Article
Health Care Sciences & Services
Finja Huendersen, Stefanie Forst, Erich Kasten
Summary: The study found that patients with Lyme disease have lower quality of life and sleep, as well as cognitive impairments in attention and memory. Depressive symptoms are common among Lyme patients, and the disease is often diagnosed late.
Article
Infectious Diseases
Elisa Kortela, Mari Kanerva, Satu Kurkela, Jarmo Oksi, Asko Jarvinen
Summary: This study evaluated the conditions behind the symptoms in patients with suspected Lyme borreliosis (LB) referred to an infectious diseases clinic. The results showed that LB was unlikely in half of the patients, with most cases having other conditions to explain their symptoms.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY AND INFECTION
(2021)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Clemence Corre, Guillaume Coiffier, Benoit Le Goff, Marine Ferreyra, Xavier Guennic, Solene Patrat-Delon, Brigitte Degeilh, Jean-David Albert, Pierre Tattevin
Summary: This observational retrospective multicentre study in Western France focused on characterizing Lyme arthritis, management, and outcome. The majority of patients with Lyme arthritis had monoarthritis, primarily affecting the knee. Treatment involved antibiotics, with some patients also receiving intra-articular glucocorticoid injections. Complete resolution of Lyme arthritis was seen in a significant proportion of patients with follow-up data.
EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY & INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2022)
Article
Infectious Diseases
Derick Thompson, John A. Watt, Catherine A. Brissette
Summary: The text discusses the host immune and inflammatory response induced by Lyme borreliosis bacterium and how these responses influence the pathology of Lyme disease.
TICKS AND TICK-BORNE DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Marta Wozinska, Kacper Toczylowski, Dawid Lewandowski, Ewa Bojkiewicz, Artur Sulik
Summary: This study assessed the knowledge, attitudes, and preventive practices against tick-borne diseases (TBDs) among residents in northeastern Poland. The results showed that the internet and doctors were the main sources of knowledge, and participants had moderate knowledge and attitudes towards TBDs. However, there were misconceptions regarding Lyme borreliosis (LB) transmission, symptoms, and management. Higher risk perceptions were associated with the adoption of preventive behaviors. Healthcare professionals played a crucial role in communicating knowledge about TBDs.
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
Vera Maraspin, Petra Bogovic, Katarina Ogrinc, Tereza Rojko, Eva Ruzic-Sabljic, Andrej Kastrin, Klemen Strle, Gary P. Wormser, Franc Strle
Summary: The study compared US and European patients with early Lyme borreliosis, finding that US patients with a positive blood culture were less likely to recall a tick bite, more likely to have multiple EM lesions, regional lymphadenopathy, and other symptoms compared to European patients. These differences do not support the hypothesis that spirochetemia at the time of presentation is the reason for differences between US and European patients.
JOURNAL OF CLINICAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Microbiology
Mateusz Markowicz, Michael Reiter, Jutta Gamper, Gerold Stanek, Hannes Stockinger
Summary: The study aimed to investigate the etiology of persistent IgM antibodies against Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (sl) and their association with nonspecific symptoms. It was found that the persistence of IgM antibodies were specific for the C-terminal PKKP motif of OspC, although cross-reactivity with other eukaryotic and/or prokaryotic antigens may affect the specificity of OspC in the serological diagnosis of Lyme borreliosis. Additionally, lack of improvement in nonspecific symptoms was associated with higher IgM ELISA values.
MICROBIOLOGY SPECTRUM
(2021)
Article
Medicine, General & Internal
K. Ogrinc, V. Maraspin, L. Lusa, T. Cerar Kisek, E. Ruzic-Sabljic, F. Strle
Summary: Background information on patients with acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans (ACA) is limited. The study assessed clinical and microbiological characteristics of ACA patients at a single medical center, finding that the majority of patients had skin lesions on extremities, showing reddish-blue discoloration, swelling, and thinning of the skin. Most skin samples isolated Borreliae, with the majority being Borrelia afzelii.
JOURNAL OF INTERNAL MEDICINE
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Tian-Le Che, Bao-Gui Jiang, Qiang Xu, Yu-Qi Zhang, Chen-Long Lv, Jin-Jin Chen, Ying-Jie Tian, Yang Yang, Simon I. Hay, Wei Liu, Li-Qun Fang
Summary: This study established a nationwide database involving Lyme borreliosis risk factors in China and used a two-stage statistical model to identify the environmental factors influencing its distribution. By mapping the risk distribution, it was found that high-risk areas were not only concentrated in high latitude regions but also distributed in middle and low latitude areas.
EMERGING MICROBES & INFECTIONS
(2022)
Review
Microbiology
John A. Branda, Allen C. Steere
Summary: Lyme borreliosis is caused by a complex group of spirochetes, leading to various clinical manifestations and possible long-term sequelae. Laboratory diagnosis, focused on in this review, requires a deep understanding for accurate interpretation, with serologic testing remaining essential due to the limitations of direct pathogen detection. Despite some advancements, there are promising prospects for future assay development in Lyme borreliosis diagnostics.
CLINICAL MICROBIOLOGY REVIEWS
(2021)
Review
Infectious Diseases
Guozhong Zhou, Xin Xu, Yu Zhang, Peng Yue, Shiqi Luo, Yuxin Fan, Jingjing Chen, Meixiao Liu, Yan Dong, Bingxue Li, Jing Kong, Shiyuan Wen, Aihua Liu, Fukai Bao
Summary: This study included 6 studies involving 3766 individuals. The use of antibiotics for preventing Lyme disease significantly reduced the rate of unfavorable events, especially in the single-dose doxycycline group. While the available evidence supports the use of antibiotics, further confirmation is still needed.
BMC INFECTIOUS DISEASES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Robert E. Rollins, Kozue Sato, Minoru Nakao, Mohammed T. Tawfeeq, Fernanda Herrera-Mesias, Ricardo J. Pereira, Sergey Kovalev, Gabriele Margos, Volker Fingerle, Hiroki Kawabata, Noemie S. Becker
Summary: Vector-borne pathogens can expand geographically and cause new diseases through host and vector shifts. In this study, the evolutionary history of three Borrelia genospecies was reconstructed using 142 Eurasian isolates, and it was found that each genospecies has an Asian origin but displayed unique substructuring and evolutionary response to the colonization of Europe. The pattern of allele sharing between continents supports the concept of host adaptation being important for pathogen dispersal.
Article
Microbiology
Merle Margarete Boehmer, Katharina Ens, Stefanie Boehm, Susanne Heinzinger, Volker Fingerle
Summary: Lyme borreliosis is the most common tick-borne disease in Germany, with mandatory notification of acute LB manifestations in Bavaria since 2013. The study identified regional differences in LB incidence, with the Bavarian Forest and parts of Franconia as high-risk areas. High risk populations for LB include 5-9-year-old males and 60-69-year-old females.
Article
Biochemical Research Methods
Charles Farber, Rohini Morey, Mark Krimmer, Dmitry Kurouski, Artem S. Rogovskyy
Summary: This study explored the potential of Raman spectroscopy (RS) to detect Bb infection in mice. While RS did not directly detect Bb spirochetes in blood, it was able to sense biochemical changes associated with Bb infection. Despite the limited detectable changes in blood associated with Bb infection, the average true positive rates were 86% for 297, 89% for B31, and increment vlsE.
JOURNAL OF BIOPHOTONICS
(2021)
Article
Immunology
Hanna Schmid, Ulrich Heininger
Summary: Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi infection, presents with well-defined symptoms that can be treated with appropriate antibiotics. However, some patients may experience persistent nonspecific symptoms after treatment. Posttreatment Lyme disease syndrome is a diagnosis of exclusion and requires careful evaluation to avoid overdiagnosis and overtreatment.
PEDIATRIC INFECTIOUS DISEASE JOURNAL
(2021)
Article
Plant Sciences
Lei Li, Logan W. MacIntyre, Thahmina Ali, Riccardo Russo, Bimal Koirala, Yozen Hernandez, Sean F. Brady
Summary: Tuberculosis remains one of the deadliest infectious diseases and the development of antibiotic resistance poses a threat to current therapeutic options. A study identified a novel antibiotic metamarin with potent activity against drug-resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis, causing cell death through uncontrolled protein degradation.
JOURNAL OF NATURAL PRODUCTS
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Marzieh Eslami Rasekh, Yozen Hernandez, Samantha D. Drinan, Juan I. Fuxman Bass, Gary Benson
Summary: VNTRs are tandem repeat loci that vary in copy number across a population. Commonly polymorphic VNTR loci, enriched in genomic regions with regulatory function, can be used for population ancestry classification and show correlation with gene expression differences.
NUCLEIC ACIDS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zongqiang Wang, Bimal Koirala, Yozen Hernandez, Matthew Zimmerman, Steven Park, David S. Perlin, Sean F. Brady
Summary: A structurally diverse colistin congener (macolacin) has been discovered, which is active against bacteria with mcr-1 and phosphoethanolamine transferase genes, providing a potential solution for overcoming colistin-resistant pathogens.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zongqiang Wang, Nicholas Forelli, Yozen Hernandez, Melinda Ternei, Sean F. Brady
Summary: The authors utilized bioinformatics to analyze a biosynthetic gene cluster found in the soil metagenome and chemically synthesized its predicted product to produce a dual topoisomerase I/II inhibitor called lapcin with promising activity against cancer cell lines. The study highlights the power of synthetic chemistry in early stage biosynthetic potential exploration and emphasizes the importance of coupling metagenomics, bioinformatics, and chemical synthesis in natural product discovery programs.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Microbiology
Lei Li, Bimal Koirala, Yozen Hernandez, Logan W. MacIntyre, Melinda A. Ternei, Riccardo Russo, Sean F. Brady
Summary: Meta-omic techniques were used to identify new menaquinone-binding antibiotics with activities against multidrug-resistant bacteria. The discovered antibiotics are structurally diverse and show potential for treating methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus and Mycobacterium tuberculosis infections. The study highlights the importance of exploring naturally occurring antibiotics for the development of new antibiotics with different mechanisms of action.
NATURE MICROBIOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zongqiang Wang, Bimal Koirala, Yozen Hernandez, Matthew Zimmerman, Sean F. Brady
Summary: The emerging resistance to current antibiotics is a global health crisis. In a study on bacterial genome sequencing, researchers have discovered a lipopeptide antibiotic called cilagicin that has unique modes of action. The cilagicin, which can combat antibiotic-resistant pathogens, was synthesized based on a detailed bioinformatic analysis of the cil biosynthetic gene cluster.
Article
Psychiatry
Pei-Fen Kuan, Xiaohua Yang, Roman Kotov, Sean Clouston, Evelyn Bromet, Benjamin J. Luft
Summary: This study used metabolomics and complex lipid profiling to identify metabolites and metabolomic modules associated with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). The findings shed light on molecular alterations and provide insights into the pathways implicated in PTSD.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2022)
Article
Chemistry, Organic
Zongqiang Wang, Bimal Koirala, Yozen Hernandez, Sean F. Brady
Summary: Screening of sequenced bacterial genomes led to the discovery of new potent antibiotics, which showed activity against both multiple-drug-resistant Gram-negative and Gram-positive pathogens.
Article
Environmental Sciences
Leena Malayil, Suhana Chattopadhyay, Anthony Bui, Mansi Panse, Robin Cagle, Emmanuel F. Mongodin, Amy R. Sapkota
Summary: Multiple studies have shown the presence of bacterial pathogens in cigarettes, however, there is no published data on whether these microorganisms can be aerosolized and transmitted to the respiratory tract of smokers. This study characterized the bacterial communities in cigarettes and found that they can be aerosolized in mainstream smoke. While culturable bacteria were not found in filtered cigarette smoke, sequencing data showed similar bacterial community diversity in filtered and unfiltered cigarette smoke, suggesting the presence of non-culturable bacteria. This study provides new evidence that tobacco-associated bacterial communities can be aerosolized in mainstream smoke and potentially transferred to the oral cavity and respiratory tract of smokers.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Oncology
Rachel Zeig-Owens, David G. Goldfarb, Benjamin J. Luft, Xiaohua Yang, Kazunori Murata, Lakshmi Ramanathan, Katie Thoren, Sital Doddi, Urvi A. Shah, Alexandra K. Mueller, Charles B. Hall, Orsi Giricz, Amit Verma, David J. Prezant, Ola Landgren
Summary: This study identified an elevated risk of myeloma precursor disease MGUS among both FDNY and SBU-GRC WTC-exposed cohorts, with SBU-GRC showing higher odds of MGUS. The prevalence of MGUS and light-chain-MGUS in SBU-GRC was significantly higher compared to the general population, suggesting a possible association between WTC/environmental exposures and MGUS among rescue/recovery workers.
BLOOD CANCER JOURNAL
(2022)
Article
Biotechnology & Applied Microbiology
Jan Burian, Vincent K. Libis, Yozen A. Hernandez, Liliana Guerrero-Porras, Melinda A. Ternei, Sean F. Brady
Summary: The capture of metagenomic DNA in large clone libraries allows for the study of microbial diversity that cannot be accessed using culture-dependent methods. In this study, a CRISPR counter-selection interruption circuit (CCIC) using nuclease-deficient Cas9 was developed to retrieve target clones from complex libraries. Combining modern sequencing methods with CCIC cloning enables rapid access to the genetic diversity present in natural ecosystems. A CRISPRi method was used to retrieve sequences of interest from large metagenomic libraries.
NATURE BIOTECHNOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Psychiatry
Monika A. Waszczuk, Pei-Fen Kuan, Xiaohua Yang, Jiaju Miao, Roman Kotov, Benjamin J. Luft
Summary: Proteomics can help develop biomarkers for the early detection and monitoring of PTSD. This study analyzed the proteins of 936 responders to the 9/11 disaster and identified several proteins associated with PTSD symptoms and diagnosis. These findings may contribute to the development of PTSD biomarkers.
TRANSLATIONAL PSYCHIATRY
(2023)
Article
Environmental Sciences
Suhana Chattopadhyay, Padmini Ramachandran, Leena Malayil, Emmanuel F. Mongodin, Amy R. Sapkota
Summary: This study compared the microbiomes of different tobacco products and characterized the metabolically-active bacterial communities. Each tobacco product had its own unique microbiome and potential pathogens were identified. This study provides a basis for further evaluating the potential impact of tobacco microbiomes on users' oral and lung microbiomes.
ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Monika A. Waszczuk, Olga Morozova, Elizabeth Lhuillier, Anna R. Docherty, Andrey A. Shabalin, Xiaohua Yang, Melissa A. Carr, Sean A. P. Clouston, Roman Kotov, Benjamin J. Luft
Summary: Genetic risk scores for asthma and allergic disease are associated with the severity and symptoms of COVID-19, while risk scores for coronary artery disease and type II diabetes are not.
Article
Clinical Neurology
Pei-Fen Kuan, Sean Clouston, Xiaohua Yang, Chang Che, Samuel Gandy, Roman Kotov, Evelyn Bromet, Benjamin J. Luft
Summary: Recent research has found that male WTC responders in their mid-50s have an elevated prevalence of mild cognitive impairment (MCI) that is associated with neural degeneration. Transcriptomics of blood revealed significant gene expression differences in monocytes, suggesting that they could be a key cell type for early detection of MCI.
ALZHEIMER'S & DEMENTIA: DIAGNOSIS, ASSESSMENT & DISEASE MONITORING
(2021)
