Archive for the ‘Lyme’ Category

Kris Kristofferson “…As Sharp As He’s Been in the Past 20 Years Because of His Treatments”

https://www.survivornet.com/articles/country-singer-songwriter-kris-kristofferson-lyme-disease-alzeimers/

Country Singer-Songwriter Kris Kristofferson, 87, Had Symptoms Misdiagnosed As Alzheimer’s But It Turned Out To Be Lyme Disease

Danielle Cinone
8/2/23
Excerpts:
  • Singer-songwriter Kris Kristofferson, known for writing the hit song “Me and Bobby McGee,” had been falsely diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Instead, the country star was actually suffering from a tick-borne illness known as lyme disease.
  • “But we suspect he’s been infected with Lyme anywhere from fourteen to thirty years because he used to have these chronic muscle spasms, which is a common symptom. We were in LA at the time, in Malibu, and I just don’t think doctors were looking for it or aware of it there then. But now we know it’s everywhere. There are signs on my local playground that say beware of ticks.”
  • Kristofferson’s wife added, “He had painful knees and annual knee shots, a pacemaker for arrhythmias– which we now know could be from Lyme- so much Advil for headaches that he got anemic. After a year of iron supplements and seeing a hematologist, he just wasn’t healthy-looking so I took him to an integrative doctor, Mark Filidei, at Whitaker Wellness Institute.

    “Upon examining Kris and watching the muscles in his forearms constantly twitching, he announced, ‘He’s got Lyme disease,’ and ordered a blood test. The first test from LabCorp came back suspicious, the second test by IGeneX was positive. This was in February 2016.”

(See link for article)

_________________

**Comment**

The article then moves onto cancer because the website focuses on minsdiagnosises.  The advice to those diagnosed with cancer:  be proactive, seek out multiple opinions, and “be a little pushy,” also holds true for Lyme/MSIDS due to the severe polarization within the medical community.  Your best bet for achieving wellness is going to come from a Lyme literate doctor (LLMD).

Lastly, there has been research done on the connection between Lyme and cancer as well as in other coinfections.

For more:

Category:

Alzheimer's, Lyme, Treatment

3 Lyme Disease Vaccines in the Pipeline: RUN AWAY FAST

https://danielcameronmd.com/3-lyme-disease-vaccines-in-the-pipeline/

3 LYME DISEASE VACCINES IN THE PIPELINE

lyme-disease-vaccine
National Geographic magazine recently published an article, “Lyme disease is spreading fast—but a vaccine may be on the way.” In it, Guynup summarizes three Lyme disease vaccines that are currently in the pipeline. [1]
By 

In 1998, the first Lyme disease vaccine was introduced by LYMErix but it was pulled from the market after 3 years due to poor sales and possible safety concerns. The FDA was never able to confirm that the vaccine caused harm despite concerns.

Only recently have drug makers resumed researching new human Lyme vaccines.

“But the challenge now is creating vaccines that will protect against the seven globally known strains of Lyme disease,” says Obadiah Plante, who leads the bacteriology team at Moderna.

Pfizer/Valneva candidate: VLA15 and Moderna are both developing vaccines that target the bacterium’s Outer Surface Protein A (OspA). The spirochete that causes Lyme disease produces OspA in the tick. The vaccine is intended to create “antibodies that prevent the organisms from suppressing OspA when the tick next feeds,” the author explains. “This will render them immobile, imprisoned within the tick’s intestine and unable to infect a human host.”

The vaccine is not expected to work after the infection enters humans, as the spirochete changes proteins from OspA to Outer Surface Protein C (OspC).

“The Pfizer/Valneva candidate, VLA15, is farthest along and is being tested in a phase three clinical trial that launched in the summer of 2022,” writes Guynup.

Two study sites (Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard) were halted due to protocol violations. “In an email, a spokesperson for Pfizer noted that the study is expected to wrap up in December 2025,” Guynup points out.

Moderna, best known for developing a COVID-19 vaccine using mRNA technology, has been working on two Lyme disease vaccines using this same technology.

Moderna will begin human trials this summer with 800 participants in the U.S. between 18 and 70 years old.

The first vaccine, named mRNA-1982, contains a single mRNA that targets the Borrelia bacteria species that causes most cases of Lyme disease in the U.S.

The second vaccine, named mRNA-1975, contains a mixture of seven mRNAs targeting the Borrelia species that cause most cases of Lyme disease in both the U.S. and Europe.

MassBiologics is taking a different approach, using monoclonal antibody targeting OspA.

This vaccine may offer immediate protection, while it can take months for immunity to develop with the Pfizer and Moderna vaccines.

“Within days after you get the subcutaneous injection, you’ve absorbed enough of the antibody so you’re immediately immune,” says Mark Klempner, a professor of medicine and vice chancellor emeritus of MassBiologics at UMass Chan Medical School.

According to Klempner, when 20 infected ticks were placed on nonhuman primates “this antibody treatment provided 100 percent protection.”

The company hopes to apply for approval from the FDA in 2025.

Author’s Note: The safety and efficacy of these vaccines are not yet available for doctors to weigh the pros and cons of offering a vaccine. Furthermore, none of the vaccines is designed for protecting against a co-infections.

References:
  1. Lyme disease is spreading fast but a vaccine may be on the way. National Geographic. Guynup, Sharon. May 15, 2023. https://www.nationalgeographic.com/premium/article/vaccine-prevention-lyme-disease-epidemic-tick-treatment

__________________

**Comment**

Category:

Lyme, research, vaccines

Suicidal & Homicidal Lyme Concerns Podcast

https://danielcameronmd.com/suicidal-and-homicidal-lyme-concerns/

SUICIDAL AND HOMICIDAL LYME CONCERNS

Suicidal and homicidal Lyme concerns

Welcome to another selection from my book “An Expert’s Guide on Navigating Lyme disease.” The books highlights the findings of my first 600 Lyme disease Science blogs.  In this episode, I will discuss suicidal and homicidal concerns in Lyme disease patients.

By 

Dr. Robert Bransfield from Rutgers-Robert Woods Johnson Medical School, Department of Psychiatry, has described suicidal and homicidal concerns in patients with Lyme and related tick-borne illnesses in his private practice. Likewise, in my practice I have seen patients with suicidal thinking.

SUICIDAL AND HOMICIDAL BEHAVIORS IN LYME DISEASE.

Dr. Robert Bransfield reports observing suicidal and homicidal behaviors in patients with Lyme and related tick-borne illnesses. Out of 253 patients, he found:

43% were suicidal; 32% were suicidal but not homicidal; 11% were both suicidal and homicidal. No patient was homicidal without also being suicidal. 25% had explosive anger but were not homicidal or suicidal. 10% had pre-existing depression. 97% reported depression after infection. Patients were ill an average of 8.4 years before being diagnosed and treated. Read more.

“Further disease progression contributed to him feeling desperate as a result of multiple late-stage symptoms.”

THREE PSYCHIATRISTS SHARE SUICIDAL AND HOMICIDAL CASES.

Three psychiatrists share published case reports supporting Bransfield’s concerns (Munir et al., 2017). “A 44-year-old male without any past psychiatric history presented with a third unsuccessful suicide attempt and was later diagnosed as having a Borrelia infection” (Bransfield, 2017). One month of medical therapy with intravenous ceftriaxone improved his mental status and resolution of suicidal ideation (Banerjee 2013).

Fallon described two cases in a 1995 paper. “I treated both of these patients, and in addition, I have been able to follow the status of Patient B over a span of 30 years. This patient was highly suicidal, had horrific intrusive images of killing others, and had violent impulses, which were eliminated with treatment. Patient A was also suicidal, violent, and physically assaultive to her son. Combined antibiotic and psychotropic treatment helped both patients.” Read more.

HOMICIDE, TWO ASSAULTS, AND SUICIDE IN LYME DISEASE PATIENT

An article entitled “A Fatal Case of Late Stage Lyme Borreliosis and Substance Abuse,” describes a patient exhibiting aggressiveness, violence, and homicidality. Like many Lyme disease patients, the man experienced a delay in diagnosis and treatment. (One study reports that subjects enrolling in a trial of Lyme encephalopathy were ill an average of two years before being diagnosed.)

The patient’s Lyme disease symptoms progressed. “Further disease progression contributed to him feeling desperate as a result of multiple late-stage symptoms,” wrote Bransfield et al.  According to Fallon et al., the number of Lyme disease patients who feel desperate is not clear.

Based on more than 30 years of experience treating Lyme disease patients, Dr. Bransfield previously described a wide range of neuropsychiatric symptoms in Lyme disease patients. “… neuropsychiatric symptoms, usually presenting with significant comorbidity which may include developmental disorders, autism spectrum disorders, schizoaffective disorders, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety disorders (panic disorder, social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, intrusive symptoms), eating disorders, decreased libido, sleep disorders, addiction, opioid addiction, cognitive impairments, dementia, seizure disorders, suicide, violence, anhedonia, depersonalization, dissociative episodes, derealization and other impairments.”

“A 44-year-old male without any past psychiatric history presented with a third unsuccessful suicide attempt and was later diagnosed as having a Borrelia infection.”

The patient’s condition worsened.  “The pathophysiological effects of the infection resulted in an increased number and severity of multisystem symptoms, disability, and substance abuse,” the authors wrote. “He experimented with multiple substances in an effort for relief.”

The authors added, “During acute deterioration of his mental state from phencyclidine withdrawal, NMDA agonism increased, he committed a homicide, two assaults, and suicide.”

In an earlier study, Dr. Bransfield described substance abuse, cannabis use, and intoxication in Lyme disease patients.

Bransfield and colleagues advised prompt diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease to help prevent addictive disorders, substance abuse, and death.

“More effective diagnosis and treatment and attention to substance abuse potential in these patients may help prevent some cases of addictive disorders, substance abuse, and death.” Read more.

988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline

The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline is a national network of local crisis centers that provides free and confidential emotional support to people 24 hours a day, 7 days a week in the United States. Anyone with the following concerns can call, text, or chat 988:

  • Mental health-related distress.
  • Thoughts of suicide.
  • Substance use crisis.
  • Emotional distress.
  • There are specialized services available for veterans, LGBTQ individuals and other groups.
  • People who are worried about a loved one who may need support also can call.
The 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, available by simply dialing 988, is a 24-hour, toll-free, confidential suicide prevention helpline available to anyone in suicidal crisis or emotional distress. When someone calls the helpline, his or her call is routed to the nearest crisis center. The Lifeline’s national network, consisting of more than 250 local crisis centers, provides crisis counseling and mental health referrals day and night.
Related Articles:

Mental health in COVID-19 and Lyme disease patients

Lyme disease and depression

Lyme disease patients at risk for suicide

Category:

Lyme, Psychological Aspects, research

The Lyme Puzzle: Interview With Professor Nicole Baumgarth

https://podcast.tickbootcamp.com/episode/8bc4afa1/the-lyme-puzzle-an-interview-with-professor-nicole-baumgarth

Episode 364: The Lyme Puzzle – an interview with Professor Nicole Baumgarth

July, 2023

Introduction

  • In this episode of Tick Boot Camp, our hosts Matt Sabatello and Rich Johannesen had the opportunity to talk with the remarkable Professor Nicole Baumgarth, director of the Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Institute at Johns Hopkins University. Baumgarth brings a unique interdisciplinary background in veterinary medicine, immunology, microbiology, and pathology offering fresh insights into the complex world of Lyme disease and tick-borne illnesses.

Lyme Disease Research

  • Baumgarth and her team are investigating why we don’t mount an effective adaptive immune response to Lyme as we do with influenza (the flu).
  • She reveals their interesting finding about how Borrelia may alter the host’s gut microbiome to enhance its survival.
  • Baumgarth and her team are currently investigating why macrophages, immune cells that gobble up pathogens outside of our cells, don’t eat up Lyme bacteria as they do with other bacteria and viruses.
  • They are also investigating the impact Lyme has on obliterating our lymph nodes, which are critical agents in receiving signals from our body and mounting a specified immune response with targeted B cells and T cells against things like Lyme disease, as well as deploying long term memory immune cells and plasma cells which would give us long-term immunity to Lyme.
  • The Lyme and Tick-Borne Diseases Institute is focusing on investigating why mice get infected with Lyme, the infection persists, yet they never get sick from the infection.
  • If the team can identify human immune system deficits causing any of the above, they could identify immune therapies to overcome these shortcomings and treat all stages of Lyme disease.
  • Baumgarth and her team are also looking into the impact of tick-borne co-infections. They argue that it’s critical to study these diseases together rather than in isolation.

Autoimmune Responses and Lyme Disease

  • Professor Baumgarth suggests that Lyme disease may cause an autoimmune response, which can be particularly concerning for those with genetic predispositions to autoimmunity.
  • She cites several studies, both in the human model and mouse model, proving that Lyme disease creates an unnecessary increase in other antibodies from our immune system that aren’t Lyme-related, resulting in an autoimmunity phenomenon, increased inflammation, and potential immune system burnout.

Understanding Lyme Disease: A Veterinary Perspective

  • Professor Baumgarth’s veterinary background has allowed her to approach Lyme disease from a macro perspective. She emphasizes that Lyme, being a zoonotic disease, is fundamentally an infection that moves from animals to humans.
  • Lyme disease is often a natural infection in animals such as small rodents and birds, where ticks can bite them and transmit the disease.

Investigating the Human Immune Response to Lyme Disease

  • Our hosts discuss how humans’ immune responses to Lyme vary significantly. Some people are bitten by ticks multiple times without falling ill, while others suffer from chronic Lyme after just one bite.
  • This discrepancy might be due to factors such as genetic predispositions, environmental stresses, or an individual’s microbial load.

The Complexity of Eradicating Lyme

  • Eliminating Lyme is not as simple as wiping out a certain animal species, as the bacteria Borrelia can infect a variety of different rodents and even birds.
  • Borrelia is a complex bacterium that replicates slowly and requires a tick to infect a host. It’s constantly evolving and it’s not a simple task to eradicate Lyme from our ecology.

The Role of Antibiotics and Their Impact

  • Despite their potential long-term impact on our immune response, antibiotics are currently the most common form of treatment as soon as Lyme disease is diagnosed. Professor Baumgarth emphasizes a variety of risks when using antibiotics to treat Lyme disease.
  • While antibiotics can help in the short term, their effect on our long-term immunity to future infections is still unclear and Professor Baumgarth strongly warns against prolonged use of antibiotics.

Final Thoughts

  • Baumgarth is hopeful about the future of Lyme disease research. Despite the challenges and controversies, she believes that continued progress is possible with dedicated research and interdisciplinary collaboration.

Episode Wrap-up

  • Professor Nicole Baumgarth’s interview provides an enlightening look into the intricate world of Lyme disease and its complex interaction with our immune system. Her unique veterinary perspective coupled with her background in immunology, microbiology, and pathology as well as her research findings shed light on the challenges we face and offer hope for future breakthroughs in the fight against Lyme and tick-borne diseases.

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**Comment**

My husband and I probably would not be on planet earth without long-term antibiotics so I’m glad this researcher didn’t treat us.  She’s just touting the safe narrative that is expected of academics working in research institutions that get their bread and butter from government grants with many strings attached, controlled by agencies that are completely corrupt.

Nobody denies the risk of prolonged use of antibiotics; however, Lyme/MSIDS can kill you in a myriad of ways.  This never seems to be discussed in the same sentence as prolonged antibiotics.  We would all love a safe, effective, affordable treatment.  Why aren’t researchers looking into this?  I’ll answer you: there’s no money in it, and it doesn’t fit with their narrative for a lucrative cash cow in a Lyme “vaccine.”  

It’s easy to be an arm-chair quarterback when it isn’t your neck on the chopping block.  All I can say is, whatever your opinions are about antibiotics before contracting Lyme/MSIDS, I guarantee they will change as you trod this pot-holed riddled, devastating path.  I hadn’t used antibiotics for 20 years before becoming infected.  I would use ANYTHING but antibiotics.  After I got infected I literally bathed in them for years.  I’m not proud of this, but they worked for both my husband and I, and many others.

It takes savvy to treat this complex illness and while anti-microbials are a MUST, there are many other important treatments required.  Please see the first link below for many treatments that experienced LLMDs have used with success.

For more:

Category:

Lyme, research, Treatment

NIH Funds PTLDS Research: More Deception?

https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/

NIH awards will fund Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome research

Carl Tuttle

Hudson, NH, United States

JUL 31, 2023 — 

We are DONE with the JUNK SCIENCE previously financed by the CDC and NIH. Is this yet another deceptive attempt to avoid chronic Lyme disease and make it look as if our public health officials are listening to the disabled Lyme patient community?

Before we start focusing on persistent symptoms, we need to first rule out ongoing infection/co-infections and understand how Lyme disease disables its victim.  Then we need find a cure for all stages of disease.

It is time we get on the bandwagon here and make sure this is not another big waist of time and taxpayer dollars. Please contact Dr. Hugh Auchincloss, Acting NIAID Director and respectfully demand an answer to my inquiry below:

Contact info:

Dr. Hugh Auchincloss    Hugh.Auchincloss@nih.hhs.gov
Sherri DePollar Staff Assistant  Sherri.Depollar@nih.hhs.gov

Image of Dr. Auchincloss was found here:

https://www.niaid.nih.gov/sites/default/files/styles/image_style_33_width_xs/public/Auchincloss-Hugh.jpg?itok=35FyZGfW

Email to Dr. Auchincloss with Cc: to the five researchers receiving grants:

——— Original Message ———-
From: CARL TUTTLE <runagain@comcast.net>
To: “Hugh.Auchincloss@nih.hhs.gov” <Hugh.Auchincloss@nih.hhs.gov>
Cc: “bjutras@vt.edu” <bjutras@vt.edu>, “mtal@mit.edu” <mtal@mit.edu>, “linden.hu@tufts.edu” <linden.hu@tufts.edu>, “jaucott2@jhmi.edu” <jaucott2@jhmi.edu>, “nwoodbury@asu.edu” <nwoodbury@asu.edu>
Date: 07/30/2023 9:37 AM EDT
Subject: NIH awards will fund Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome research

NIH awards will fund Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome research
https://www.nih.gov/news-events/news-releases/nih-awards-will-fund-post-treatment-lyme-disease-syndrome-research

“The new NIAID awards for PTLDS, which will total approximately $3.2 million in first-year funding, will support work on possible causes of persistent PTLDS symptoms for five years.”

July 30, 2023

National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID)
5601 Fishers Lane
Rockville, MD 20892
Attn: Hugh Auchincloss, M.D., Acting NIAID Director

Dear Dr. Auchincloss,

In reference to the five grants looking into “Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome,” what diagnostic methods are you recommending to rule out ongoing infection and or coinfection(s) with other tick-borne diseases in the Lyme disease patient population expected to be evaluated in these five studies?

This step is crucial as evidence of persistent infection despite the CDC’s claim that chronic Lyme does not exist has been suppressed for decades.

For example:

I would like to call attention to the following study recently identifying chronic Lyme disease in twelve patients from Canada.

1. Persistent Borrelia Infection in Patients with Ongoing Symptoms of Lyme Disease
http://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/6/2/33

All patients were culture positive for infection (genital secretions, skin and blood) even after multiple years on antibiotics so there was no relief from current antimicrobials. Some of these patients had taken as many as eleven different types of antibiotics.

2. In 1991 B. burgdorferi had been isolated in culture from Vicki Logan’s CSF (CDC’s laboratory in Fort Collins CO.) despite prior treatment with 21 days of IV cefotaxime and 4 months of oral minocycline as identified in the following letter to past CDC Director Barbara Fitzgerald: (culture report included)

Letter to CDC Director Barbara Fitzgerald (personal Dropbox storage area)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/xaul84dqmqgbre0/Brenda%20Fitzgerald%20MD%20Director%20CDC.docx?dl=0

3. Per the following 1995 publication, the patient received thirteen spinal taps, multiple courses of IV and oral meds, and relapsed after each one, proven by CSF antigens and/or PCR. The only way this patient (said to be a physician) remained in remission was to keep her on open ended clarithromycin- was on it for 22 months by the time of publication.

European Neurology 1995

Seronegative Chronic Relapsing Neuroborreliosis
https://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/117104

Lawrence C., Lipton R.B., Lowy F.D., Coyle P.K.d

Abstract

We report an unusual patient with evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection who experienced repeated neurologic relapses despite aggressive antibiotic therapy. Each course of therapy was associated with a Jarisch-Herxheimer-like reaction. Although the patient never had detectable free antibodies to B. burgdorferi in serum or spinal fluid, the CSF was positive on multiple occasions for complexed anti-B. burgdorferi antibodies, B. burgdorferi nucleic acids and free antigen.

And then there is this recent announcement:

Paralyzed by Lyme, they were helped with combo treatments [long-term antibiotics]
https://www.lymedisease.org/remission-from-lyme-paralysis/

So once again Dr. Auchincloss I ask the question:

What diagnostic methods are you recommending to rule out ongoing infection and or coinfection(s) with other tick-borne diseases in the Lyme disease patient population expected to be evaluated in these five studies? (Or is this step strictly prohibited as a condition of accepting grant money from the NIH?)

Any study that does not rule out active infection is disingenuous.

A response to this serious inquiry is requested.

Respectfully submitted,
Carl Tuttle
Independent Researcher
Hudson, NH

Cc:
Brandon Jutras, Ph.D. Grant: 1 R01 AI178711-01
Michal Tal, Ph.D. Grant: 1 R01 AI178713-01
Linden Hu, M.D. Grant: 1 R01 AI178725-01
John Aucott, M.D. Grant: 1 R01 AI178726-01
Neal Woodbury, Ph.D. Grant: 1 R01 AI178727-01

________________

For more:

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Uncategorized