Borrelia News and Research

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Scientists identify protein key to Lyme disease

Researchers at UT Southwestern Medical Center have identified a protein that may help give Lyme disease its bite.

9 Feb 2009

Natural killer T cells play important role in Lyme disease

A research team led by the La Jolla Institute for Allergy & Immunology and Albany Medical College has illuminated the important role of natural killer (NK) T cells in Lyme disease, demonstrating that the once little understood white blood cells are central to clearing the bacterial infection and reducing the intensity and duration of arthritis associated with Lyme disease.

3 Dec 2008

Scientists identify blood component that turns anthrax bacteria virulent

Scientists from the Scripps Research Institute have discovered the key chemical that signals Bacillus anthracis , the bacterium that causes anthrax, to become lethal.

21 Nov 2008

Reason for body's response to borrelia discovered

Inside a cell it is so crowded that a certain protein from borrelia winds up being crunched. From having been like an oblong rugby football, it gets bent and then collapses into a lump. At this point a previously hidden part appears, known to trigger the formation of antibodies. This explains how Borrelia can be diagnosed, a process that was previously unknown.

12 Oct 2008

Lyme disease - a tough nut to crack!

The bacteria that cause Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, can linger in mouse tissues long after a full round of antibiotic treatment is completed, report researchers from the University of California, Davis.

2 Apr 2008

Ticks abound both sides of the Atlantic

Ticks are making their presence felt both sides of the Atlantic. The British public is being warned to take precautions against ticks following a rise in the tick population after a wet and mild summer

17 Sep 2007

Lyme disease on the increase in U.S.

Reported cases of Lyme disease have more than doubled since 1991, when Lyme became a nationally notifiable disease, according to a report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

17 Jun 2007

Combination Lyme disease vaccine proteins patented

Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Brookhaven National Laboratory and collaborators at Stony Brook University have received U.S. Patent Number 7,179,448 for developing chimeric, or "combination," proteins that may advance the development of vaccines and diagnostic tests for Lyme disease.

9 Apr 2007

Record morbidity in Africa from Borreliosis, or relapsing fever

Borreliosis, or relapsing fever, is a disease provoked by bacteria of the genus Borrelia. Two of these are encountered in tropical Africa: Borrelia crocidurae in the Sahara and Sahel, Borrelia duttoni in East Africa.

4 Sep 2006

Climate, deer, rodents, and acorns as determinants of variation in Lyme-disease risk

In the United States, Lyme disease incidence has skyrocketed from 497 cases reported in 1982 (the first year national statistics were collected) to a record 23,763 in 2002.

11 May 2006

Vaccinating mice against Lyme disease could help reduce the risk of transmission of the disease to humans

Vaccinating large populations of white-footed mice against the bacterium that causes Lyme disease could help reduce the risk of transmission of the disease to humans, says a study supported by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID).

14 Dec 2004