causes of brain fog in COVID-19 have yet to be identified. But scientists believe contributing factors may include nerve damage, anxiety, depression, post-traumatic stress, changes in blood flow to the brain, or effects from a cocktail of drugs used to sedate patients while ventilated. However, brain fog occurs in patients who have not been hospitalized.

    Another explanation focuses on the body’s immune response to the virus. “Something about that activation of the immune system is potentially causing worse cognitive function,” says Joanna Hellmuth, a neurologist at the UC San Francisco Memory and Aging Center. “It might be that prolonged immune activation after COVID is creating these cognitive changes.”

    Brain fog often follows infections

    “We do have experience with this,” says Marie Grill, a neurologist at the Mayo Clinic, as she points out that brain fog often follows other infections like Lyme disease, Epstein-Barr (better known as “mono”), and other types of herpes viruses. “A lot of us are not surprised at all to be encountering this, because we have seen it so many times.”

    What is the future for individuals with COVID-19 brain fog?

    ”Scientists don’t know how long these cognitive changes will last in COVID-19 patients, nor if they will have a lasting effect on brain function,” says Hellmuth.

    How can doctors tell the difference between COVID-19 fog and Lyme fog?

    The article in Wired did not address this all-important question.

    Related Articles:

    Changes in smell can be a sign of COVID-19 and Lyme disease

    COVID-19 long-haulers and Lyme disease patients share similar frustrations

    Don’t forget about Lyme disease in COVID-19 pandemic

    References:
    1. Sara Harrison. Confused About Covid Brain Fog? Doctors Have Questions, Too. Wired. November 6, 2020. https://www.wired.com/story/confused-about-covid-brain-fog-doctors-have-questions-too/

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    For more:

    Category:

    Lyme, Psychological Aspects, Viruses