Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

UMD Researcher Awarded New Funds From the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to Head Off Tick-borne Infection Before It Begins

https://agnr.umd.edu/news/umd-researcher-awarded-new-funds-steven-alexandra-cohen-foundation-head-tick-borne-infection

UMD Researcher Awarded New Funds from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to Head Off Tick-borne Infection Before it Begins

May 13, 2021 SAMANTHA WATTERS

The University of Maryland (UMD) received new funding from the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation to develop novel therapeutic strategies that have the potential to stop infection from Lyme disease pathogens before it begins. Unlike traditional antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease that attack the pathogen directly and put it on the defensive, Utpal Pal and his team in the UMD Department of Veterinary Medicine are working in close collaboration with the National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (NIH-NCATS) to explore antimicrobials that would interfere with the pathogen on a biomolecular level to inhibit it from causing an infection in the first place. This work has the potential to greatly reduce the burden of Lyme disease, and particularly Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome (PTLDS) that does not respond to traditional antibiotic treatments. This grant is one of several new and ongoing projects led by Pal that seek to translate basic research into treatments and vaccines to fight and prevent tick-borne diseases. 

“This technology we are exploring with the support of the [Steven & Alexandra Cohen] Foundation is very exciting,” says Pal. “Instead of how antibiotics attack the basic housekeeping and maintenance functions of Borrelia [Borrelia burgdorferi, the pathogen that causes Lyme disease], these new antimicrobials would attack essential protein-to-protein interactions. We identified two proteins in our previous research whose interaction is important for infection. In collaboration with NIH-NCATS, we then came up with a select set of compounds that inhibit the protein interaction. The grant will allow us to conduct preclinical testing to see whether treatment with that compound can actually prevent infection.”

As Pal describes it, the infection process of Borrelia and the emergence of more cases of PTLDS could possibly require a solution beyond current antibiotic treatments. Lyme disease has now been reported in more than 80 countries, with an estimated 476,000 annual recent cases in the U.S. alone. While early treatment with antibiotics can be quite effective, the later the illness is discovered, the more difficult it becomes to treat. Borrelia is a notoriously tricky bacteria that has evolved to persist in mammals on a long-term basis, and some of Pal’s previous work has shown how the pathogen has the ability to  outsmart the immune system and persist in the body for long periods of time. While the causes are currently unknown, many think this process may have something to do with PTLDS, a chronic and variable resurgence of Lyme disease symptoms months or years after treatment that comes with a series of cognitive, neurological, and inflammation issues. In this case, antibiotics do nothing, and there is no known cause or current cure. 

“Lyme disease-causing Borrelia can hide and survive in an antibiotic treated animal, but we don’t know if that is the case in humans,” says Pal. “People have a lot of theories about PTLDS, but right now, we don’t have a complete answer or a cure. The best way to reduce the occurrence of PTLDS and Lyme disease in general is to prevent the bacterial transmission, such as via vaccines, or to use new antimicrobials that stop the infection more completely.”

Tick mouth parts

 

Scanning electron micrograph of tick mouth parts, Pal lab

This grant is one example of recent and ongoing sources of research funding to reduce the burden of tick-borne disease as a whole through the development of novel therapeutic and vaccine strategies. Utpal Pal leads theTick Immunity project, uncovering the secrets of tick immune responses that could help to develop treatments and vaccines, as well as a recent grant to develop anovel Lyme disease vaccine. But ticks transmit many human and animal illnesses each year in addition to causing Lyme disease. Despite substantial efforts, vaccines against most tick-borne diseases are still unavailable. Since ticks transmit most pathogens into their host’s skin while they are feeding, a new invention disclosure that was nominated for UMD Life Sciences Invention of the Year identifies a set of novel tick antigens or vaccine targets which could potentially be developed as anti-tick bite vaccines. The successful development of vaccines against tick bites would thwart the transmission of pathogens, thereby reducing the incidence of tick-borne infections as a whole. 

“This is an exciting innovation disclosure that has the potential to translate some basic scientific discoveries into public health improvement,” says Pal. “These studies address unique aspects of tick biology and pathogen transmission, and our laboratory continues to explore ways that diseases like Lyme disease can be avoided altogether.”

About the Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation

The Steven & Alexandra Cohen Foundation is committed to inspiring philanthropy and community service by creating awareness, offering guidance, and leading by example to show the world what giving can do. The Foundation’s grants support nonprofit organizations based in the United States that either help people in need or solve complex problems. The Foundation also spearheads grassroots campaigns to encourage others to give. For more information, visitwww.steveandalex.org.

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**Comment**

A few points:

  • Lyme advocate emphatically states there should be no Lyme vaccine until persistent infection is acknowledged and fully addressed.  I couldn’t agree more.
  • This resource gives updates & updates, including a link to 700 scientific articles on borrelia persistence as well as the fact Lyme is transmitted congenitally, a detail our corrupt public health ‘authorities’ continue to state is rare, even though nobody’s counting?
  • Working with the NIH is a big mistake.  Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.  Lyme science is owned by The Cabal and hasn’t budged in over 40 years. Entrance criteria into studies requires a positive 2-tiered CDC test and the EM rash. There is a large subset of patients, usually the sickest, who will never be studied due to this.
  • While Pal admits the organism can persist in the human body for a long time, he continues to abide by the faulty PTLDS moniker that essentially blames remaining symptoms on anything but persistent infection. They continue to say they don’t know what causes PTLDS despite science and decades of clinical experience showing long term antimicrobials help patients. Researchers who straddle the fence on this issue are playing a game and are not to be trusted.  The reason for it is simple: they want government money and those accepting this money must tout an accepted narrative.
  • The “novel vaccine” they are developing is using the rabies virus as a delivery platform to send in some vaccine candidates for Borrelia.” The researchers state that by using the virus platform, they won’t need adjuvants because the virus itself acts as an adjuvant which often produces a strong immune response.
  • Herein lies the problem.  Lyme/MSIDS patients already have dysfunctional immune systems.  Some are so sensitive they have to quit eating dairy, gluten, sugar, avoid EMF, fragrances, and much more.  They are extremely sensitive to any changes with supplements and medications. Do you really thing it’s wise to directly pump something into the body that produces a strong immune response?  
  • Researchers are often very myopic in their focus.  They have to be.  Their line of work requires it.  But this myopic thinking does not help extremely ill patients who all look differently, respond differently, and have complex cases that take time to unravel and treat.  Even the best doctors struggle with these patients.
  • Please note again the thrust on vaccines.  They briefly mention “therapeutic” strategies almost as a requirement but then go on to the topic of vaccines.  If we need anything – it’s effective treatment!
  • Lastly, please note that the same University (Massachusetts) is also developing another “new vaccine” to supposedly prevent Lyme in humans. It is led by none other than Dr. Mark Klempner, the man behind a  flawed study that is still being used to keep chronically sick Lyme/MSIDS patients from extended treatment.  ILADS points out that the Klempner trial relied on average treatment effects, employed small samples (ranging from 37-129), and excluded over 89% of patients who sought to enroll.
Dr. Klempner has been in this game a long, long time.  

He was also the director the BU Biodefense Laboratory.

Excerpt:  

In February 2003, Boston University (BU) submitted a proposal to the NIH to construct a facility with the highest-risk level bioweapons research laboratory (called a BSL-4 laboratory) that would be sited within the BU Medical Center. The medical center is located in a dense, urban neighborhood with a majority of low-income and minority residents nearby. The process of proposal development, site selection and subsequent approval for funding took place in secret,without informing and consulting the local community. The site selected for the laboratory was pre-determined prior to BU undertaking a National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) mandated environmental impact review and without involving the surrounding residential and working community – all in violation of federal policy. Nonetheless, NIH approved BU Medical Center’s proposal for $128 million.

This would of course yield billions as you would be forced to get a yearly booster shot.

This ‘pre-exposure prophylaxis’ (PrEP) delivers anti-Lyme antibodies, and are “unlike vaccines” which trigger the immune system to produce antibodies. PrEP supplies the antibodies directly and kills the bacteria before a person becomes infected.  

Before you believe everything they say, you might want to read this.

As you can clearly see, this injection contains OspA, the same outer surface protein found to cause severe adverse reactions in the first Lyme vaccine called Lymerix.  (Please read about the bitter history of how our public ‘authorities’ eliminated from the Western blot two Bb proteins, outer surface protein A (OspA), from which LYMErix was made, and outer surface protein B (OspB), the intended component of next-generation vaccines. This has kept the sickest from being diagnosed.)

 

Category:

Lyme, vaccines

Study Shows Babesia Odocoilei is Pathogenic to Humans

https://www.mdpi.com/2075-4418/11/6/947

Detection of Babesia odocoilei in Humans with Babesiosis Symptoms

by John D. Scott1,*,Muhammad S. Sajid1,2, Emily L. Pascoe1 and Janet E. Foley1
 
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Academic Editors: Raphael B. Stricker and Raul Colodner
Diagnostics 2021, 11(6), 947; https://doi.org/10.3390/diagnostics11060947
Received: 21 March 2021 / Revised: 13 May 2021 / Accepted: 24 May 2021 / Published: 25 May 2021
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Lyme Disease: Companion Diagnostics and Precision Medicine)

Abstract

Human babesiosis is a life-threatening infectious disease that causes societal and economic impact worldwide. Several species of Babesia cause babesiosis in terrestrial vertebrates, including humans. A one-day clinic was held in Ontario, Canada, to see if a red blood cell parasite, which is present in blacklegged ticks, Ixodes scapularis, is present in humans. Based on PCR testing and DNA sequencing of the 18S rRNA gene, we unveiled B. odocoilei in two of 19 participants. DNA amplicons from these two patients are almost identical matches with the type strains of B. odocoilei in GenBank. In addition, the same two human subjects had the hallmark symptoms of human babesiosis, including night sweats, chills, fevers, and profound fatigue. Based on symptoms and molecular identification, we provide substantive evidence that B. odocoilei is pathogenic to humans. Dataset reveals that B. odocoilei serologically cross-reacts with Babesia duncani.
Clinicians must realize that there are more than two Babesia spp. in North America that cause human babesiosis. This discovery signifies the first report of B. odocoilei causing human babesiosis.
View Full-Text
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**Comment**
 
Perfect example of how Lyme/MSIDS doesn’t fit into any box but perhaps Pandora’s.  
 
Strain diversity is a large reason why people aren’t being diagnosed.  You can only find what you specifically test for.  This study shows there are undoubtedly people struggling with Babesia symptoms that remain undiagnosed and therefore untreated due to the fact B. odocoilei isn’t believed to be pathogenic to humans and isn’t being tested for.  
 
Now we know for sure.
 
Earlier this year Scott et al. found 71% of black legged ticks were infected with Babesia odocoilei.  In 2019, Scott et al. also provided the first report of black legged ticks co-infected with BBsl and B.odocoilei in Canada, as well as transstadial passage (remains with the tick throughout its life-cycle) of this species of Babesia in ticks found in birds. They also found 3 members of the Bbsl complex (Borrelia lanai-like spirochete, Bbss, and a distinct strain that may represent a separate Bbsl genospecies).
 
Their latest study now has proven Babesia odocoilei infects humans.  

For more on Babesia:

 
 
 
 

Category:

Babesia, Lyme, research, Ticks

The Impatient Patient

https://www.globallymealliance.org/blog/the-impatient-patient

The Impatient Patient

by Jennifer Crystal on April 12, 2021

<img style="box-sizing:inherit;max-width:100%;height:auto;" src="https://www.globallymealliance.org/hubfs/Imported_Blog_Media/MyLymeLife_2-87-3.png&quot; alt="The Impatient Patient“>

by Jennifer Crystal

When would I get better? Why was I not seeing improvement every day?

Recently a friend’s toddler son asked her for a snack. Holding his baby sister, my friend told her son he’d need to wait a minute. He looked at her squarely and asked, “Does anyone like to wait?” Kids have a way of telling it like it is. The truth is, no one is great at patience, especially when we’re hungry, tired, or anticipating a big event. Perhaps the hardest time to wait is when we’re sick. “Patients” are ironically named because when we’re stuck in bed waiting to feel better, waiting for medication to work, waiting to live, we become very impatient.

I was impatient even before I got sick. A high-achieving lifestyle and the pressures that come with it always made me feel like I needed to hurry up and reach the next goal. If I didn’t, I might miss an important opportunity. I felt that if something didn’t happen right away, it might never happen at all. Then I got sick with chronic active Epstein-Barr virus, Lyme disease, babesiosis, ehrlichiosis, and possible Bartonella and all that forward motion and achievement came to a grinding halt. I was bedridden, hooked up to an IV, with nothing to do but wait. When would I get better? Why was I not seeing improvement every day?

Unfortunately, it often takes a long time for late-stage tick-borne illnesses to develop (for me, it took eight years to get an accurate diagnosis), which means it can take a long time to get better. Due to Herxheimer’s reactions, trial and error periods to figure out each person’s individual protocol, and setbacks from factors that are both in and out of our control, recovering from tick-borne illness is not a linear process. It can be especially hard to be patient when you feel like you’re taking two steps forward and one step back, or even one step forward and two steps back. Whether you’re three or ninety-three, no one likes to be slowed down.

When days, months, and even years of our lives are lost to illness, we feel increased urgency. We’re afraid that we’re losing precious time, as I discussed in my post “ A Lymie’s View from 39”. Illness-induced FOMO—fear of missing out—naturally manifests as impatience. A natural response to this impatience is to push our bodies to do more than they can so that we don’t miss out entirely. The minute I started to feel a little bit better, I’d go out and spend that energy. And while I enjoyed whatever I did, I paid for it with a flare of symptoms that sent me back to bed for days.

Not waiting caused damage, just as if my friend had not asked her son to wait, she might have dropped the baby or spilled the snack. She told him to wait because she had everyone’s well-being in mind. In just a few minutes, her son got his snack, and no one was hurt in the process. Patience paid off. Still, waiting—especially when it involves resting—goes against everything society has taught us about leading productive, meaningful lives. Though work-life balance has become more valued, busyness and achievement are still seen as badges of honor.

What bothered me most as an impatient patient was that I wasn’t doing anything. A friend who’d spent years recuperating from a traumatic brain injury helped reframe my thinking by telling me, “Your body is working really hard to heal right now. In order to let it do its job, you need to rest.” This realization helped me be more patient and loving with my sick body, more willing to give it what it needed—rather than fight against it—so that I could achieve my long-term goal of health.

Now that I have achieved and retained remission, I still can be impatient; it’s simply my nature. But I have learned to slow down; to pace myself; to trust my doctors, medications, and body; and most of all, to trust the process. I can’t get back the years I lost to illness. But I’m enjoying the ones I have now—which I wouldn’t have gotten if I’d pushed through the sicker years—and it truly does feel like the life I was meant to live is unfolding in its own time. I have to trust that it will continue to do so, as long as I am patient.

For more blogs, click here

Writer

Jennifer Crystal

Writer

Opinions expressed by contributors are their own. Jennifer Crystal is a writer and educator in Boston. Her memoir about her medical journey is forthcoming. Contact her using her email.

Email: lymewarriorjennifercrystal@gmail.com

Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, Uncategorized, Viruses

Involuntary Body Movements Due to Lyme Disease Dismissed As Psychosomatic

https://danielcameronmd.com/involuntary-body-movements-lyme-disease/  Postcast Here

INVOLUNTARY BODY MOVEMENTS DUE TO LYME DISEASE DISMISSED AS PSYCHOSOMATIC

involuntary body movements lyme disease

Hello, and welcome to another Inside Lyme Podcast. I am your host Dr. Daniel Cameron. In this episode, I’ll be discussing a case involving a man in his 70’s who had an abrupt onset of involuntary body movements, including jerks in his left arm. The man was initially dismissed as having a functional disorder, when in fact, his involuntary body movements was due to Lyme disease.

By

Li and colleagues described this case, entitled “Lyme neuroborreliosis presenting as spinal myoclonus” in the journal BMJ Case Rep.. [1]

While visiting the Czech Republic, the man developed a large round erythematous rash on his left arm.  He also removed a tick from his thigh. Doctors prescribed amoxicillin and the rash resolved within 3 days.

Three weeks later, the man was evaluated at a clinic in Canada for radicular pain down his left arm. His symptoms progressed, which included involuntary body movements in multiple limbs.   “Within 1 week, these jerks progressed to his contralateral arm and bilateral legs as well as the trunk, consistent with propriospinal myoclonus,” the authors explain.

Propriospinal Myoclonus (PSM) is an extremely uncommon movement disorder characterized by myoclonic jerks, writes Verma and colleagues,2 adding that “PSM has sometimes been dismissed as psychogenic in some cases.”

Multiple Emergency Room Visits

The man, who presented to multiple emergency rooms, was given Pregabalin to treat his pain. Doctors diagnosed the patient with a functional disorder.

During this third visit to the emergency room, the man was finally diagnosed with Lyme disease. Laboratory tests were positive for Lyme disease by IgM EIA and Lyme IgM Western blot.

He subsequently tested positive for Borrelia afzelli. His spinal tap revealed an elevated protein with a lymphocytic pleocytosis.  His MRI showed abnormal patchy cauda equina nerve root enhancement and anterior spinal cord enhancement at C5–C6.

The patient was treated successfully for Lyme disease with 7 weeks of oral and intravenous antibiotics.

This is not the first case of propriospinal myoclonus. Propriospinal myoclonus was described in a 60-year-old woman following a tick bite and erythema migrans, the authors write. However, a spinal tap later revealed she was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi antibodies.

Editor’s note: This is a good example of a Lyme disease patient being dismissed as having a psychogenic or functional disorder instead of being recognized as involuntary body movements lyme disease.  The authors published a photo of the rash which was clearly a typical erythema migrans (EM) rash. The initial 3-day course of antibiotics would not be expected to be effective in treating Lyme disease.

The following questions are addressed in this episode:

  1. What is radicular pain?
  2. Can involuntary body movements be a symptom of Lyme disease?
  3. The patient was treated briefly for the rash. Your thoughts?
  4. What is propriospinal myoclonus?
  5. This movement disorder is often dismissed as a psychogenic illness?
  6. What is the significance of a diagnosis of psychogenic illness?
  7. The patient wasn’t diagnosed with Lyme disease until his 3rd ED visit?
  8. How do you interpret the laboratory tests?
  9. What are your thoughts about this patient’s treatment?

    Thanks for listening to another Inside Lyme Podcast. You can read more about these cases in my show notes and on my website @DanielCameronMD.com. As always, it is your likes, comments, reviews, and shares that help spread the word about Lyme disease. Until next time on Inside Lyme.

      Please remember that the advice given is general and not intended as specific advice as to any particular patient. If you require specific advice, then please seek that advice from an experienced professional.

      Inside Lyme Podcast Series

      This Inside Lyme case series will be discussed on my Facebook and made available on podcast and YouTube.  As always, it is your likes, comments, and shares that help spread the word about this series and our work. If you can, please leave a review on iTunes or wherever else you get your podcasts.

      References:
      1. Li X, Kirschner A, Metrie M, Loeb M. Lyme neuroborreliosis presenting as spinal myoclonus. BMJ Case Rep. Dec 29 2019;12(12)doi:10.1136/bcr-2019-233162
      2. Verma R, Praharaj HN, Raut TP, Rai D. Propriospinal myoclonus: is it always psychogenic? BMJ Case Rep. Jul 29 2013;2013doi:10.1136/bcr-2013-009559

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      **Comment**

      Another symptom that is frankly so bizarre that it’s hard to believe, until you’ve had it yourself.  

      Mainstream medicine needs to wake up.

      Category:

      Lyme, research

      Time Sensitive: New Bill For Children With Lyme Disabilities (Contact Your Caucus Members Today)

      https://lymediseaseassociation.org/government/federal-government/help-needed-immediately-new-bill-for-children-with-lyme-disabilities-to-be-introduced/

      HELP NEEDED IMMEDIATELY! NEW BILL FOR CHILDREN WITH LYME DISABILITIES TO BE INTRODUCED

      LYME DISEASE CAUCUS & CHILD ACT 2021: The Congressional Lyme Disease Caucus is a bi-partisan group working together in the U.S. House of Representatives to take action on Lyme & tick-borne disease issues. They have been staunch friends to the Lyme community. There is a new bill about to be introduced into the House of Representatives by long-time Lyme Caucus Chair Congressman Christopher Smith (NJ-04-R), and to date, there are several co-sponsors: new Lyme Caucus Co-Chair, Rep. Henry Cuellar (TX-28-D), Lyme Caucus Member Rep. Bill Posey (FL-8-R), and Rep. Josh Gottheimer (NJ-5-D),  and Rep. Brian Fitzpatrick (PA-1-R).

      Lyme and Kids in School

      Congressman Smith is seeking co-sponsors for the bill from the members of the Congressional Lyme Disease Caucus. A letter has been sent to them from the office of Congressman Smith asking for Caucus Member co-sponsorship for the bill. The title of the legislation is “Children Inflicted by Lyme Disabilities Act 2021,” or “CHILD Act 2021.” The purpose of the bill is “To amend the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to recognize more clearly that Lyme disease can cause disabilities that affect the education of children and to enhance educational services and related services for children with Lyme disease and other tick-borne diseases and for other purposes.”

      WHAT YOU CAN DO IMMEDIATELY (May 26 & 27): The Lyme Disease Association urges you to contact the Caucus members (listed below) by fax or phone and tell them it is important to sign on as a co-sponsor to this bill. Tell them they have received a letter from the Smith office. If they did not receive it, or they have questions, they can contact Kelsey Griswold at the Smith office.

      You can also contact your own Congress Member if they are not one of the co-sponsors listed above. Tell them to contact the Office of Congressman Christopher Smith for details and to sign on to the bill. Must be done by Thursday night. 

      Provide them with examples you may know about of children with Lyme disease with persistent symptoms (chronic Lyme) who have been unable to attend school for months and even years, or if they did attend, were unable to function without significant modifications to their educational programs. Often schools did not recognize the need or did not understand what needed to be provided. Thank them for listening and understanding the plight of our children who are at some of the highest risk of acquiring Lyme disease. Children 0-19 years represented 29% of reported Lyme cases from 2001-2017 (link for more info.). Remind them the CDC now estimates that 476,000 people in the US each year are diagnosed and treated for Lyme disease (link for more info.).

      WHAT LDA HAS DONE: For decades, the Lyme Disease Association Inc. has been working with parents of children who have severe Lyme manifestations which interfere with cognitive and physical abilities to receive an appropriate education since schools have not generally understood the magnitude of the problem. The LDA has provided programs for teachers, students, school nurses, and psychologists. LDA has a Professional Advisory Board member who retired as a special services director in NJ. LDA President, Pat Smith, a former Board of Education Member, acted as a child advocate in the schools for students with Lyme disease. She met with teachers, special service teams, and administrators, and has worked with attorneys, and appeared in court with parents to try to resolve these issues. She has also in-serviced school staff and provided educational in-school programs for students on Lyme and TBDs as well as developed the LDA’s ABC’s of Lyme Disease pamphlet written especially for parents and educators. The pamphlet contains information from experts on the impact of Lyme disease on children’s education, and hundreds of thousands have been distributed. The LDA also has a Lyme Kids and Schools website section (link for more info.).

      INSTRUCTIONS

      • On May 26, May 27
      • Call or fax Members of the Congressional Lyme caucus from the table below

      o   DO NOT CALL Chris Smith, Henry Cuellar, or, Bill Posey

      o   They already are on the bill

      • Follow instructions in the WHAT CAN YOU DO IMMEDIATELY SECTION above as to what to say and use your own experience when you can for why they need to sign on as co-sponsor to help pass this bill.
      • Also, you can look up your own Congress Member online and call or email and ask them to sign on.  Tell them to contact Kelsey Griswold, Office of Congressman Smith, for details of the bill.

      o   If your group covers several congressional districts, contact those Congress Members.

      NOTE: If your mouse hovers over the bottom of the chart, you will be able to zoom in and make the chart bigger or download it.

      Caucus Members:  https://lymediseaseassociation.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/Caucus-Contacts-May-2021_4.pdf
      Wisconsin Representative Mark Pocan is the person to contact for the state of Wisconsin (phone number in link).

      Category:

      Activism, Lyme