Maryland Lyme - Skin Lesions, Neuropathy & Joint Pain

Bartonella

Skin Lesions, Neuropathy & Joint Pain

(Cryoglobulinemia & Glomerulonephritis)

While reading abstracts and studies I freely admit I am not familiar with some of them there "big" words. Below are 2 of 'em. If I have to take time to look words up to understand the connection and the science, I try to share that research with anyone else who is interested. Each one, reach one!

What is Glomerulonephritis?

Glomerulonephritis is a group of diseases that injure the part of the kidney that filters blood (called glomeruli). Other terms you may hear used are nephritis and nephrotic syndrome. When the kidney is injured, it cannot get rid of wastes and extra fluid in the body.

Glomerulonephritis signs and symptoms include:

Pink or cola-colored urine from red blood cells in your urine (hematuria)
Foamy urine due to excess protein (proteinuria)
High blood pressure (hypertension)
Fluid retention (edema) with swelling evident in your face, hands, feet and abdomen.

What is Cryoglobulinemia?

(Photos Below Show Various Presentations)

Cryoglobulins are abnormal proteins that thicken and clump together at cold temperatures, usually below 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. When these proteins clump together, they can restrict blood flow to joints, muscles, and organs.

Eventually, damage or inflammation of affected blood vessels and surrounding tissue can develop, a condition known as vasculitis. Small blood vessels are usually affected, but occasionally larger blood vessels are involved.

Common symptoms include skin lesions, joint pain (arthralgia), and weakness, but specific symptoms can vary greatly from one person to another and can potentially involve multiple organ systems.

Symptoms usually come and go, and may include:

Skin lesions. Most people with cryoglobulinemia develop purplish skin lesions on their legs. In some cases, leg ulcers also occur.
Joint pain. Symptoms resembling rheumatoid arthritis are common in cryoglobulinemia.
Peripheral neuropathy. Cryoglobulinemia can damage the nerves at the tips of your fingers and toes, causing numbness and other problems.

August 2018 Abstract

Open Forum Infect Dis. 2018 Jul 27;5(8):ofy186. doi: 10.1093/ofid/ofy186. eCollection 2018 Aug.

Bartonella Infectious Endocarditis Associated With Cryoglobulinemia and Multifocal Proliferative Glomerulonephritis.

Babiker A1, El Hag MI2, Perez C1.

Abstract

Bartonella sp. are a common cause of culture-negative infective endocarditis. Glomerulonephritis is a well-documented consequence of the immune activation associated with infective endocarditis.

However, Cryoglobulinemia has not previously been reported in association with Bartonella infective endocarditis.

Below we report a case of a 48-year-old male with Bartonella henselae infective endocarditis complicated by cryoglobulinemia and multifocal proliferative glomerulonephritis, highlighting a possible link between Bartonella sp. infection and type III cryoglobulinemia.

Link Here To Abstract

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30151411

Link Here To Full Article

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6101537/

Last Updated- April 2019

Lucy Barnes

AfterTheBite@gmail.com