MicroRNA-155 has been shown to play a role in immune activation and inflammation, and is suppressed by IL-10, an important anti-inflammatory cytokine. The established involvement of IL-10 in the murine model of Borrelia burgdorferi-induced Lyme arthritis and carditis allowed us to assess the interplay between IL-10 and miR-155 in vivo. As reported previously, Mir155 was highly upregulated in jo...

OBJECTIVE To assess the clinical characteristics and outcome of a rheumatic fever case-series from a referral hospital over the last 20 years. PATIENTS AND METHODS Patients under the age of 18 years, diagnosed with rheumatic fever between 1986 and 2007 were retrospectively assessed to estimate the carditis and relapse rates, by use of descriptive and survival analysis. RESULTS Of 178 cases ...

BACKGROUND AND AIM Rheumatic fever is still a common cause of acquired heart disease in children and young adult in many developing countries. The aim was to investigate the role of myocardial involvement in the hemodynamic changes in patients with acute rheumatic fever using cardiac troponin assay and echocardiography. DESIGN A prospective cohort study was designed. PATIENTS AND METHODS Th...

Rheumatic fever (RF) and rheumatic heart disease (RHD) are major public health problems in developing countries. A prospective study carried out in a large general hospital showed that carditis was the predominant feature in first attack and also the recurrence of RF but that recurrence was associated with more severe manifestations. Echocardiography picked up cases of subclinical carditis. Pre...

Lyme Borreliosis is a systemic disease caused by the spirochete Borrelia Burgdorferi and usually presents as early, localized and disseminated, as well as persistent or chronic disorder. If untreated with antibiotics, more than half the patients develop further complication. The least well developed complication is carditis. It has been estimated that 4-10% of untreated patients develop carditi...

Lyme carditis is an uncommon manifestation of Lyme disease that most commonly involves some degree of atrioventricular conduction blockade. Third-degree conduction block is the most severe form and can be fatal if untreated. Systematic review of the medical literature identified 45 published cases of third-degree conduction block associated with Lyme carditis in the United States. Median patien...