Archive for the ‘research’ Category

Chest Imaging of Cat-Scratch Disease in 2-Year Old Immunocompetent Baby With No History of Cat Contact

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30657130

2019 Jan 15;89(4):585-588. doi: 10.23750/abm.v89i4.6070.

Chest Imaging of a rare case of cat-scratch disease in a 2-years-old baby.

Rossi E1, Perrone A, Bongini U, Cangelosi AM, Sollai S, Narese D, Defilippi C.

Abstract

Cat-scratch disease (CSD) is usually a self-limiting infection that in the majority of cases occurs as lymphadenitis in children who have been scratched or bitten by a cat. Rarely, Bartonella henselae is cause of fever of unknown origin (FUO), with dissemination to various organs, mimicking an inflammatory rather than a lymphoproliferative disease. This manuscript will present a case of thoracic manifestations of CSD in an immunocompetent 2-years baby without history of cat contact, with fever of unknown origin, investigated by chest CT and MRI.

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**Comment**

The myths surrounding Bartonella are getting shattered one by one.  More and more cases are showing immunocompetent people contracting Bart as well as folks who have had no exposure to cats.  Time for NEW Research and open minds!  Bartonella, like so many other pathogens needs an entirely new approach.  Nothing about this should be reported as “rare.”  Nobody has a clue on prevalence!

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/10/bartonella-henselae-neuroretinitis-in-patients-without-cat-scratch/  All the patients denied a history of a cat or any animal contact, or of having CSD findings.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/05/cat-scratch-disease-in-a-1-5-year-old-girl-case-report/  A 1.5-year-old girl who was seen in hospital for the sparing use of her left arm when crawling.  Tested positively for Bartonella henselae.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/04/03/encephalopathy-in-adult-with-cat-scratch-disease/  Case of a 53-year-old healthy man, presenting with confusion.  Serology confirmed Bartonella henselae infection.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/09/transverse-myelitis-guillain-barre-associated-with-bartonella/  Healthy 10 year old girl had coexisting transverse myelitis and Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS) related to infection with Bartonella henselae.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/05/skull-infection-due-to-bartonella/  A 3-year-old female with a recent history of typical CSD involving lymph nodes who developed osteomyelitis of the skull.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/02/bartonella-langerhans-cell-histiocytosis-cancer/

 

 

 

Category:

Bartonella, research

Five Brands of Dental Floss May Expose People to PFAS

https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/nidhisubbaraman/oral-b-pfas-dental-floss?

These Five Brands Of Dental Floss May Expose People To Harmful Chemicals, Study Finds

PFAS “forever chemicals” are found in many consumer products, including nonstick cookware, carpets, and easy-glide floss.
Headshot of Nidhi Subbaraman

Nidhi Subbaraman

BuzzFeed News Reporter

Posted on January 9, 2019, at 7:10 p.m. ET

Andreypopov / Getty Images

People may absorb toxic industrial chemicals from some brands of dental floss, a new study says. It’s the latest evidence that Americans are routinely exposed to this vast class of chemicals, known as PFAS, some of which have been linked to heart disease and cancer.

Women who said they flossed with Oral-B Glide floss had higher levels of a PFAS called perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS) in their blood than those who didn’t, researchers reported Tuesday in the Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology.

“I’m not trying to tell people, ‘don’t floss,’” Katie Boronow, a staff scientist at the Silent Spring Institute in Newton, Massachusetts, who was part of the study, told BuzzFeed News. “It’s about choosing safer products.”

The CDC cites dental floss on a list of products that could contain PFAS. Studies in people have linked PFHxS to liver damage and a decreased immune response.

Although scientists have known that PFAS are used in Glide, “this finding suggests that it may be more important than expected,” said Courtney Carignan, an associate professor of food science and toxicology at Michigan State University who was not part of the study.

In addition to looking at the women’s blood levels, the researchers analyzed the chemical makeup of 18 types of dental floss. Six tested positive for fluorine, an element that they said indicates the presence of PFAS compounds. Those products were CVS Health EaseBetween SuperSlip Dental Floss Waxed, Oral-B Glide Pro-Health Mint and Glide Pro-Health Original, Crest Glide Deep Clean Cool Mint Floss, Safeway Signature Care Mint Waxed Comfort Floss, and Colgate Total Dental Floss Mint.

“The safety of the people who use our products is our number one priority. Our dental floss undergoes thorough safety testing and we stand by the safety of all our products,” a spokesperson for Procter & Gamble, the company that owns the Oral-B and Crest brand, told BuzzFeed News by email.

A spokesperson for CVS Pharmacy said by email that the company is “committed to assuring that the products we offer are safe, work as intended, comply with regulations and satisfy customers. We will be reviewing the study and will also contact the supplier of this product.”

Colgate-Palmolive and Safeway did not respond to requests for comment from BuzzFeed News.

PFAS compounds are used in the manufacture of many consumer products, including Teflon and nonstick cookware, waterproofed shoes and clothes, carpets, upholstery, and some kinds of food packaging. (Colgate’s website describes its Total Dental Floss as a “single-strand Teflon fiber.”)

Firefighting foams used at airports and military bases also contain PFAS chemicals. The Department of Defense has identified 126 sites near military bases with PFAS in their drinking water sources. Dozens of municipalities near chemical factories that once made PFAS products are finding the compounds in the public water systems.

Philippe Grandjean, a professor of environmental health at Harvard who was not involved with the study, told BuzzFeed News in an email that he found the results meaningful, despite the possibility that survey participants could have been exposed to PFAS from other sources, too.

“Non-stick pans have [a] larger surface but we don’t chew on them like dental floss,” Grandjean said.

Rita Loch-Caruso, a professor of environmental health at the University of Michigan who was not involved with the study, pointed out that fluoride — which also contains fluorine — is sometimes added to dental products. “It would have been nice to see them discuss whether fluoride could have been contributing to the fluorine measurements on the floss,” she told BuzzFeed News.

Boronow said that none of the products were advertised to contain fluoride for dental health.

The survey included 178 women, 87 of whom were black and 91 non-Hispanic white. The authors noted that follow-up work should include other ethnicities.

The goal of the study, Boronow said, was to get a clearer idea of how people absorbed the chemicals. “Aside from people who have contaminated drinking water or are exposed to PFAS chemicals at work, we don’t know what the most important sources of exposure are,” she said.

Dan Vergano contributed reporting.

 

Category:

Activism, research

Acute Transverse Myelitis – A Clinical Manifestation of Lyme (That Nobody Has a Clue About Prevalence)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30622896

2018 Dec 29;15:e00479. doi: 10.1016/j.idcr.2018.e00479. eCollection 2019.

Acute transverse myelitis – A rare clinical manifestation of Lyme neuroborreliosis.

Dumic I1,2, Vitorovic D3, Spritzer S4, Sviggum E5, Patel J6, Ramanan P7.

Abstract

Acute transverse myelitis (ATM) is a rare, potentially devastating neurological syndrome that has variety of causes, infectious being one of them. Lyme disease (LD) is the most common vector borne zoonosis in the United States (U.S.). While neurologic complications of LD are common, acute transverse myelitis is an exceedingly rare complication.

We present a case of a previously healthy 25-year-old man who presented with secondary erythema migrans, aseptic meningitis and clinical features of transverse myelitis including bilateral lower extremity motor and sensory deficits manifesting as weakness and numbness, urinary retention and constipation.

Despite negative serum antibodies against Borrelia burgdoferi, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi PCR.

Following treatment with methylprednisolone and ceftriaxone, he attained complete recovery apart from neurogenic bladder necessitating intermittent self-catheterization. We report rare manifestation of a common disease and emphasize the importance of considering LD in the differential diagnosis of acute transverse myelitis, particularly in residents of endemic areas.

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**Comment**

Nobody has a CLUE about how often anything is occurring in Lyme/MSIDS, when testing misses over half of all cases and folks are commonly misdiagnosed or undiagnosed for years.  Again, because words mean things, and research has been used against patients for over 40 years, a more accurate statement would be, “This is the first recorded case of ATM caused by Lyme Disease.”  And remember, just because something isn’t on record doesn’t mean it hasn’t happened.  Important distinction.

According to https://myelitis.org/living-with-myelitis/disease-information/afm/

The predominant presentation is weakness that may affect the limbs, face, oral or eye muscle. Weakness varies greatly ranging from subtle to very severe. AFM may result in total paralysis, partial paralysis, or weakness of just one limb. The combination of paralysis and how individuals present are widely variable. The limbs or muscle structures of individuals with AFM appear weak, flaccid, or limp and are not spastic as seen in classic cases of transverse myelitis. Since it is markedly the gray matter of the spinal cord that is inflamed in individuals with AFM, sensory, bowel and bladder functions can remain intact, however there are individuals that have both upper and lower motor neuron involvement.

The enterovirus (EV-D68) has been suspect in many of these cases however, it has not been definitively proven that it is this particular virus that has caused the paralysis,(1) although several cases of AFM occurred at around the same time as an outbreak of the EV-D68 virus.(2)

There has been a spike in AFM:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/19/rise-in-acute-flaccid-myelitis-cases-and-the-link-to-vaccinations/

Within the above link, you will learn there are numerous theories on what causes AFM including viruses & vaccinations.  Lyme/MSIDS patients often have viral involvement, and reactivation of Lyme has been documented after vaccinations:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/12/02/scottish-doctor-gives-insight-on-lyme-msids/, as well as Bartonella:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/24/gardasil-and-bartonella/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/11/07/connection-of-acute-flaccid-myelitis-and-vaccinations/  In this article, James Lyons Weiler states:

The US press has been pushing a view of acute flaccid paralysis as a mysterious condition of unknown etiology (unknown cause). Checking the scientific literature, however, tells us that AFP is most often Guillain Barre Syndrome (GBS), a condition that appears on the National Vaccine Injury Compensation Program as a “Table Condition” – i.e., one that the US HHS has no defense against when parents file in the NVICP for compensation for GBS as a vaccine injury in their children.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/12/07/acute-flaccid-paralysis-is-most-often-guillain-barre-syndrome/

GBS is also often a player with Lyme/MSIDS:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/09/transverse-myelitis-guillain-barre-associated-with-bartonella/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/14/clinical-association-lyme-disease-and-guillain-barre/  In Dr. Waisbren’s book, Treatment of Chronic Lyme Disease, the majority of his 51 cases of chronic Lyme had high EBV titers.  He also states,

“As will be seen in other cases, the Epstein-Barr virus may be a candidate for a co-infection associated with LD.”  

Waisbren often treated this co-infected patients that had EBV with 1000mg of Valtrex three times a day with good success.  He also used gamma globulin (4cc twice a week).

So Lyme/MSIDS patients are at the top of the list for AFM for numerous reasons.  Personally, I had a MRI at one point due to the excruciating pain in my spine and occipital headaches.  This pain was unrelenting.  Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) loves the brain and spinal column.  Many viruses hang out in the spine.  The MRI showed nothing abnormal and I was sent home with the same pain I came with.  While I believe proper antimicrobial treatment to be imperative, what finally relieved this pain for me was MSM:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/02/dmso-msm-for-lyme-msids/

Along with swelling in the spine, patients can have brain swelling as well.  Within one week, I met 3 Lyme patients with Chiari, another supposed “rare” condition:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/02/chiari/  While Chiari is often caused by structural defects in the brain and spinal cord that occur during fetal development, it can also be caused due to injury, exposure to harmful substances, or infection. 

When you study the Bb organism, along with the numerous coinfections, spine and brain swelling makes complete sense and needs to be studied further:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/13/lyme-disease-treatment/

There is so much research begging to be done, yet main stream medicine wants to wrap Lyme into a pretty box with a bow on top.  Again, if there is any box involved with Lyme/MSIDS, it’s Pandora’s.

 

 

Category:

Eye Issues, Inflammation, Lyme, Pain Management, research, Treatment

2018 Review of Previous Pathogen Transmission Time Studies in Deer Ticks

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29398603

2018 Mar;9(3):535-542. doi: 10.1016/j.ttbdis.2018.01.002. Epub 2018 Jan 31.

Pathogen transmission in relation to duration of attachment by Ixodes scapularis ticks.

Eisen L1.

Abstract

The blacklegged tick, Ixodes scapularis, is the primary vector to humans in the eastern United States of the deer tick virus lineage of Powassan virus (Powassan virus disease); the protozoan parasite Babesia microti (babesiosis); and multiple bacterial disease agents including Anaplasma phagocytophilum (anaplasmosis), Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia mayonii (Lyme disease), Borrelia miyamotoi (relapsing fever-like illness, named Borrelia miyamotoi disease), and Ehrlichia muris eauclairensis (a minor causative agent of ehrlichiosis).

With the notable exception of Powassan virus, which can be transmitted within minutes after attachment by an infected tick, there is no doubt that the risk of transmission of other I. scapularis-borne pathogens, including Lyme disease spirochetes, increases with the length of time (number of days) infected ticks are allowed to remain attached. This review summarizes data from experimental transmission studies to reinforce the important disease-prevention message that regular (at least daily) tick checks and prompt tick removal has strong potential to reduce the risk of transmission of I. scapularis-borne bacterial and parasitic pathogens from infected attached ticks.

The most likely scenario for human exposure to an I. scapularis-borne pathogen is the bite by a single infected tick. However, recent reviews have failed to make a clear distinction between data based on transmission studies where experimental hosts were fed upon by a single versus multiple infected ticks. A summary of data from experimental studies on transmission of Lyme disease spirochetes (Bo. burgdorferi and Bo. mayonii) by I. scapularis nymphs indicates that the probability of transmission resulting in host infection, at time points from 24 to 72 h after nymphal attachment, is higher when multiple infected ticks feed together as compared to feeding by a single infected tick.

In the specific context of risk for human infection, the most relevant experimental studies therefore are those where the probability of pathogen transmission at a given point in time after attachment was determined using a single infected tick. The minimum duration of attachment by single infected I. scapularis nymphs required for transmission to result in host infection is poorly defined for most pathogens, but experimental studies have shown that Powassan virus can be transmitted within 15 min of tick attachment and both A. phagocytophilum and Bo. miyamotoi within the first 24 h of attachment. There is no experimental evidence for transmission of Lyme disease spirochetes by single infected I. scapularis nymphs to result in host infection when ticks are attached for only 24 h (despite exposure of nearly 90 experimental rodent hosts across multiple studies) but the probability of transmission resulting in host infection appears to increase to approximately 10% by 48 h and reach 70% by 72 h for Bo. burgdorferi. Caveats to the results from experimental transmission studies, including specific circumstances (such as re-attachment of previously partially fed infected ticks) that may lead to more rapid transmission are discussed.

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**Comment**

There are a number of problematic issues with this study:

  1. This is a review of previous studies.  There is nothing NEW here.  
  2. It’s important to note that ticks typically carry more than just borrelia and transmission times have not taken this fact into account: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/01/co-infection-of-ticks-the-rule-rather-than-the-exception/ and https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-basics/co-infections/about-co-infections/  Infection with more than one pathogen is associated with more severe illness.https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/30/study-shows-lyme-msids-patients-infected-with-many-pathogens-and-explains-why-we-are-so-sick/  For the first time, Garg et al. show a 85% probability for multiple infections including not only tick-borne pathogens but also opportunistic microbes such as EBV and other viruses.  This is a BIG DEAL.  Finally, a study showing what we face as patients in the real world.  They also never take into account nematodes (worms), mycoplasma, tularemia, and/or Bartonella.  These are infections many if not most patients have to contend with.  Some have been bioweaponized.
  3. They assume that the most likely scenario is for a person to be bitten by one tick.  Assuming makes an ass out of u and me.  When you take into account the latest information on the Asian tick, you quickly realize the probability of coming into contact with hundreds if not thousands of ticks at one time:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/12/three-surprising-things-i-learned-about-asian-longhorned-ticks-the-tick-guy-tom-mather/  While human infection has yet to be found in the U.S., this tick is responsible for plenty of misery in Asia:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/12/first-longhorned-tick-confirmed-in-arkansas/  It spreads SFTS (sever fever with thrombocytopenia syndrome), “an emerging hemorrhagic fever,” but the potential impact of this tick on tickborne illness is not yet known. In other parts of the world, it has been associated with several tickborne diseases, such as spotted fever rickettsioses, Anaplasma, Ehrlichia, and Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme Disease.
  4. While they discuss the probability of multiple tick attachment, they never discuss the issue of partially fed ticks, where spirochetes would be in the salivary glands – leading to quicker transmission: http://iai.asm.org/content/61/6/2396.full.pdf  Ticks can spontaneously detach – and the authors of this study found that they did so 15% of the time in mice.  They also state that about a tenth of questing nymphs appear distended with partially fed sub-adult ticks being common.
  5. While the current review states, “There is no experimental evidence for transmission of Lyme disease spirochetes by single infected I. scapularis nymphs to result in host infection when ticks are attached for only 24 h (despite exposure of nearly 90 experimental rodent hosts across multiple studies), this study shows transmission can occur in under 16 hours:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4278789/
  6. https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/14/transmission-time-for-lymemsids-infection/  Within this video, microbiologist Holly Ahern discusses the numerous problems with animal Bb transmission studies.  Transmission Time:  Only one study done on Mice. At 24 hours every tick had transmitted borrelia to the mice; however, animal studies have proven that transmission can occur in under 16 hours and it occurs frequently in under 24 hours.  No human studies have been done and https://www.dovepress.com/lyme-borreliosis-a-review-of-data-on-transmission-time-after-tick-atta-peer-reviewed-article-IJGM  no studies have determined the minimum time it takes for transmission.  And, never forget the case of the little girl who couldn’t walk or talk after a tick bite attachment of 4-6 hours:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/12/07/igenex-presentation/
  7. They continue to blame Lyme/MSIDS on the black legged tick as the sole perp when experience and studies show there’s more potential transmitters at play:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/are-mosquitoes-transmitting-lyme-disease/, https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/07/23/german-study-finds-borrelia-in-mosquitos/, https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/01/17/remember-deer-keds-study-shows-bartonella-causing-deer-ked-dermatitis-in-humans/
Please, quit doing reviews of previous data and do something new using better laboratory techniques!  We don’t need MORE of the same thing.

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Babesia, Borrelia Miyamotoi (Relapsing Fever Group), Ehrlichiosis, Lyme, research, Ticks, Transmission, Viruses

Remember Deer Keds? Study Shows Bartonella Causing Deer Ked Dermatitis in Humans

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC525279/

. 2004 Nov; 42(11): 5320–5323.
PMCID: PMC525279
PMID: 15528732

Isolation of Bartonella schoenbuchensis from Lipoptena cervi, a Blood-Sucking Arthropod Causing Deer Ked Dermatitis

Christoph Dehio,1,* Ursula Sauder,2 and Rosemarie Hiestand1
Author information Article notes Copyright and License information Disclaimer

ABSTRACT

Bartonella schoenbuchensis, which commonly causes bacteremia in ruminants, was isolated from the deer ked Lipoptena cervi and was shown to localize to the midgut of this blood-sucking arthropod, causing deer ked dermatitis in humans. The role of B. schoenbuchensis in the etiology of deer ked dermatitis should be further investigated.

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**Important Take-aways**

  • Deer Ked incidental infestation in humans is well documented
  • Skin tests with deer red whole-body extracts were positive in ALL patients
  • Testing showed both immediate & delayed reactions
  • 57% of patients had elevated serum immunoglobulin E (IgE) levels
  • Deer keds appear to be an ideal vector for efficient transmission
  • The risk for transmission to humans is apparent
  • B. schoenbuchensis is most closely related to B bacilliformis, an important human pathogen also transmitted by a fly (Lutzomyia verrucarum)
  • Five variants were found – some of which may pose a larger risk than others
  • Clinical scenario of deer led dermatitis resembles a primary manifestation of Cat Scratch disease caused by B. henselae.
  • A positive delayed-type hypersensitivity skin test, like that characteristically observed for B. henselae antigens in cat scratch disease (), was also reported for all cases of deer ked dermatitis when whole deer ked extracts were used for the skin test (). Also, C3 deposits in dermal vessels like those described for deer ked dermatitis () are consistent with infection by vasculotropic bartonellae (). Taken together, certain clinical and histological characteristics of deer ked dermatitis are reminiscent of human infection by bartonellae, indicating that these pathogens should be considered possible etiological agents of deer ked dermatitis.

In summary, our study has provided evidence that deer keds collected from roe deer and red deer in Germany are commonly infected by B. schoenbuchensis. Furthermore, we have shown that B. schoenbuchensis colonizes the midgut of these arthropods and that this pathogen can be cultured at high titers from surface-sterilized arthropods. Our data suggest an important risk for the transmission of B. schoenbuchensis or related bartonellae to humans by the bite of an infected deer ked and suggest that a potential role of bartonellae in the etiology of deer ked dermatitis should be investigated further.

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**Comment**

Some of you will remember this: http://danielcameronmd.com/swarming-deer-flies-quickly-expose-people-lyme-disease-anaplasmosis/  Entomologists corrected Dr. Cameron and he published, “RETRACTION: STILL NO EVIDENCE THAT DEER FLIES OR DEER KEDS TRANSMIT B. BURGDORFERI OR A. PHAGOCYTOPHILUM.”

Yet, this 2018 study shows the deer ked does carry Bb and Anaplasma:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/04/deer-fly-lyme-carrying-ectoparasite-on-the-move/  Although rarely reported in the United States, this vector (Lipoptena cervi, i.e. deer ked), recently has been shown to carry Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophylum from specimens collected domestically.

In 2016, Bb and Anaplasma was found via PCR in a Pennsylvanian deer led:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/27860010

In 2017, Bartonella spp. was found in Polish deer ked:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29037227

Besides, Bb and Anaplasma, Bartonella has also been found in Norwegian Deer Flies: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/10/02/bartonella-found-in-deer-flies-deer-moose/  Bartonella, a huge player in Lyme/MSIDS, was found in 85% pools of adult wingless deer ked (n = 59). Two Bartonella lineages were identified based on phylogenetic analysis of the gltA gene and ITS region sequences.

Research is now desperately needed to connect these potential dots of how Lyme/MSIDS patients are acquiring Bartonella and other TBI’s.  We need transmission studies done on many, many vectors.  The one used by entomologists to downplay other vectors is 30 years old:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=3170711

And even it shows Bb infection or antibodies in various horse flies & mosquitoes.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/18/bartonella-vectors/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/11/07/are-mosquitoes-transmitting-lyme-disease/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/07/23/german-study-finds-borrelia-in-mosquitos/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

Bartonella, research, Testing, Ticks, Transmission