Elevated liver enzymes and low blood count also are signs of the disease. Left untreated or improperly treated, HGE can result in kidney failure, respiratory problems, and even death, underscoring the importance of early detection and proper treatment. The current lack of reliable diagnostic tests and the difficulty of differentiating HGE from other illnesses with similar symptoms complicate detection, which often results in misdiagnoses and untreated cases, according to Dumler. What we are seeing now in incidence is only the tip of the iceberg. Lyme Disease Although recognized in Europe over 100 years ago, Lyme disease is named for the town of Lyme, Connecticut, where the first cases of Lyme arthritis were misdiagnosed in the U.S. as juvenile rheumatoid arthritis in 1975.
Some patients also experience swollen lymph glands.
While diagnostic laboratory tests are available, most are considered unreliable. Without early treatment, patients with Lyme disease can develop complications involving the heart, joints, and nervous system. According to a study of the neuropsychiatric aspects of Lyme disease published in The American Journal of Psychiatry, up to 40 percent of patients with Lyme disease developed problems affecting either the extremities or the central nervous system. Meningitis, a paralysis of facial nerves known as Bell's Palsy, encephalitis, arthritis, painful disorders, weakness in the limbs, mood disturbances, and memory problems have all been reported. Attention to tick-borne disease tends to peak at the onset of tick season, but often wanes as time passes.