| a_weisman@yahoo.com 2005-01-27, 7:32 am |
| So what? No evidence that Lyme caused her mental illnesses.
Now you on the other hand, well that remains to be seen.
p...@direcway.com wrote:
> Am J Psychiatry. 1994 Nov;151(11):1571-83. Related Articles, Links
>
> Lyme disease: a neuropsychiatric illness.
>
> Fallon BA, Nields JA.
>
> Department of Psychiatry, college of Physicians and Surgeons,
> Columbia University, New York.
>
> OBJECTIVE: Lyme disease is a multisystemic illness that can affect
> the central nervous system (CNS), causing neurologic and psychiatric
> symptoms. The goal of this article is to familiarize psychiatrists
with
> this spirochetal illness. METHOD: Relevant books, articles, and
> abstracts from academic conferences were perused, and additional
> articles were located through computerized searches and reference
> sections from published articles. RESULTS: Up to 40% of patients with
> Lyme disease develop neurologic involvement of either the peripheral
or
> central nervous system. Dissemination to the CNS can occur within the
> first few weeks after skin infection. Like syphilis, Lyme disease may
> have a latency period of months to years before symptoms of late
> infection emerge. Early signs include meningitis, encephalitis,
cranial
> neuritis, and radiculoneuropathies. Later, encephalomyelitis and
> encephalopathy may occur. A broad range of psychiatric reactions have
> been associated with Lyme disease including paranoia, dementia,
> schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, panic attacks, major depression,
> anorexia nervosa, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Depressive
states
> among patients with late Lyme disease are fairly common, ranging
across
> studies from 26% to 66%. The microbiology of Borrelia burgdorferi
sheds
> light on why Lyme disease can be relapsing and remitting and why it
can
> be refractory to normal immune surveillance and standard antibiotic
> regimens. CONCLUSIONS: Psychiatrists who work in endemic areas need
to
> include Lyme disease in the differential diagnosis of any atypical
> psychiatric disorder. Further research is needed to identify better
> laboratory tests and to determine the appropriate manner (intravenous
> or oral) and length (weeks or months) of treatment among patients
with
> neuropsychiatric involvement.
>
> Publication Types:
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