Neurological complications most often occur in the second stage of Lyme disease, with numbness, pain, weakness, Bell's palsy (paralysis of the facial muscles), visual disturbances, and meningitis symptoms such as fever, stiff neck, and severe headache
Lyme Disease: Neurological Complications of Lyme Disease
Synonym(s): Lyme Disease - Neurological Complications
Table of Contents
What are Neurological Complications of Lyme Disease?
Is there any treatment?
What is the prognosis?
What research is being done?
Clinical Trials
Organizations
What are Neurological Complications of Lyme Disease?
Lyme disease is caused by a bacterial organism that is transmitted to humans via the bite of an infected tick. Most people with Lyme disease develop a characteristic skin rash around the area of the bite. The rash may feel hot to the touch, and vary in size, shape, and color, but it will often have a "bull's eye" appearance (a red ring with a clear center). However, there are those who will not develop the rash, which can make Lyme disease hard to diagnose because its symptoms and signs mimic those of many other diseases.
Anywhere from 7 to 14 days (or in some cases, 30 days) following an infected tick's bite, the first stage of Lyme disease may begin with flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, swollen lymph nodes, headaches, fatigue, muscle aches, and joint pain.
Neurological complications most often occur in the second stage of Lyme disease, with numbness, pain, weakness, Bell's palsy (paralysis of the facial muscles), visual disturbances, and meningitis symptoms such as fever, stiff neck, and severe headache. Other problems, which may not appear until weeks, months, or years after a tick bite, include decreased concentration, irritability, memory and sleep disorders, and nerve damage in the arms and legs.
Is there any treatment?
Lyme disease is treated with antibiotics under the supervision of a physician.
What is the prognosis?
Most individuals with Lyme disease respond well to antibiotics and have full recovery. In a small percentage of individuals, symptoms may continue or recur, requiring additional antibiotic treatment. Varying degrees of permanent joint or nervous system damage may develop in individuals with late-stage Lyme disease.
What research is being done?
The NINDS supports research on Lyme disease. Current areas of interest include improving diagnostic tests and developing more effective treatments. The National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), the National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases (NIAMS), and the National Center for Research Resources (NCRR), all parts of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), also support research on Lyme disease.
NIH Patient Recruitment for Neurological Complications of Lyme Disease Clinical Trials
At NIH Clinical Center
Throughout the U.S. and Worldwide
NINDS Clinical Trials
Organizations
Lyme Disease Foundation
P.O. Box 332
Tolland, CT 06084-0332
info@lyme.org
http://www.lyme. org External link
Tel: 860 - 870 - 0070 800-886 - LYME (5963)
Fax: 860 - 870 - 0080
Prepared by:
Office of Communications and Public Liaison
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
National Institutes of Health
Bethesda, MD 20892
NINDS health-related material is provided for information purposes only and does not necessarily represent endorsement by or an official position of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke or any other Federal agency. Advice on the treatment or care of an individual patient should be obtained through consultation with a physician who has examined that patient or is familiar with that patient's medical history.
All NINDS-prepared information is in the public domain and may be freely copied. Credit to the NINDS or the NIH is appreciated.
Source: NINDS, NIH, HHS
Understanding Tickborne Diseases
Tickborne diseases are becoming a serious problem in this country as people increasingly build homes in formerly uninhabited wilderness areas where ticks and their animal hosts live. Tickborne diseases can be caused by viruses, bacteria, or parasites. Most people become infected through tick bites during the spring and summer months.
A deer tick, or blacklegged tick,Ixodes scapularis, on a blade of grass. Credit: CDC.
Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a bacterial disease transmitted by the dog tick, was first identified in 1896. It still exists, although now it can be easily treated. Since then, researchers have identified many new tickborne diseases.
Tickborne diseases can be found throughout the United States. For example, Lyme disease, first discovered in Connecticut in the early 1970s, has since spread to every state except Hawaii.
One of the newest tickborne diseases to be identified in the United States is called Southern tick-associated rash illness (STARI). This disease has a bull’s-eye rash similar to that found in Lyme disease, which is caused by bacteria transmitted by the deer tick. Although researchers know that the lone star tick transmits the infectious agent that causes STARI, they do not yet know what microbe (germ) causes it.
Ticks transmit ehrlichiosis and anaplasmosis, both bacterial diseases. Babesiosis is caused by parasites carried by deer ticks. These diseases are found in several states.
Tularemia, a less common tickborne bacterial disease, can be transmitted by ticks as well as other vectors (carriers) such as the deerfly. Public health experts are concerned that the bacterium that causes tularemia (Francisella tularensis) could be used as a weapon of bioterrorism.
Tickborne disease can usually be prevented by avoiding places where ticks often live, such as dense woods and brushy areas. Using insect repellents containing DEET (for the skin) or permethrin (for clothes), wearing long pants and socks, performing tick checks, and promptly removing ticks also will help prevent infection from tickborne microbes.
Scientists are searching for better ways to diagnose, treat, and prevent tickborne diseases. They are also looking for ways to control the tick populations that transmit microbes.
Types of Tickborne Diseases
Source: NIAID, NIH