Key points A new antibiotic has been discovered which only affects spirochaetes (the family of bacteria including Borrelia). This antibiotic does not seem to affect the beneficial bacteria in the gut, which would make it safer than commonly used treatments for Lyme disease. If continuing Lyme disease symptoms post-treatment may be caused by a disrupted […]
more...High frequency of paediatric facial nerve palsy due to Lyme disease in a geographically endemic region. Munro A et al. International Journal of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology 132 (2020) This paper looks back at records of children presenting with a facial palsy at Southampton Hospital’s emergency department or paediatric assessment unit in the years 2010 – 2017. […]
more...Ever wondered what GPs type on the computer when they diagnose Lyme disease? GP Coding behaviour for non-specific clinical presentations: a pilot study. Tulloch J et al BJGP Open 2020; 4 (3) 2020 When a GP sees a patient, they record their consultation on their computer system, capturing symptoms, diagnoses and therapies. These can be […]
more...Isolation and characterization of Borrelia burgdorferi strains from Ixodes ricinus ticks in southern England Sorouri R, Ramazani A, Karami A, Ranjbar R, Guy EC. Bioimpacts. 2015;5(2):71–8. Full text available from http://bi.tbzmed.ac.ir/JournalIssues/AllIssues/Volume5Issue2/2201552.aspx LDA was intrigued to come across this paper which was published in the current issue of the open access, multidisciplinary peer reviewed journal Bioimpacts, […]
more...Drug Combinations against Borrelia burgdorferi Persisters In Vitro : Eradication Achieved by Using Daptomycin , Cefoperazone and Doxycycline Feng J, Auwaerter PG, Zhang Y. PLoS One. 2015;1–15. Full text available from http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0117207 What problem does this address? Some patients who have been treated for Lyme borreliosis with courses of standard antibiotics such as doxycycline, amoxicillin […]
more...Cathy Rubin of the Huffington Post has interviewed Monica Embers about her team’s studies of Borrelia burgdorferi in rhesus macaque monkeys. This is a very good summary, with key references, of what we do and don’t know in this field. Monica Embers says: “While we have shown that intact Borrelia spirochetes can persist following a […]
more...Human Borrelia miyamotoi infection in the United States. Krause PJ, Narasimhan S, Wormser GP, Rollend L, Fikrig E, Lepore T, Barbour A, Fish D. N Eng J Med 2013 Jan 17; 368(3):291-3. Introduction On 17th January 2013 news from America announced the discovery of ‘a new tick-borne infection that shares many similarities with Lyme disease’(1). […]
more...‘Management of suspected Lyme borreliosis: experience from an outpatient antibiotic therapy service.’ White B, Seaton RA, Evans TJ. QJM 2013; 106:133–38. Lyme disease in a Glasgow ID Clinic This study looks at the ‘real world experience’ of an infectious diseases clinic in Glasgow using Outpatient Parenteral Antibiotic Treatment (OPAT), in the form of intravenous ceftriaxone, […]
more...A paper published earlier this year has already become widely quoted and so it is worth a brief comment to put this in perspective. Lyme disease in a British referral clinic Cottle, Mekonnen, Beadsworth, Miller & Beeching. QJM: Monthly Journal of the Association of Physicians June 2012 The paper describes the patterns of referral, investigation, […]
more...