Episode 595: Can Lyme Affect Folate in the Brain? Dr. Lindsey Wells on Autism, PANS/PANDAS & FRAA
What if some of the depression, anxiety, brain fog, cognitive dysfunction, OCD, speech changes, and other neuropsychiatric symptoms experienced by people with Lyme and other vector-borne diseases involve more than the infection itself?
In this episode of the Tick Boot Camp Podcast, Matt Sabatello sits down with Dr. Lindsey Wells, ND, a Connecticut naturopathic physician whose work focuses heavily on children with Lyme Disease, PANS/PANDAS, autism spectrum disorder, neurodevelopmental conditions, and other vector-borne diseases.
The centerpiece of the conversation is Dr. Wells’ newly published research, “Folate Receptor Alpha Autoantibodies in Vector-Borne Disease Populations.”
Her study explored an intriguing question: could some people with Lyme disease, Bartonella, Babesia, or other vector-borne infections also have an immune-mediated problem that prevents enough folate from reaching the brain?
The findings open an important new area of investigation. (See link for article and interview)
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**Comment**
The study found that nearly 62% of patients with tick borne illness tested positive for folate receptor alpha autoantibodies.
The study also found that Bartonella was the most common individual infection identified among FRAA-positive patients.
Important excerpt:
She discusses research suggesting that proteins associated with animal dairy may share similarities with folate receptor structures. Through a molecular mimicry mechanism, antibodies generated against those proteins could potentially cross-react with folate receptors.
Dr. Wells therefore commonly incorporates dairy removal when addressing FRAA-positive patients.
She also discusses clinical observations suggesting that FRAA levels can fluctuate and may rise during periods of infection or physiological stress.
Another important point is a routine folate blood test can not determine FRAA status. The FRAT Folate Receptor Autoantibody Test, a specialty blood test designed to detect autoantibodies to folate receptor alpha is required.
Dr. Wells has seen clinical improvements in these patients in anxiety, OCD, cognition, communication, and other neuropsch symptoms by using folinic acid (Leucovorin) as it utilizes another folate transport mechanism to deliver folate to the CNS.
