Archive for the ‘Bartonella’ Category

Dr. Burrascano on Tick-borne Illness Testing

http://  Approx. 15 Min

IGeneX 2021 Presentation Wisconsin Naturopathic Doctors Association (WNDA)

May 10, 2021

See Dr. Joseph Burrascano presenting on behalf of IGeneX Laboratory at the annual WNDA conference. Topics cover testing for Lyme Disease, Tick-Borne Relapsing Fever, Bartonella, Babesia, Rickettsia, Anaplasma, and Ehrlichia.

Dr. Burrascano discusses the Lyme ImmunoBlot test for early Lyme, validated with CDC test samples, that will identify 93% of cases.

He discussed a 2018 study of over 10,000 patient samples from nearly every state which found patients testing positive for the following pathogens:

  • nearly 38% for Babesia
  • 32% for Lyme borrelia
  • nearly 28% for TBRF borrelia
  • 19% for Bartonella
  • nearly 17% for Anaplasma
  • nearly 13% for Rickettsia
  • nearly 7% for Ehrlichia

Further:

  • 40% tested positive for 2 pathogens
  • 15% for 3
  • 4.6% for 4
  • 0.7% for 5

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Rickettsia, Testing, Tickborne Relapsing Fever

May Lyme Awareness Talk, 2021

http://

May 5, 2021

Lyme Awareness Talk

According the the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the average number of Lyme disease cases has more than doubled over the last decade.  In this presentation, Alicia Cashman from the Madison Lyme Support Group discusses tick-born illness, why it’s so difficult to obtain help, symptoms, prevention, and real life experience of patients.  The program was made possible through funding from the Friends of the Oregon Library.

Slide 1: Lyme Disease a 21st Century Pandemic
Slide 2: Why should we care about Lyme disease:
Slide 3: The History of Lyme disease:
Slide 4:  What is Lyme disease?
  • The CDC/NIH/IDSA accepted narrative
  • Reality
Slide 5: Pleomorphism (Lyme shape-shifts)
Slide 6: Video of a spirochetal cluster grown from a sick patient’s blood
Slide 7: Polymicrobialism (There are often other infections involved)
Slide 8:  How is Lyme Transmitted?
  • The CDC accepted narrative
  • Reality
Slide 9:  Congenital Lyme – is real
Slide 10: How is Lyme diagnosed?
Slide 11:  Symptoms of Lyme disease
  • CDC accepted narrative
  • Reality
Slide 12: Lyme disease signs and symptoms explained by Dr. Aucott of Johns Hopkins
  • Patients can jump to stage 3 quickly and bypass the other stages.  I give the example of the little girl who went out to play, got a tick bite above her eye and within 4-6 hours couldn’t walk or talk.
  • Many never see the tick or the rash
  • While the rash is diagnostic for Lyme (if you have the rash, you have Lyme – no testing required), you may still be infected even if you don’t have the rash. Most doctors are uneducated, don’t know what the rash looks like, and mistakenly tell people they got a spider or other bug bite.  The rash can also be irregular: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/07/18/misdiagnosis-of-lyme-caused-rash-can-have-potentially-fatal-consequences/
Slide 13: Why are definitions important?
  • Organism
  • Transmission
  • Treatment
Slide 14:  Tick Prevention
Slide 15: Willy Burgdorfer, the “discoverer” of Lyme
Slide 16: New Treatments for Lyme disease
Please remember that most patients are infected with numerous infections.  Treatment should reflect this as research shows patients fighting numerous infections simultaneously have more severe symptoms for a much longer duration.
Slide 17: Hollywood Stars infected with Lyme

Category:

Activism, Babesia, Bartonella, Biofilm, Lyme, Prevention, Psychological Aspects, research, Testing, Ticks, Transmission, Treatment

Reminder: Lyme Awareness Talk – May 4, 2021

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2021/04/06/lyme-awareness-talk-in-may-lyme-awareness-month/

LYME DISEASE IN WISCONSIN

When: Tuesday, May 4, 2021 – 7:00pm to 8:00pm
Where: Online

For adults held via Zoom. Registration required and opens April 1.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the average number of cases has more than doubled over the last decade. In this presentation, learn from Alicia Cashman from Madison Lyme Support Group about Lyme Disease, how to protect you and your family, what common symptoms are, and what to do if you have symptoms.

If you have questions or need special accommodations at events contact Kara at (608) 835-6268 or kripley@oregonlibrary.org.

The program is made possible through funding from the Friends of the Oregon Library.

Tick on a green plant

Category:

Activism, Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, Ticks, Treatment

PANS, A Misdirected Immune Response, Can Hijack a Child’s Life

https://www.lymedisease.org/brandi-dean-pans-immune/

PANS, a misdirected immune response, can hijack a child’s life

Brandi Dean

Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome–or PANS–is a misdirected immune response that can result in profound changes in a child’s brain.

It can be caused by different factors, including Lyme disease, and can result in terrifying symptoms. 

By Brandi Dean

This is a difficult post to write and one I have been thinking about for a while now. I have always been very open about my own experience recovering from tick-borne illness. While I am usually a private person, it came easy to open up because my goal was always to help someone else in need of guidance or support.

But this is a harder story to tell because it involves our 10-year-old son, Finn. It is a story that has caused a tremendous amount of pain as a mother. I have watched our beautiful boy’s vibrant and energetic personality literally wither away, just like the muscle tone he developed over several years of playing hockey and soccer.

Before PANS, Finn was known for his sense of humor, his love for fast cars, and his Terriers hockey team. Rides to school and games were often filled with laughter as Finn would put on his British or Australian accent and share stories about searching for wallabies in the outback or eating biscuits in London.

If he wasn’t talking, he was singing. I loved his voice and would turn down the music just enough so that I could hear him sing. And then he knew when it was time to prepare for battle.  Before every hockey game, he would turn on rap music and do planks and sit-ups in the car in anticipation of soon taking the ice.

Then everything changed

Our vibrant, healthy, and energetic child changed overnight. It started gradually with fatigue and weakness in his extremities.  Then one evening he started to scream, “make it stop!”

He held his hands to his head while pacing back and forth screaming over and over again. I tried holding him and he pushed me away while screaming, “I need help! Leave me alone! I need help! LEAVE. ME. ALOOOONE!”

I was terrified as I had no idea what Finn was experiencing and did not know how to help him. Things seemed to escalate every day as the old Finn withered away. His eyes drew sullen and surrounded with dark circles. His beautiful smile was now tight as he nervously chewed his fingernails and refused to go outside.

Very soon after, he gave up hockey and soccer and filled the many hours he used to spend on the practice field or practice ice nestled away in a fort he built in our living room. The few times I tried to get him to attend practice, he screamed in the car while punching the back of my seat. “I hate you. You are so annoying! I HATE YOU! BRING ME HOME Noooooow!”

I was heartbroken and felt helpless as I watched Finn cry himself to sleep while begging for help.

A Diagnosis

In late October, Finn was diagnosed with PANS (Pediatric Acute-onset Neuropsychiatric Syndrome). PANS is a clinical diagnosis given to children who have a dramatic-sometimes overnight – onset of neuropsychiatric symptoms triggered by an underlying infection. In Finn’s case, Lyme, Bartonellosis, and Mycoplasma are all infections identified by his doctors as potentially causing PANS and its associated symptoms of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), depression, irritability, and anxiety.

The Heartbreak

I feel very fortunate that Finn was diagnosed quickly and started treatment within days of his diagnosis. I wasn’t prepared for the heartache and depression that followed. I feel lost and alone again. I can’t describe the deep sorrow I feel when I look at photos of Finn, before PANS.

I am mourning the loss of the child he was and I am desperate to get him back. Our rides to school are now quiet as he no longer likes listening to music and no longer chooses to sing along. There are no more pre-game workouts to rap songs before hockey and no more “Cowboy Cellys” after scoring a goal. He is quiet and withdrawn.

On Easter morning, he was triggered after being told to take a shower before we headed out for Easter brunch. His screams fill the house with tension and our bodies stiffen as we prepare ourselves for one of Finn’s many meltdowns.

“I hate this! I just want to be normal again! Everyone hates me! I just want to be normal!”

“You don’t know what this feels like! I hate this! Everyone is mad at me! No one understands what this is like! I just want to be NORMAL!”

Conversations no mother should have

I have had conversations with Finn that no mother should ever have. Every time, I take him into my arms and hope that he is absorbing everything I share with him.

“Finn, I need you to remember something. This is temporary. OK? This is temporary and you WILL get better. And, Finn, you need to give yourself some grace when these moments of rage happen. You know why? Because you are fighting a BIG battle, hon. And, when you have these moments of rage, you need to know that this is not you. It’s your brain. Your brain is on fire. So when you are able to calm down, please don’t be so hard on yourself. There are not too many people that could go through what you are going through right now. You are strong, you are RESILIENT and you are LOVED. Please don’t forget this, Finn. You are so brave and you are not alone. You WILL get better.”

Finn always collapses in my arms in tears while nodding his head to let me know that he’s heard me. He is exhausted and desperate for some sense of normalcy again and we are all learning to cope the best we can.

Moments of grace

It’s been almost six months since his diagnosis with very little improvement. We continue to trudge along and pray fervently for the sun to shine again. We have been blessed with moments of grace that have lifted our spirits and helped get us through the unimaginable. The motivational message from Boston Bruin’s Charlie Coyle gave Finn the strength to keep fighting. The videos from his Terrier’s hockey team showing them chanting Finn’s name “on three” and doing Finn’s signature “Cowboy Celly” after a goal showed Finn how much he’s cared for. His daily game-night chats with classmates have given him something to look forward to.

He knows he has people rooting for him. He knows he has “triggers” from an illness that is preventing him from doing the things he loves. But, he still wakes up every morning, determined to get better so that he can play for his team again. He still has hope and he still has an enormous amount of support from his friends and family. He’s a fighter. He’s brave. He’s #FinnStrong.

Young Finn

Brandi Dean is the founder of the Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness and Ride Out Lyme, Inc. She is also an integrative wellness coach. This blog first appeared on her website.

For more information about PANS:

ASPIRE: The Alliance to Solve PANS and Immune-Related Encephalopathies

New England PANS/PANDAS Association

Northwest PANDAS/PANS Network

PANDAS Network

Moleculera Labs

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For more:  

Category:

Activism, Bartonella, Lyme, Mycoplasma, PANS

Pilot Study Finds Evidence of Bartonella in Schizophrenia Patients

https://news.ncsu.edu/2021/03/pilot-study-bartonella-schizophrenia-patients/

Pilot Study Finds Evidence of Bartonella Infection in Schizophrenia Patients

March 23, 2021
NC State gateway at sunset
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Tracey Peake

A pilot study from North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has found evidence of Bartonella infection in the blood of people with schizophrenia and schizoaffective disorder.

“Researchers have been looking at the connection between bacterial infection and neuropsychiatric disease for some time,” says Dr. Erin Lashnits, a former veterinary internist at NC State, current faculty member at the University of Wisconsin and first author of the study.

“Specifically, there has been research suggesting that cat ownership is associated with schizophrenia due to the zoonotic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, but to date there has been no conclusive evidence in support of a causative role for this parasite. So we decided to look at another cat-associated infectious agent, Bartonella, to see if there could be a connection.”

Bartonella are bacteria historically associated with cat-scratch disease, which until recently was thought to be solely a short-lived (or self-limiting) infection. Cats can become infected with Bartonella via exposure to fleas and potentially ticks, which are natural vectors of the bacteria. The cat is a host for at least three of the 40 known Bartonella species: Bartonella henselae, Bartonella clarridgeiae and Bartonella koehlerae.

“While there is emerging understanding of neuropsychiatric illnesses such as schizophrenia as disorders of brain networks, the question about the actual causes remains unanswered,” says corresponding author Flavio Frohlich, associate professor of psychiatry at the UNC School of Medicine. “It was an exciting opportunity for us in the UNC Department of Psychiatry to team up with the leading experts on Bartonella to pursue this innovative idea of a potential link to schizophrenia. To our knowledge, this is the very first work that examines a potential role of Bartonella in schizophrenia.”

The research team enrolled a group of 17 people with stable, medically managed schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder, and a control group of 13 healthy adults, to test for evidence of Bartonella infection.

All participants filled out questionnaires on severity of symptoms and potential Bartonella exposure. Blood samples were taken from participants twice in a one-week period. The samples were cultured in a growth medium, and both cultured and whole blood samples underwent qPCR and droplet digital, or ddPCR testing, at seven-, 14- and 21-day intervals, to look for evidence of Bartonella organism-specific DNA. Blood samples were also tested for Bartonella species-specific antibodies.

Of the 17 patients with schizophrenia, 12 had Bartonella DNA in their blood, as compared to only one of 13 in the control group. According to the questionnaires, both patients and controls reported similar pet ownership and flea exposures.

“Bartonella ddPCR, a very new diagnostic technology, provides a more sensitive molecular test than we’ve previously had access to,” says Dr. Ed Breitschwerdt, Melanie S. Steele Distinguished Professor of Internal Medicine at NC State and study coauthor. “If we had not used ddPCR to test this cohort of individuals, we would not have found Bartonella DNA in any of the participants, either case or control.”

“It is important to remember that our study was by design not able to demonstrate a causal link between Bartonella infection and schizophrenia,” Frohlich says. “However, we believe this initial observational study strongly supports the need for follow-up research.”

The researchers plan to proceed with a larger study to see whether their preliminary results are borne out.

“Many of these patients have been undergoing care for years,” Breitschwerdt says. “What we’re starting to see is a pattern – Bartonella can persist for a long time. And for the subset of people who can’t eliminate the infection, the bacteria can cause chronic or progressive illness.”

The research appears in Vector Borne and Zoonotic Diseases and was supported in part by the National Institutes of Health (grants UL1TR002489 and T32OD011130). Ricardo Maggi and Julie Bradley of NC State, as well as L. Fredrik Jarskog of UNC-Chapel Hill, contributed to the work.

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Note to editors: The abstract of the paper follows.

“Schizophrenia and Bartonella spp. infection: a pilot case-control study”

DOI: 10.1089/vbz.2020.2729

Authors: Erin Lashnits, Ed Breitschwerdt, Ricardo Maggi, Julie Bradley, North Carolina State Univerity; L. Fredrik Jarskog, Flavio Frolich, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Published: March 15, 2021 in Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases

Abstract:
Recently, infections with emerging zoonotic bacteria of the genus Bartonella have been reported in association with a range of central nervous system (CNS) symptoms. Currently, it remains unknown if Bartonella spp. infection is associated with symptoms of schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder (SCZ/SAD). The objective of this study was to determine if there is an association between Bartonella species infection and SCZ/SAD. A secondary objective was to determine if SCZ/SAD symptoms were more severe among participants with documented Bartonella spp. infection. Using a case–control study design, 17 cases and 13 controls were evaluated with a series of clinical and cognitive assessments. Blood samples were collected and tested for Bartonella spp. infection using serological, microbiological, and molecular techniques. People with SCZ/SAD were more likely than healthy volunteers to have Bartonella spp. DNA in their bloodstream, with 11 of 17 cases (65%) positive by Bartonella spp. droplet digital PCR (ddPCR). In comparison, only one healthy volunteer was Bartonella spp. ddPCR positive (8%, p = 0.0024). Based on serology, Bartonella spp. exposure was common among people with SCZ/SAD (12 of 17) as well as among healthy volunteers (12 of 13), with no significant difference between the groups ( p = 0.196). Within the case group of people with SCZ/SAD, there was no significant difference in SCZ/SAD severity scores between people with and without ddPCR evidence of Bartonella spp. infection. This pilot study provides preliminary evidence in support of future investigations that should examine a potential contribution of Bartonella spp. infection to SCZ/SAD.

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For more:

Category:

Bartonella, Psychological Aspects, research