Lyme Disease News and Research

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Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi and is transmitted to humans by the bite of infected blacklegged ticks. Typical symptoms include fever, headache, fatigue, and a characteristic skin rash called erythema migrans. If left untreated, infection can spread to joints, the heart, and the nervous system. Lyme disease is diagnosed based on symptoms, physical findings (e.g., rash), and the possibility of exposure to infected ticks; laboratory testing is helpful in the later stages of disease. Most cases of Lyme disease can be treated successfully with a few weeks of antibiotics. Steps to prevent Lyme disease include using insect repellent, removing ticks promptly, landscaping, and integrated pest management. The ticks that transmit Lyme disease can occasionally transmit other tick-borne diseases as well.

New clues about B. burgdorferi could lead to novel strategy to reduce Lyme disease

New clues about the bacteria that cause Lyme disease could lead to a novel strategy to reduce infections, according to a study to be published in mBio-, the online open-access journal of the American Society for Microbiology, on December 4.

4 Dec 2012

Broad range of human activities affects spread of vector-borne zoonotic diseases, experts say

West Nile virus, Lyme disease, dengue fever, and plague are examples of "vector-borne zoonotic diseases," caused by pathogens that naturally infect wildlife and are transmitted to humans by vectors such as mosquitoes or ticks.

30 Nov 2012

Guineafowl may spread Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Turkey raises and releases thousands of non-native guineafowl to eat ticks that carry the deadly Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus. Yet research suggests guineafowl eat few ticks, but carry the parasites on their feathers, possibly spreading the disease they were meant to stop, says a Turkish biologist working at the University of Utah.

30 Nov 2012

Viral Genetics changes name to VG Life Sciences

Viral Genetics, Inc. today announced that it has changed its name to VG Life Sciences Inc. and that it has completed its 1-for-600 reverse stock split, both of which will take effect at the open of trading on November 27, 2012.

26 Nov 2012

Boulder Diagnostics launches novel SpiroFind test to detect Lyme disease

Boulder Diagnostics Inc. announced today the European market launch of the CE marked SpiroFind in vitro diagnostic test for the detection of active Lyme Borreliosis. The SpiroFind test is offered as a diagnostic service by the company's clinical diagnostic service laboratory in Mellrichstadt, Germany.

9 Nov 2012

Scientists hope to unravel mystery of how Borrelia burgdorferi causes Lyme disease

Investigators at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth) have accelerated the search for the bacterial genes that make the Lyme disease bacterium so invasive and persistent. The discovery could advance the diagnosis and treatment of this disease, which affects an estimated 30,000 Americans each year.

29 Oct 2012

Researchers identify keys and doors of Anaplasmataceae tick-borne bacterium

Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine researchers have identified the "keys" and "doors" of a bacterium responsible for a series of tick-transmitted diseases. These findings may point researchers toward the development of a single vaccine that protects against members of an entire family of bacteria that cause disease in humans, domestic animals and livestock.

15 Oct 2012

Risk of Lyme disease to increase this fall: CAPC

Leading parasitologists with the nonprofit Companion Animal Parasite Council say the risk of Lyme disease will increase this fall.

5 Oct 2012

Longer looks: The time is now for community health workers; Patients sharing in medical decisions; One doctor's plea for help

By the time Frederick Pegues Jr. was resting in bed at Temple University Hospital, the irony struck him hard. Here, he had just finished a month-long course in being a community health worker, sponsored by Temple University Hospital. He had learned how to help patients navigate a complicated health system. Yet he himself had not been able to get the help he needed.

5 Oct 2012

Stealth Therapeutics announces first implantation of Invisiport device

Stealth Therapeutics Inc. announced today that its Invisiport has been implanted in a patient for the first time.

27 Sep 2012

Global trade pressures may heighten disease incidence

The pressures of global trade may heighten disease incidence by dictating changes in land use. A boom in disease-carrying ticks and chiggers has followed the abandonment of rice cultivation in Taiwanese paddies, say ecologist Chi-Chien Kuo and colleagues, demonstrating the potential for global commodities pricing to drive the spread of infections.

24 Sep 2012

NIH awards Immunetics $3.7M SBIR contract for Babesia infection blood screening test

Immunetics, Inc., has received a $3.7 million, two year SBIR contract from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, an agency of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), to support clinical trials of a new blood screening test for Babesia infection.

10 Sep 2012

Study reports flaws in design, analysis, and interpretation of Lyme disease

Most doctors treat Lyme disease with antibiotics for two to four weeks after diagnosis, but if symptoms persist after that, medical guidelines recommend against antibiotic retreatment. That recommendation may not be warranted. A newly published statistical review of the four studies upon which those guidelines are based reports flaws in design, analysis, and interpretation that call into question the strength of the evidence against retreatment.

31 Aug 2012

Viral Genetics initiates Phase 1 trial of MDT compounds for ovarian cancer

The first patient has now been enrolled into the Phase 1 clinical trial sponsored by Viral Genetics' and supported by a donation from Scott and White Foundation. The trial will study Metabolic Disruption Technology (MDT) compounds in combination with an existing cancer therapy to treat drug-resistant ovarian cancer.

20 Jul 2012

Study: 13 zoonoses responsible for 2.4B cases of human illness per year

A new global study mapping human-animal diseases like tuberculosis (TB) and Rift Valley fever finds that an "unlucky" 13 zoonoses are responsible for 2.4 billion cases of human illness and 2.2 million deaths per year. The vast majority occur in low- and middle-income countries.

5 Jul 2012

GSD receives FDA clearance for next-generation Lyme disease Line Immunoassay

Gold Standard Diagnostics (GSD) today announced FDA clearance of its next-generation Lyme disease Line Immunoassay which offers excellent specificity and sensitivity at any disease stage.

28 Jun 2012

Scientists identify novel animal reservoir for tick-borne diseases

A team of scientists at Washington University in St. Louis has been keeping a wary eye on emerging tick-borne diseases in Missouri for the past dozen years, and they have just nailed down another part of the story.

23 Jun 2012

FDA clears Immunetics’ BacTx rapid test for bacterial contamination in platelet units

Immunetics, Inc., has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) clearance for its BacTx rapid test for bacterial contamination in platelet units, Andrew E. Levin, Ph.D., Immunetics Chief Executive Officer and Scientific Director, announced today.

13 Jun 2012

New diagnostic approach for Lyme disease

George Mason University researchers can find out if a tick bite means Lyme disease well before the bite victim begins to show symptoms.

25 May 2012

Lyme can infect Texas public, alerts TXLDA

Thousands of Texans have Lyme disease, yet Texas patients are still being told there is no Lyme disease in Texas. To address this problem, the Texas Lyme Disease Association (TXLDA) has commissioned its first public service announcement to alert the Texas public that Lyme can infect them and their families.

3 May 2012