This section contains articles published in peer reviewed literature on Lyme and other tick-borne diseases, and on COVID 19. Articles are written by experts, and then several other experts in that field will review the article and send back comments/concerns to authors. Articles are sometimes changed/clarified to address the issues that are raised in order to be published. Not all info in peer-reviewed journals is reviewed such as editorials, letters, book reviews.
A new University of Copenhagen study reports a previously unknown hiding place for the genes that make bacteria resistant to antibiotics. The prevailing belief that resistant bacteria will lose their resistance genes during a break from antibiotic use has been challenged by the findings of this new study. This study shows that resistance genes have […]
This review summarizes the health burden of human babesiosis emerging on a global scale. Authors discuss tools used to monitor the frequency and location of disease as well as demographics, modes of transmission and the location of human babesiosis. Authors further describe the causative Babesia spp. in North and South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, and […]
The Journal of Medical Entomology has published a recent article regarding utilization of integrated tick management (ITM). Researchers studied the effects of “configuration of bait box deployment” on the reduction of tick burden in a suburban/rural landscape. Researchers additionally investigated bait consumption and white-footed mouse (P. leucopus) abundances as a measure of the usage and […]
In a newly published article in the IOS Press, researchers identified the Borrelia burgdorferi spirochete, the causative agent of Lyme disease in autopsied brain tissue of patients diagnosed Alzheimer’s. In addition, they found a significant number of Borrelia-positive aggregates with a known biofilm marker, alginate. Immunohistochemical data also showed that Borrelia-positive aggregates co-localized with amyloid […]
Most southwestern detection of Borrelia burgdorferi pathogen in the midwestern US to date. In a recently published article, researchers present their findings of tick surveillance surveys conducted in summer of 2019. Surveys focused on the eastern counties of the state where 266 ticks were collected and 3 species were identified. Twenty two Ixodes scapularis were collected from 5 […]
The LDA has a long history of funding/supporting research projects that lead to real results. Below is the list of links to peer-reviewed articles that acknowledge LDA’s funding/support. Click on the publication link (or just scroll down to it) to see the authors, which authors LDA provided the funding for (green), and the abstract and […]
Nature Microbiology recently published an article where researchers identified a sugar that influences cell wall function in Borrelia spirochetes. Authors state that Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria produces glycan chains in the cell wall where MurNAc is occasionally replaced with an unknown sugar. Investigators identified that B. burgdorferi produces glycans that contain GlcNAc–GlcNAc. Chitobiose is the unusual disaccharide, […]
Karvonen, et al., published, “Distinctive Evasion Mechanisms to Allow Persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi in Different Human Cell Lines,” in Frontiers in Microbiology. The study aimed to better understand the mechanisms which enable Borrelia burgdorferi infections to progress into a persistent sequela of the disease by examining two non-immune and non-phagocytic human cell lines.
Top Lyme disease researchers from across the United States have collaborated on a new publication, Recent Progress in Lyme Disease and Remaining Challenges. In this review article, researchers summarize the state of Lyme over the past 5 years, addressing major scientific advances as well as identifying remaining challenges and needs. Topics covered in the publication […]
In a study with lead author Dr. Brian Fallon, using Denmark’s National Patient Registry and Psychiatric Central Research Registry- including all persons living in Denmark from 1994-2016- the risk of mental disorders and suicides among all diagnosed with Lyme borreliosis was assessed. Those individuals with Lyme borreliosis had higher rates of any mental and affective […]