Archive for the ‘Mycoplasma’ Category

COVID-19: Is Infection Along With Mycoplasma Or Other Bacteria Linked to Progression to a Lethal Outcome?

https://m.scirp.org/papers/100307

COVID-19 Coronavirus: Is Infection along with Mycoplasma or Other Bacteria Linked to Progression to a Lethal Outcome?

Garth L. Nicolson1*, Gonzalo Ferreira de Mattos2
 
Abstract: Most patients with COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus recover from this infection, but a significant fraction progress to a fatal outcome. As with some other RNA viruses, co-infection or activation of latent bacterial infections along with pre-existing health conditions in COVID-19 disease may be important in determining a fatal disease course. Mycoplasma spp. (M. pneumonaie, M. fermentans, etc.) have been routinely found as co-infections in a wide number of clinical conditions, and in some cases this has progressed to a fatal disease.
 
Although preliminary, Mycoplasma pneumoniae has been identified in COVID-19 disease, and the severity of some signs and symptoms in progressive COVID-19 patients could be due, in part, to Mycoplasma or other bacterial infections. Moreover, the presence of pathogenic Mycoplasma species or other pathogenic bacteria in COVID-19 disease may confer a perfect storm of cytokine and hemodynamic dysfunction, autoimmune activation, mitochondrial dysfunction and other complications that together cannot be easily corrected in patients with pre-existing health conditions.
 
The positive responses of only some COVID-19 patients to antibiotic and anti-malaria therapy could have been the result of suppression of Mycoplasma species and other bacterial co-infections in subsets of patients.
 
Thus it may be useful to use molecular tests to determine the presence of pathogenic Mycoplasma species and other pathogenic bacteria that are commonly found in atypical pneumonia in all hospitalized COVID-19 patients, and when positive results are obtained, these patients should treated accordingly in order to improve clinical responses and patient outcomes.  (See link for full article)
 
Important note:

Since we prepared this manuscript, there have been recent contributions, mostly brief preprint reports or letters that support our hypothesis. Charkraborty and Das [98] discussed the possibility that anaerobic bacteria, including Mycoplasma species, could be causing secondary infections in COVID-19 disease. They have proposed that such infections may be altering hemoglobin degradation and producing metabolites that affect hypoxia in progressing COVID-19 patients [98]. Stricker and Fesler [99] suggested that patients who have COVID-19 disease should not progress to a fatal outcome, if their therapy includes combinations of antibiotics (including minocycline or doxycycline) used for tick-borne infections [99]. As we discussed previously, Lyme disease patients often have mycoplasma co-infections that are sensitive to minocycline and doxycycline [62] [75].

For more:

Category:

Lyme, Mycoplasma, research, Viruses

Lyme, Tularemia, Rickettsia, & Other Bacteria Found on Children’s Masks

**UPDATE, Nov. 2021**

Watch a series of brief videos where Tyson Gabriel, an industrial hygienist, safety engineer, and risk manager who trains doctors and has 20 years of experience implementing exposure prevention plans in industry, and is lead researcher for his team, examined each mask study on the CDC’s website.  Also see these reports.

Florida Press Release, Parents Cultured Children’s Masks And Found Lyme Disease, Tularemia, Rickettsia, and Other Bacteria

June 18, 2021

The press release dealt with a group of Florida parents who sent cultures of their children’s (ages 6-11) masks, worn at school for 6-8 hours, to a lab. The masks were freshly laundered before they were worn for the day. One adult mask was submitted who works as a cosmetologist.  Also see this news report.

The Lab report using proteomics to extract proteins from the masks to sequence them revealed the following:

While this might be surprising to some, this website has posted on the dangers of mask usage from day one as well as the fact Fauci himself initially stated they weren’t effective, yet people are still wearing them!

  • A 2014 study of hospital workers wearing surgical masks in a Bangkok hospital found their masks to be saturated with Staphylococcus aureus (found on some of the masks in the Alachua study) and the fungus Aspergillus.
  • Another study of hospital workers in China from 2019 observed that after more than six hours of use, masks worn by medical personnel also contained viruses, including adenovirus, bocavirus, respiratory syncytial virus, and influenza viruses.
  • Studies have shown that pathogen density on masks grows exponentially after two hours of use. Source

The final nail in the coffin should have been after the Danish mask study  a randomized, controlled trial on thousands of people.  But it didn’t matter.  The spin doctors used their power to shout it down, and any other information showing the dangers and ineffectiveness of mask usage. Merely posting the study got me kicked off LinkedIn.  So much for a free exchange of ideas in the era of COVID.

 
While a Florida appeals court has already ruled that the mask mandate in Alachua County is presumptively unconstitutional because it violates bodily autonomy, the rest of the country is still in question. The Boston Globe is already advocating their use for the flu season. 
 
For Lyme/MSIDS patients, this information should reinforce what we already know.  Ticks are not the sole perp transmitting “tick-borne illness,” and we need much more work done on this issue.  
 
Lida Mattman, the expert on the cell wall deficient forms has stated she believes Lyme is transmitted by fomites, (an inanimate object or substance that is capable of transmitting infectious organisms from one individual to another). But the spin doctors shouting down anti-mask science have also shouted down any work on sexual and congenital transmission. When I asked Elizabeth Burgess if I could interview her, as she has done much work in the past on animal transmission at the University of Wisconsin, she refused – still affected by nearly losing her job and the bullying that occurred for her controversial findings decades ago.
 
Further, Mattman did groundbreaking work on Lyme testing. Her Gold Standard Culture Method has disappeared thanks to the concerted suppression on microscopy. In 2004 she already claimed that she could not find any uninfected blood in the USA anymore.  
 
And now Lyme, Tularemia, and Rickettsia have ALL been found on the masks of children?  
This should cause us all to pause and consider.

For more on guidelines harming children:  https://www.greenmedinfo.com/blog/how-covid-19-school-guidelines-are-harming-kids . It became clear early on that children and teens are at very low risk from COVID-19, with a 99.997% survival.

Please consider signing the petition to lift COVID guidelines at school:  https://standforhealthfreedom.com/action/lift-school-covid-guidelines/

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, Mycoplasma, Tularemia

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

10 Top Causes of Symptoms in Chronic Lyme Disease

https://www.prohealth.com/library/ten-common-causes-of-symptoms-in-chronic-lyme-disease-8558

10 Top Causes Of Symptoms In Chronic Lyme Disease

By Connie Strasheim • ProHealth.com • September 22, 2020

(Please see link above for full article.  Excerpts below)

1) Mold toxicity

Real Time labs is among the most accurate of labs for mold testing. Effective mold toxin binders include the medication cholestyramine and activated charcoal.

2) Parasitic Infections

Parasitic infections are often not detectable on conventional lab tests, and may not even show up in sophisticated stool tests; therefore, using multiple forms of testing to detect parasites, such as electrodermal screening tools such as the Zyto or muscle testing, is important, along with lab testing with reputable labs such as Doctors’ Data.

3) Hormone and Neurotransmitter Imbalances

Replenishing the body’s stores of these chemicals can therefore profoundly support the healing process and Lyme doctors will commonly prescribe bio-identical hormones such as pregnenolone, DHEA and thyroid hormone to their patients, along with amino acids such as L-tyrosine, GABA and 5-HTP, which the body uses to make neurotransmitters. To make these amino acids work in the body, supplemental co-factors such as P5P, SAMe, and methyl B-12 are also sometimes important.

4) Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

Common deficiencies include magnesium, Vitamins D, C and B-vitamins; zinc and iron—among others. Supplementation with these nutrients can help to support the body during healing. (For more information on common nutritional deficiencies in Lyme disease and supplements that support the body, I encourage you to check out my 2012 book Beyond Lyme Disease).

5) Inflammation

Reducing inflammation involves mitigating all of its causes, such as removing pathogens and toxins from the body, and downregulating the immune response with nutrients and tools such as low-dose immunotherapy. High-quality, natural anti-inflammatory substances such as curcumin may also be helpful for supporting the body’s inflammatory response.

6) Mitochondrial Dysfunction

Supporting the mitochondria with supplements such as L-carnitine and CO Q-10 can help to mitigate fatigue and other symptoms related to mitochondrial dysfunction.

7) Emotional Trauma

Many studies have proven that trauma suppresses immune function and when prolonged, can open the door to chronic health challenges.

8) A Poor Diet

Removing allergenic foods and consuming fresh, organic “real” food, such as non-GMO, antibiotic, pesticide, and hormone-free meats, poultry, eggs, and other proteins; non-starchy veggies and low-glycemic fruits, along with healthy fats such as olive and coconut oil, can help to alleviate symptoms caused by food.

9) Poor Gastrointestinal Function

Supplementing with GI nutrients such as hydrochloric acid, digestive enzymes and probiotics may help to support gastrointestinal function in those with Lyme.

10) Environmental Toxicity

Sauna therapy, rebounding, coffee enemas, liver cleanses, and taking toxin binders such as zeolite, chlorella, EDTA, activated charcoal—among others, are just a few ways to remove toxins from the body.  Ideally, you’ll want to work with a practitioner who can test your body for toxins and prescribe a regimen in conjunction with Lyme disease treatment based on your needs. The same holds for the other causes of symptoms described here.

This article was first published on ProHealth.com on April 26, 2016 and was updated on September 22, 2020.

Connie Strasheim is the author of multiple wellness books, including three on Lyme disease. She is also a medical copywriter, editor and healing prayer minister. Her passion is to help people with complex chronic illnesses find freedom from disease and soul-spirit sickness using whole body medicine and prayer, and she collaborates with some of the world’s best integrative doctors to do this. In addition to Lyme disease, Connie’s books focus on cancer, nutrition, detoxification and spiritual healing. You can learn more about her work at: ConnieStrasheim.

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**Comment**

Not mentioned is Lyme itself, and the many other potential players.  While parasites apart from Lyme is mentioned, dealing with the infections is paramount.  Of course these infections are indirectly affected by the things listed in the helpful article, but never underestimate the infection(s) themselves.  Good, effective, savvy treatment is required.

For more:

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Mold, Mycoplasma, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever

Stealth Infections & Their Detection

Dr.-Schwarzbach-Stealth-Infections-and-their-Detection (1)  pdf here

iu-105

Armin Schwarzbach PhD

Medical doctor and Specialist for Laboratory Medicine

Augsburg, Germany

AONM Annual Conference London, November 19th 2017

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**Comment**

Excellent presentation on the following stealth pathogens:

  • Mycoplasma
  • Bartonella
  • Babesia
  • Ehrlichia/Anaplasma
  • Chlamydia pneumoniae
  • Yersinia
  • Coxsackie viruses (B1, A7, A16) and many others 
  • Borrelia burgdorferi , in all its forms

While Dr. Schwarzbach wants to blame “ecosystem disruption” for the mess we are in, I think it more likely to be due to laboratory experimentation/manipulation (bioweaponization), dropping ticks from airplanes, and migratory birds and animals transporting ticks far and wide:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/09/25/why-should-we-care-about-lyme-disease-a-colorful-tale-of-government-conflicts-of-interest-probable-bioweaponization-and-pathogen-complexity/

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Bartonella, Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, Mycoplasma, Testing, Viruses