Clinicians often rely on laboratory testing to find evidence of infections that may explain a patient’s symptoms and help guide treatment. Direct evidence may be a specific segment of DNA or a protein that confirms the presence of the target pathogen. Indirect evidence could be antibodies and other immune biomarkers that suggest recent or past… Continue reading What is an antibody titer?
The likelihood that a pathogen will overwhelm the immune system and cause a person to become ill has to do with the dose of the exposure. Scientists have explored the dose of exposure in a variety of infectious diseases such as Lyme borreliosis and – most recently – COVID-19. Scientists are learning more about how… Continue reading The Infectious Dose of Pathogens and Transmission Risk
Nonspecific findings and symptoms can be caused by a variety of health conditions, so the puzzle of finding their origins can leave people sick but undiagnosed for years or even a lifetime. The existence of nonspecific findings and symptoms highlights the importance of research that advances the ability to diagnose illness quickly and accurately. A… Continue reading What are nonspecific findings and symptoms? Why are they important in an emerging disease?
Bartonella and Lyme Borrelia are easily confused because they are both vector-borne bacteria with similar sounding names and frequently have complex, interrelated roles in chronic illnesses. Patients often believe Bartonella and Borrelia are the same before speaking to us, or they may mistake something they read online about one for the other. In this post, we are going to describe some unique characteristics that distinguish these bacteria from each other.
The Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction (JHR), or “herxing”, was first described by physicians in the late 1800s. Patients who experience this phenomenon report an increase in non-specific symptoms shortly following initiation of antibiotic treatment. These symptoms include chills, fever, headache, and/or intensification of skin rashes. Despite being described more than a century ago, it is still difficult… Continue reading “Herxing”: Why does it occur?
Patients with Bartonella species infection (bartonellosis) complain of a variety of nonspecific vision problems that can affect every function of
