Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

Case Report: Substantial Improvement of Autism in Child By Using Treatment For Vector Borne Infections

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1205545/full

Case report: Substantial improvement of autism spectrum disorder in a child with learning disabilities in conjunction with treatment for poly-microbial vector borne infections

CASE REPORT article

Front. Psychiatry, 18 August 2023
Sec. Autism
Volume 14 – 2023 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1205545
Amy Offutt1* Edward B. Breitschwerdt2
  • 1Heart and Soul Integrative Health, Marble Falls, TX, United States
  • 2Intracellular Pathogens Research Laboratory, Department of Clinical Sciences, and the Comparative Medicine Institute, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States

Poly-microbial vector-borne infections may have contributed to neuropsychiatric symptoms in a boy diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder. Targeted antimicrobial treatment resulted in substantial improvement in cognitive (such as learning disabilities, focus, concentration) and neurobehavioral (such as oppositional, defiant, anti-social, disordered mood, immaturity, tics) symptoms.

Conclusion

This teenage boy had a drastic improvement in his neuropsychiatric symptoms and in his academic standing, moving from special education services with accommodations to grade level academic standing without accommodations, to college acceptance. Progressive symptomatic improvement occurred only following targeted administration of antimicrobial agents directed at suspected, underlying, chronic infectious pathogens, namely the causative agents of bartonellosis and borreliosis. Further research is clearly needed to define if or the extent to which occult infections can contribute to neuropsychiatric illness, such as ASD.

(See link for full article)

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Category:

Autism, Bartonella, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, research, Treatment, Uncategorized

The Use of Natural Bioactive Nutraceuticals in the Management of Tick-Borne Illnesses

https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2607/11/7/1759

The Use of Natural Bioactive Nutraceuticals in the Management of Tick-Borne Illnesses

By Samuel M. Shor and Sunjya K. Schweig

Microorganisms 2023, 11(7), 1759; https://doi.org/10.3390/microorganisms11071759
Received: 14 May 2023 / Revised: 29 June 2023 / Accepted: 29 June 2023 / Published: 5 July 2023

Abstract

The primary objective of this paper is to provide an evidence-based update of the literature on the use of bioactive phytochemicals, nutraceuticals, and micronutrients (dietary supplements that provide health benefits beyond their nutritional value) in the management of persistent cases of Borrelia burgdorferi infection (Lyme disease) and two other tick-borne pathogens, Babesia and Bartonella species. Recent studies have advanced our understanding of the pathophysiology and mechanisms of persistent infections. These advances have increasingly enabled clinicians and patients to utilize a wider set of options to manage these frequently disabling conditions. This broader toolkit holds the promise of simultaneously improving treatment outcomes and helping to decrease our reliance on the long-term use of pharmaceutical antimicrobials and antibiotics in the treatment of tick-borne pathogens such as Borrelia burgdorferi, Babesia, and Bartonella.  (See link for full article)
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Go here for an excellent article on the above study which breaks it down for the lay person.  The following graph is within the article and will interest you:

For a full list of all 30+ bioactive nutraceuticals, see Appendix A. Summary of Clinical Impact.

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Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Herbs, Lyme, research, Supplements, Treatment

1 in 5 Shelter Dogs Infected With Lyme, Co-Infections and/or Heartworm

https://www.lymedisease.org/shelter-dogs-infected-with-lyme/

1 in 5 shelter dogs infected with Lyme, co-infections and/or heartworm

By Leigh Beeson, University of Georgia

Aug. 23, 2023

Long the bane of pet owners’ existence, ticks and mosquitoes are expanding their geographic range due to warming temperatures, frequently bringing disease with them.

A new study from the University of Georgia suggests shelter dogs in the Eastern U.S. may be bearing the brunt of that burden.

The researchers analyzed blood samples from 3,750 dogs from animal shelters in 19 states across the Eastern U.S. to determine the prevalence of heartworm and three tick-borne bacteria.

The study found more than one in 10 of the dogs were infected with heartworm. More than 8% of the dogs had been exposed to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease. An additional 10% were infected with bacteria that cause anaplasmosis or ehrlichiosis, which are less well-known diseases contracted from ticks.

Almost 5% of the dogs had multiple infections, meaning many had been exposed to more than one disease-causing agent.

These diseases can easily avoided by using preventive medications. But that often requires access to veterinary care. Unfortunately, many neglected or stray animals that are brought to shelters haven’t received these preventatives for long periods of time, if they’ve had them at all.

For heartworm, infections may be treatable with medication and over even surgery, but it’s an expensive option. Unfortunately, many long-term infections are difficult to treat and may be fatal.

Corinna Hazelrig

Importance of prevention

“This study shows us how important those preventive medications are,” said Corinna Hazelrig, lead author of the study and a current doctoral student in UGA’s College of Veterinary Medicine. At the time of the research, Hazelrig was an undergraduate student in UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources.

“Preventatives can be expensive, and some pet owners may not want to or be able to invest in them. However, these pathogens are common throughout the Eastern United States, and the best management strategy for your pet’s health is to use preventive medications on a regular basis.”

Climate change increasing range of disease-carrying mosquitoes, ticks

Diseases caused by ticks and mosquitoes pose a significant health risk to humans, their pets and wildlife.

Heartworms can cause lasting damage to the heart, lungs and other arteries in animals if left untreated. Lyme disease commonly results in loss of appetite, fatigue and lameness, but it can also damage the kidneys.

Heartworms aren’t a huge concern for people, but Lyme disease can lead to fever, a rash and joint and muscle aches. Symptoms of anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis in people range from fever and severe headaches to more severe conditions, such as brain damage and organ failure.

All three tick-borne bacteria require antibiotics to clear the infection.

Due to climate change, the ticks and mosquitoes carrying these diseases are expanding their geographic range.

“People in the Northeastern U.S. don’t think heartworm is in their region, and people in the Southeastern U.S. don’t think Lyme disease is in their region,” Hazelrig said. “However, we detected heartworm in Maine, and we detected exposure to the causative agent of Lyme disease in Virginia. The change in our climate is allowing the geographic range of ticks and mosquitoes to expand.”

Disease-carrying pathogens pose threat to people

Even for people without pets, the increasing presence of disease-carrying ticks and mosquitoes is concerning.

A previous UGA study in collaboration with Clemson University found that areas where more dogs are exposed to the bacteria that causes Lyme disease have higher rates of human infection as well.

Michael Yabsley

“Collectively, these studies highlight the importance of dogs as sentinels for some pathogens that infect humans, including the agent of Lyme disease,” said Michael Yabsley, a co-author on that paper and a corresponding author on the present study.

Yabsley is a professor with joint appointments in UGA’s Warnell School of Forestry and Natural Resources and the College of Veterinary Medicine.

“These data help us understand the distribution of these pathogens, how their distributions are changing and where we may expect human infections to occur.”

This work was conducted in collaboration with the Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC), which has provided prevalence maps for multiple pathogens of domestic dogs and cats since 2012.

These maps are updated monthly and show what’s happening in every county, including areas where there may not have been a risk for some of these pathogens a decade ago. CAPC makes access to the monthly canine data available in its prevalence maps, a resource available free online.

With around a million test results collected monthly from dogs, these maps allow veterinarians, physicians, pet owners and travelers to assess the risk of exposure across the United States and Canada.

Click here to read the study.

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Please learn about so called ‘climate change,’ and the fact researchers must repeat this dogma in order to get government grants.  It is a fact that a lie repeated often enough becomes “truth.”

Similarly to erroneous modeling used to predict COVID deaths, researchers have used erroneous modeling to push a climate narrative regarding ticks and disease proliferation.  The media then regurgitates fake data as a stick to beat us all over the head to spread fear for a much larger, nefarious agenda.

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, mosquitoes, research, Ticks

Dog Dies Minutes After Lyme Vaccine & OspA mRNA “Vaccine” in the Works for Humans

http://

Dog Dies Minutes After Lyme Vaccine

June, 2020

WDIV Detroit

Meanwhile, all over planet earth: vaccines are ‘safe and effective’.

Dr. John Robb, a Connecticut vet with other 34 years of experience testified about that over vaccination is killing our pets.  Vets are bound legally to do what the ‘vaccine’ manufacturer says even if they are injecting a tiny dog with the same amount of deadly poison as a massive dog.  He also said current dose is even far too much for the larger K9s.  He states a simple titre check would show if they are immune to a disease – but titre checks aren’t done.  He submitted 45 articles showing that vaccines are dose dependent and that titres indicate immunity.

The ‘vaccine’ religion at work.

http://

Dangerous Pet Vaccines

The vaccine safety has been debated since inception, and doctors and veterinarians disagree on many points.  Interestingly, the vets in the news story acknowledge that each case is different, yet ‘the powers that be’ want everyone, despite age, risk factors, pregnancy status, or health status to get the COVID jab.

And now they are developing an OspA mRNA-Lipid Nanoparticle “vaccine” Against Lyme Disease for humans.

RIP Greg the dog

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Do not be fooled.  Each and every vaccine has the potential to damage and or kill you and our pet.

Category:

Lyme, Lyme Vaccine, vaccines

What Happens When You Get Caught in the Lyme Wars

https://www.lymedisease.org/mark-barrett-lyme-wars/

What happens when you get caught in the Lyme Wars

By Mark Barrett

Aug. 30, 2023

Three slowly moving poppy seed sized dots crawled up my left forearm.

Turning to my girlfriend, I pointed to the three dots, briefly explained that these were ticks that possibly carried Lyme disease, and casually informed her that she should be mindful of them.

Thinking no more of it, we carried on with our hike through Raccoon Creek State Park, little realizing that my life was about to be upended.

Terrifying symptoms

Three weeks later I awoke with fever and joint pain, but far more terrifying were the muscle spasms and twitching, with electric shock feelings pulsating through my body. At the emergency room, I underwent a battery of tests before a physician asked whether I had any recent exposure to ticks.

When he heard that I had, he was palpably relieved and confidently diagnosed me with Lyme disease or a tick-borne co-infection, casually prescribing two weeks of antibiotics, and authoritatively stating that I should be better by then. I settled in to await a recovery that would, in fact, not come for months.

After some initial relief from my symptoms, when the antibiotics ran out, so did my recovery. Seeing that combined with inconclusive blood tests, my physician now equally authoritatively assured me that I could not have Lyme disease. When I questioned this remarkable U-turn and the fact that I had received no testing at all for any tick-borne co-infections, he told me, dogmatically, that Lyme disease could not survive a few weeks of antibiotics.

Unwittingly, I had become collateral damage in the “Lyme wars”: the bitter debate between the medical establishment and the patients who continue to suffer symptoms and the doctors who support them.

I continued to deteriorate, dropping 50 pounds over two months with worsening muscle twitching and weakness along with migrating pain throughout my body. At this point, the pain was somewhat reassuring, since given my neuromuscular symptoms, a doctor suggested that I might be suffering from the typically painless ALS, a terminal degenerative disease.

It all began with exposure to ticks

Harrowing as this suggestion was, it seemed reasonable, considering I had begun walking with a cane and could barely climb the stairs in my home. But not that reasonable: Any such suggestion had to ignore the evidence that all my symptoms began on a definite day, three weeks after exposure to ticks.

Astounded by the refusal of my physician to even consider a tick-borne explanation and confronted with my failing body, I connected with a network of patients in similar circumstances, through groups such as the Pittsburgh Lyme Disease Support Group. I was introduced to dozens of Western Pennsylvanians who suffer from debilitating Lyme disease symptoms.

Through them I was also introduced to doctors who, dissenting from the establishment view, take seriously the evidence that tick borne infections persist and treat patients accordingly. But my own battle was only beginning.

Doctors who treat persistent tick-borne infections are an eclectic bunch, ranging from eccentric figures engaged in pseudo-science to rigorous researchers whose work has led them to recognize that the establishment consensus is wrong. Many are simply doctors who take seriously their duty of care for their sick patients.

Figuring out which doctors are which is the first step to healing, but is not easy. In my own case, this was complicated by the difficulty of keeping my job — and my health insurance. After several difficult conversations with my boss where my termination was discussed, something many Lyme sufferers experience, I managed to work out a schedule to work from home. But I had to take a reduced salary and rely on others to take dictation in typing the long law briefs when the muscles in my hands got too weak to type.

Narrow definition

I began treating with a local Lyme doctor, but it soon became clear that despite his sincerity, I was not improving under his care. In desperation, I began seeing a leading Lyme doctor in Maryland, over four hours from my home.

I had grown accustomed to doctors becoming indignant when I asked questions, but he walked me through the scientific basis for his diagnosis and treatment. He, an Ivy League trained rheumatologist, explained the role of co-infections in Lyme treatment — it can be a very big but often unrecognized role — and the deficiency in testing for them.

He also explained that the medical establishment works with a very narrow definition of Lyme disease that doesn’t account for all its effects. He noted that the individual host’s response and immune suppression contribute to symptomology. It affects people very differently.

Although he explained his reasoning, he knew that after my experiences, I would not believe him until I started to improve. Which I did after a few more weeks of combined antibiotics and natural antimicrobials. Two months after having to walk with a cane, I was playing soccer and basketball. Although I still suffer from some symptoms, I am far closer to good health than I was before.

Invaluable lessons

I learned invaluable lessons through my experiences. About doctors (they’re not infallible and there’s a lot they don’t know), chronic illness (it’s real and brutal, but some people don’t believe you), about myself and the hidden suffering of others.

But perhaps the most important lesson I learned is this: do everything you possibly can to avoid ticks.

Mark Barrett is a lawyer in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. This article first appeared in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.

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**Comment**

A common refrain, unfortunately.

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Category:

Activism, Lyme, Ticks