Lyme disease

Examples of Lyme disease in the following topics:

• Lyme Disease

  • In 1984, blood tests for Lyme disease became widely available; in 1987, it became a reportable disease, which required physicians to notify the State when a patient tested positive for Lyme disease.
  • Lyme disease is the most common tick-borne disease in the Northern Hemisphere.
  • Not all patients with Lyme disease will have all symptoms, and many of the symptoms are not specific to Lyme disease, but can occur with other diseases as well.
  • Antibiotics are the primary treatment for Lyme disease.
  • Nymphal and adult deer ticks can be carriers of Lyme disease.

• Blood-Brain Barrier

  • An exception to the bacterial exclusion are the diseases caused by spirochetes, such as Borrelia, which causes Lyme disease, and Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis.
  • Diseases caused by spirochetes are exceptions to this bacterial exclusion.
  • These include Borrelia (the cause of Lyme disease), and Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis.

• Raynaud's Phenomenon

  • It comprises both Raynaud's disease and Raynaud's syndrome; the former (also known as primary Raynaud's phenomenon) being when the phenomenon is idiopathic, and the latter (also known as secondary Raynaud's), which is caused by some other instigating factor, most commonly a connective tissue disorder such as systemic lupus erythematosus.
  • Raynaud's disease, or primary Raynaud's, is diagnosed if the symptoms are idiopathic, that is, if they occur by themselves and not in association with other diseases.
  • Connective tissue disorders which may cause secondary Raynaud's include scleroderma, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, Sjögren's syndrome, cold agglutinin disease, and Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome.
  • Other causes of secondary Raynaud's include physical trauma, Lyme disease, hypothyroidism, carpal tunnel syndrome, magnesium deficiency, and multiple sclerosis.
  • In disorders where Raynaud's syndrome is secondary to a disease, Raynaud's phenomenon can herald these diseases by periods of more than twenty years in some cases, making it effectively their first presenting symptom.

• Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis

  • Patients affected by these diseases complain of muscle weakness that usually worsens over several months, though in some cases the onset of symptoms is sudden.
  • Dermatomyositis (DM) is a connective-tissue disease related to polymyositis (PM) that is characterized by inflammation of the muscles and the skin.
  • In the latter case, it is a systemic autoimmune disease.
  • Polymyositis is also associated with interstitial lung diseases.
  • In rare cases, the cause is known to be infectious, associated with the pathogens that cause Lyme disease, toxoplasmosis, and other infectious agents.

• Myocarditis and Endocarditis

  • Myocarditis is most often due to infection by common viruses, such as parvovirus B19, less commonly nonviral pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi (Lyme disease) or Trypanosoma cruzi, or as a hypersensitivity response to drugs.
  • It can cause a mild disease without any symptoms that resolves itself, or it may cause chest pain, heart failure, or sudden death.
  • Worldwide, however, the most common cause is Chagas' disease, an illness endemic to Central and South America that is due to infection by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi.

• Bell's Palsy

  • ., brain tumor, stroke, and Lyme disease.
  • Possible causes include tumor, meningitis, stroke, diabetes mellitus, head trauma, and inflammatory diseases of the cranial nerves (sarcoidosis, brucellosis, etc.).

• Autoimmune Diseases

  • Autoimmune diseases are an inappropriate immune response against tissues in the body.
  • Autoimmune diseases are commonly considered complex immune disorders.
  • While many autoimmune diseases are rare, collectively these diseases afflict millions of patients.
  • However, defects of one or more of these genes do not cause an autoimmune disease, but only predispose a person for an autoimmune disease.
  • The factors that trigger an autoimmune disease are still unknown.

• Paget's Disease

  • Paget's disease is a chronic bone disorder that causes affected bones to become large and misshapen.
  • Paget's disease of bone is a chronic disorder that can result in enlarged and misshapen bones .
  • Paget's disease is rarely diagnosed in people less than 40 years of age.
  • High magnification micrograph of Paget's disease of the bone.
  • Paget's disease of bone is shown in the left pelvis.

• Polycystic Kidney Disease

  • Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is a cystic genetic disorder of the kidneys.
  • There are two types of PKD: autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD), and the less-common autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD).
  • Polycystic kidney disease is one of the most common life-threatening genetic diseases, affecting an estimated 12.5 million people worldwide.
  • Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease (ADPKD) is the most common of all the hereditary cystic kidney diseases, with an incidence of 1:1,000 to 2:1,000 live births.
  • Polycystic kidney disease, or PKD, is a cystic genetic disorder of the kidneys

• Heart Valve Disorders

  • Valvular heart disease is any disease process involving one or more of the valves of the heart (the aortic and mitral valves on the left and the pulmonary and tricuspid valves on the right).
  • Pulmonary and tricuspid valve diseases are right-side heart diseases.
  • Pulmonary valve diseases are the least common heart valve disease in adults.
  • Both tricuspid and pulmonary valve diseases are less common than aortic or mitral valve diseases due to the lower pressure those valves experience.
  • Valvular heart disease resulting from rheumatic fever is referred to as rheumatic heart disease .