Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

Is SOT For Lyme & Tick-borne Infections a Scam?

https://www.treatlyme.net/guide/sot-lyme-treatment

Is SOT for Lyme & Tick-borne Infections a Scam?

SOT for Lyme Image from Marty Ross MD
By Dr. Marty Ross

Updated: 9/19/23

This update includes a review of research published by the manufacturer of Lyme SOT in late 2022. Based on my review of this new science, I have retitled this article: Is SOT for Lyme & Tick-borne Infections a Scam?

Probability of Health Improvement

  • My clinical experience: not enough experience to say
  • MyLymeData: no research conducted
  • RGCC Funded Research: biased study with inadequate data
  • Placebo effect benefit of any prescription medicine: 30-40 percent

For more information about the best research-supported germ killing approaches to recover from Lyme disease see What Works? Navigating Prescription & Alternative Medicine Lyme Treatments.

Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy Background

Supportive Oligonucleotide Therapy (SOT) is a new treatment for Lyme disease. SOT is also called Antisense Oligonucleotide Therapy (ASOT), which is the term used in medical research papers. SOT uses laboratory-derived nucleic acids (genetic code) that blocks production of disease-causing proteins or even gene expression. These pieces of genetic code are called oligonucleotides. You can think of oligonucleotides as a genetic message.

For example, in Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD), SOT provides oligonucleotides to direct the correct production of a protein called dystrophin. People with muscular dystrophy are born with DNA that provides the wrong genetic message for dystrophin. SOT correction to the DNA message leads to production of dystrophin. This prevents the muscle damage seen in DMD.

In Lyme disease, a currently available type of SOT produced by RGCC in Greece uses oligonucleotides to stop germ growth and replication. Unlike the SOT therapy for DMD, the Lyme SOT is not an FDA-approved drug. To be approved by the FDA, a therapy must have scientific evidence of safety and effectiveness.

As I explain below, SOT does not alter DNA. Instead, it provides a short-term change to how the DNA blueprint is expressed.  (See link for article)

For more:

A Personal Journey of Healing Body, Mind, and Spirit

https://www.lymedisease.org/erin-leopold-personal-journey/

A personal journey of healing body, mind, and spirit

By Erin Leopold

Aug. 23, 2023

I am listening, but it’s as if I am under water and everything they are saying is garbled and unclear. All I can think is, how do I have Lyme disease when I am sure I was tested several different times? Is this what I suffered with since I first got sick at age 17?

Despair and hopelessness flood my veins. Anger at how this wasn’t caught storms my mind. I am furious at all these doctors over the years who made me feel like I was crazy and that it’s all in my head! All the looks and comments from them implying I needed to see a shrink. NO! I trusted doctors to know what they were doing and help me but instead I faced continual dismissal like I was some hypochondriac. I am mad, and I’m not alone.

My name is Erin Leopold, and the above is an excerpt from my recently released memoir entitled Finding My Second Wind. My story begins as a 17-year-old high school junior making good grades, enjoying life with family and friends, and playing high-level soccer. I was the picture of health and resembled the All-American girl.

Suddenly, my life changed for the worse when I became extremely ill from an otherwise common childhood virus. It wasn’t long before life as I knew it came to a screeching halt as physical debilitation set in. I was also overcome with fear and anxiety.

Finding the root cause

Lyme disease and co-infections played a significant role in my life for 32 years, proving to be at the root of my 20+ medical diagnoses. I had SO many symptoms throughout these exhausting years: GI issues including numerous food allergies/intolerances; musculoskeletal pain including degenerative discs/stenosis/sciatica (led to two surgeries); severe outdoor allergies leading to chronic sinus infections; dizziness; brain fog; profuse sweating; weakness/neuropathy; anxiety; depression; confusion; burning and numbness in my extremities; migraines; insomnia; adrenal fatigue; and hormonal imbalances.

I used a balanced approach to treatment, leaning more towards functional/integrative medicine because allopathic medicine sought to treat symptoms only, and I desired a more holistic approach addressing root causes. I became my greatest advocate by voraciously studying all things nutrition and lifestyle changes. I did everything from taking an abundance of supplements and herbs to massage therapy, chiropractic care, infrared saunas, acupuncture, dry needling, active release/myofascial release, reiki, electromagnet shields/mattresses/shoe inserts, and detox baths. You name it and I probably did it.

Now, I am 54 and have been married for 30 years. I am a mom to three adult children and two fur babies. I love nature and the outdoors and have spent most of my life leading and teaching people through fitness and health.

Healing, finally

Like many of you reading this, I’ve gone through many ups and downs, victories and defeats. Yet things finally came together for me.

After years of treatments,  I began working to heal my soul and learned a lot about neuroplasticity and how the mind works. Dots started connecting. My faith is the cornerstone to that success as I began studying and meditating on the Word of God along with doing other reading/learning/therapies including transformational prayer, EMDR, DNRS, and works by top doctors in the neuroscience/brain field. It’s like one day I woke up and breakthroughs came!

Finding My Second Wind chronicles my personal journey of healing the spirit, soul, and body. If you find yourself running on a similar, unplanned road, I hope my story will equip you with useful tools and motivate you to never give up.

Erin Leopold lives in South Carolina. Click here for more information about her book.

For more:

I could literally go onto infinity with these stories.  Unfortunately, while they help the public understand things better, they don’t appear to make one iota of difference in the medical field or in research.  Forty years have passed with little to no progress.  Patients are still mis or undiagnosed, untreated, suffer horrifically, and get ZERO help in mainstream medicine or most research.  Again, your best help will come from the maligned Lyme literate doctors who are continually persecuted by state medical boards.

Singer Says Lyme Has Taken a Toll on Her Body and Her Voice

https://www.lymedisease.org/fletcher-lyme-toll-body-voice/

Fletcher says Lyme disease has taken a toll on her body and her voice

Sept. 14, 2023

The pop singer who goes by the single name “Fletcher” is postponing her world tour to focus on recovering from Lyme disease.

She made the announcement on Instagram, where she also posted a photo of herself receiving an IV treatment.

“I started to become increasingly ill over the last couple years and just kept pushing even though I knew there was something deeper going on,” she wrote. “For the last few months, I’ve been receiving treatments, following doctor’s orders and doing my best to learn more about this invisible illness.”

“Lyme has affected me in a variety of ways and while it has not only taken a tremendous toll on my physical body, it has also caused concern for my voice as well,” she continued. “This has worn on my soul in a way that’s hard to even put words to as singing is the thing I love most in this world and my voice is my vessel for expression.”

Upcoming performances in the U.K., Europe, Australia and New Zealand have been postponed until 2024, while a show in Mexico City has been canceled. However, Fletcher plans to perform scheduled shows in Atlanta this weekend and Washington, D.C., at the end of the month.

For more coverage, see:

People

US Magazine

Yahoo Entertainment

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For more:

I could literally go to infinity with this……

Correlation Between COVID-19 Severity and Previous Exposure to Borrelia spp.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9509370/

Abstract

Predictors for the risk of severe COVID-19 are crucial for patient care and control of the disease. Other infectious diseases as potential comorbidities in SARS-CoV-2 infection are still poorly understood. Here we identify association between the course of COVID-19 and Lyme disease (borreliosis), caused by Borrelia burgdorferi transmitted to humans by ticks. Exposure to Borrelia was identified by multi-antigenic (19 antigens) serological testing of patients:

  1. severe COVID-19 (hospitalized)
  2. asymptomatic to mild COVID-19 (home treated or not aware of being infected)
  3. infected with SARS-CoV-2

Increased levels of Borrelia-specific IgGs strongly correlated with COVID-19 severity and risk of hospitalization. This suggests that a history of tick bites and related infections may contribute to the risks in COVID-19. Though mechanisms of this link is not clear yet, screening for antibodies targeting Borrelia may help accurately assess the odds of hospitalization for SARS-CoV-2 infected patients, supporting efforts for efficient control of COVID-19.

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**Comment**

Nothing shocking or new here.  Those who infected with Lyme/MSIDS are immunocompromised and are sitting ducks for about any disease that comes down the pike.  Don’t let this make you fearful, because stress is after-all, just as deadly.

Know you are compromised and then take actionable steps to mitigate your risk.

Make sure you are in good, effective treatment if you have symptoms, strengthen the immune system, avoid sugar and anything else that lowers the immune system and work with your doctor on supplements/antimicrobials, etc. that will help you fight off viruses and other opportunistic infections. This has always been the advice of Lyme literate doctors.  Nothing has changed.  Keep on, keeping on.

For more:

As Lyme Disease Expands Its Reach, New Research Offers Hope (But Not Really)

https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/fullarticle/2809395

Medical News & Perspectives
Climate Change and Health
September 6, 2023

As Lyme Disease Expands Its Reach, New Research Offers Hope

JAMA. Published online September 6, 2023. doi:10.1001/jama.2023.15358

Public health warnings about vector-borne diseases in the US are heating up. In a May editorial, scientists from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) made a plea for a vaccine against West Nile virus, which is spread by mosquitoes and has no treatment. By midsummer, the CDC reported that as many as 450 000 people in the US may have a meat allergy from the bite of the lone star tick, while other CDC scientists warned that mosquitoes are becoming resistant to the insecticides used in abatement efforts. Mosquitoes struck in August, when public health officials reported 11 cases of locally acquired dengue fever in Florida and Maryland’s first known case of locally acquired malaria in more than 40 years.

Meanwhile, the most common vector-borne disease in the US, Lyme disease, is on the rise.

“Lyme disease is definitely increasing in the US as the environmental niche of the deer tick and deer populations expand,” John N. Aucott, MD, director of the Lyme Disease Research Center at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, told JAMA in an interview. The incidence of Lyme disease in the US nearly doubled from 1991 to 2018, from 3.74 cases to 7.21 cases per 100 000 people, based on confirmed cases reported to the CDC. But the true numbers are believed to be much higher.

According to the nonprofit organization Fair Health, US private insurance claims with a Lyme disease diagnosis increased 357% in rural areas and 65% in urban areas from 2007 to 2021. Using insurance claims, the CDC estimates that as many as 476 000 people in the US are diagnosed with and treated for Lyme disease each year.

“In the last 20 years, the numbers of Lyme disease have really exploded,” said Linden Hu, MD, director of the Lyme Disease Initiative at Tufts University School of Medicine. “We’ve seen people get Lyme disease just from stopping at a rest stop in Massachusetts. So the number of people at risk is greater than it was before.”

(See link for article)

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**Comment**

There is very little hope within this article.

Summary:

  • Climate change clap trap continues to be regurgitated and blamed for what we are experiencing, despite ticks being ecoadaptive and the last species to die on planet earth.
  • PTLDS is emphasized only due to the fact there is “no known treatment,” so vaccines can be pushed.
  • The article gives false hope by stating the NIH has announced $3.2 Million in funding to support research on PTLDS; however, what isn’t mentioned is this money will do NOTHING to help patients.  It will simply line the pockets of biased, bought out researchers who will continue with the accepted, politically motivated narrative.
  • The falsely low number of 10-20% who continue with lingering symptoms is regurgitated when the number is upwards of 40-60%.
  • Hu managed to mention the fact that persistent infection after treatment is one hypothesis for PTLDS along with immune responses and autoantibodies.
  • And Aucott also managed to mention that due to his magnetic imaging studies which showed there is underlying biology to explain patients’ symptoms, it is not psychosomatic.
  • Of course nothing would be complete without a huge section on vaccines. (This is getting very old)  It’s also a good time to reflect upon the conflict of interest disclosures:

Dr Hu reported having financial relationships with Moderna and Tarsus. Dr Fikrig reported that he is funded by the NIH, the Cohen Foundation, and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute’s Emerging Pathogens Initiative. Dr Wormser reported receiving research grants from Biopeptides Corp and Pfizer Inc; being an expert witness in malpractice cases involving Lyme disease; and serving as an unpaid board member of the nonprofit American Lyme Disease Foundation.

  • The article made Lymerix seem like the answer to all of life’s ills when in fact it was yanked off the market for causing Lyme-like symptoms.  To those who tout the narrative, Lymerix, like all other vaccines, is “safe and effective.”  (This too is getting extremely old)
  • But, there’s a new vaccine to save humanity in the pipeline! Yay! This “antitick vaccine” encodes a cocktail of 19 proteins in tick saliva What could possibly go wrong?! 
  • Hu is developing lotinaner, used in the veterinary world, of which the FDA has given an alert about potential neurological adverse events, muscle tremors, ataxia, and seizures.
  • Aucott mentioned that the “classic” bullseye rash is a myth as only 20-30% have a bullseye pattern, and that many have no rash at all.  So, sorry all you suckers that didn’t fit in the box, were told you had a spider bite, and sent home empty-handed to suffer in silence.  Oops!
  • Aucott mentons testing problems: test results take 4-8 weeks before an antibody test is definitive, and following treatment – serology results will remain positive.
  • Wormser of course dissuades from prophylactic treatment unless a confirmed deer tick has been attached for 36 hours – the notion of which has been proven to be false.  He’s more worried about staph than people getting Lyme/MSIDS and living a nightmare. Plus, there are other antimicrobials in the toolbox that can be used that wouldn’t promote resistance.
  • Alpha Gal meat allergy is all the rage now because of The Great Reset and the desire to eliminate meat and get us all eating bugsA report has even predicted that the next ‘pandemic’ will conveniently come from meat.  It’s a win, win for ‘the powers that be.’
  • The article falsely blames climate change and the Lone Star tick when other ticks are involved, or even NO ticks at all. They have only discovered that tick saliva contains trace quantities of the sugar alpha-gal a known human irritant that many believe induces an allergic response.
  • But alpha-gal is also is used in the manufacture of foods, personal care products, medical devices and drugs — including vaccines.  Source
  • The questions begging to be asked are: why are they putting this known human irritant in things that humans ingest?  And why the sole emphasis on ticks when it’s in plenty of other things including vaccines, and is only believed to be caused by ticks?
It should come at no surprise whatsoever that the media is suddenly pushing a fear narrative over a meat allergy.
Again – right on time.