Archive for the ‘research’ Category

Possible Transfusion-Transmitted Babesia divergens-like/MO-1 in Arkansas Patient

https://academic.oup.com/cid/article-abstract/doi/10.1093/cid/cix216/3067352/Possible-Transfusion-Transmitted-Babesia-divergens?redirectedFrom=fulltext  Mary J. Burgess, MD Eric R. Rosenbaum, MD, MPH Bobbi S. Pritt, MD, MSc Dirk T. Haselow, MD, PhD Katie M. Ferren, MD Bashar N. Alzghoul, MD Juan Carlos Rico, MD Lynne M. Sloan, BS Poornima Ramanan, MD Raghunandan Purushothaman, MD Robert W. Bradsher, MD    Published March 13, 2017

A patient with asplenia and multiple red blood cell transfusions acquired babesiosis infection with Babesia divergens-like/MO-1 and not Babesia microti, the common United States species. He had no known tick exposure. This is believed to be the first transfusion-transmitted case and the fifth documented case of Babesia divergens-like/MO-1.

Category:

Babesia, research, Transmission

MyLymeData to Present Results

My mom used to always say, “If you want something done right, do it yourself.”

That’s exactly what MyLymeData is all about. It uses big data research tools which allow patients to quickly and privately pool their experiences to determine which treatments work best. The project can accelerate research into the disease, by helping scientists identify the most promising areas to investigate.

“Up until now, studies of people with Lyme disease were few and far between,” according to Lorraine Johnson, CEO of LymeDisease.org, sponsor of the MyLymeData project. “The largest one funded by the National Institutes of Health enrolled 129 patients—more than 15 years ago.”

https://www.lymedisease.org/mylymedata-so-important/  Go to this link to hear Johnson present statistics about the abysmal lack of research on Lyme/MSIDS. (1 minute long)

A patient education conference called MyLymeData2017: Overcoming Lyme Disease will be held April 8 in San Ramon, California, and will present the results from the first national large-scale longitudinal study of patients with Lyme disease ever conducted, and will also include the following presentations: 

Lorraine Johnson, CEO of LymeDisease.org. “Latest Results from MyLymeData”

Ray Stricker, MD. “Designer Drugs for Lyme Disease: The New Pharma Frontier?”

Christine Green, MD, “How to Combat Stealth Pathogens Like Lyme & Co-infections”

Raj Patel, MD, “Treating Mold Illness in the Context of Lyme Disease”

Jennifer Sugden, ND, “Pediatric Lyme Disease”

The event will be held at the San Ramon Community Center, 12501 Alcosta Blvd., in San Ramon, from 1-5 pm on April 8. Pre-registration is $35. Admission at the door is $40.

Register here:  http://events.r20.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=xsuluhcab&oeidk=a07edsnvpa3f512a2be

More than 7000 patients have enrolled since MyLymeData began in November 2015. This puts it in the top 10% of patient-powered big data registries in the nation. Recruitment for the project is on-going.

https://www.lymedisease.org/mylymedata/  Please have your voice heard and be a part of this project that is revolutionizing research done on Tick Borne Illness.

Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Treatment

Novel Borrelia Found in Canadian Rabbit

Detection of Borrelia Genomospecies 2 in Ixodes spinipalpis Ticks Collected from a Rabbit in Canada

John D. Scott, Kerry L. Clark, Janet E. Foley, John F. Anderson, Lance A. Durden, Jodi M. Manord, and Morgan L. Smith

Journal of Parasitology, 103(1):38-46. 2017

http://doi.org/10.1645/16-127

Abstract

Lyme disease is a serious health problem, with many patients requiring in-depth clinical assessment and extended treatment. In the present study, we provide the first records of the western blacklegged tick, Ixodes pacificus, and Ixodes spinipalpis parasitizing eastern cottontails, Sylvilagus floridanus. We also documented a triple co-infestation of 3 tick species (Ixodes angustus, I. pacificus, I. spinipalpis) feeding on an eastern cottontail. Notably, we discovered a unique member of the Lyme disease bacterium, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) in Canada.

Ixodes spinipalpis ticks, which were collected from an eastern cottontail on Vancouver Island, British Columbia (BC), were positive for B. burgdorferi s.l.  With the use of polymerase chain reaction amplification on the tick extracts and DNA sequencing on the borrelial amplicons, we detected Borrelia genomospecies 2, a novel subgroup of the B. burgdorferi s.l. complex. Based on 416 nucleotides of the flagellin B (flaB) gene, our amplicons are identical to the Borrelia genomospecies 2 type strain CA28. Borrelia genomospecies 2 is closely related genetically to other B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies, namely Borrelia americana, Borrelia andersonii, and B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.) that cause Lyme disease.

Like some other borrelial strains, Borrelia genomospecies 2 can be missed by current Lyme disease serology. Health-care providers must be aware that Borrelia genomospecies 2 is present in I. pacificus and I. spinipalpis ticks in far-western North America, and patients with clinical symptoms of Lyme disease need to be assessed for potential infection with this pathogen.

 

Category:

Lyme, research, Ticks

Ticks Found on Rocks

https://www.lymedisease.org/touched-lyme-hikers-think-twice-sitting-rocks/

Be careful of sitting on rocks when you are out hiking!  

Read the article in full in the link above – but in short, the California Department of Public Health found that out of leaf litter, downed wood, tree bole (lower 5 ft of tree trunks), and rocks, the most nymphal ticks were found on rocks.

According to Dorothy Kupcha Leland, California nymphal ticks have a much higher Lyme infection rate than adult ticks, but due to the bigger size, most studies have been of adults.  (Please see link above for informative graphics)

https://www.lymedisease.org/tildenticks-2/  Also, according to this 2011 article, California researchers have also found nymphs in unexpected places, including on and underneath wooden picnic tables and benches.

Leland states:

My personal advice is to wear permethrin-treated clothing when spending time in such a place. (At the very least, on the bottom half of your body: shoes, socks, and pants. But what the heck, how about a treated shirt and hat, too?) And wear repellent on exposed skin. And check yourself often for ticks, promptly removing any you find. https://www.lymedisease.org/lyme-basics/ticks/personal-protection/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/03/10/national-pest-alert/  I posted this recently, but here it is again.  This is the National Pest Alert.

 

Category:

Activism, Lyme, research, Ticks

RK Protocol for Lyme/MSIDS

http://files.constantcontact.com/5a4b6d10101/ba0749f3-7b2b-4110-a8ee-ccb608e0ab8f.pdf

The Ruggiero-Klinghardt (RK) Protocol for the Diagnosis and Treatment of Chronic Conditions with Particular Focus on Lyme Disease

Dietrich Klinghardt and Marco Ruggiero

Sophia Health Institute and Klinghardt Academy, Woodinville, WA., USA

Abstract: Here we describe the Ruggiero-Klinghardt (RK) Protocol that is based on integration of Autonomic Response Testing (ART) with diagnostic ultrasonography and on application of therapeutic ultrasounds; the latter are used as a provocation tool and as an instrument to optimize drug uptake and utilization in specific areas of the body. This protocol consists of a precise sequence of diagnostic and therapeutic procedures with the ultimate goal of improving sensitivity and specificity of diagnosis at the same time evaluating and optimizing efficacy of treatments in chronic conditions including, but not limited to, persistent Lyme disease. The RK Protocol represents a paradigm shift in diagnostics and therapeutics: Thus, compartmentalized microbes, transformed cells, toxins and metabolites could be detected using a safe and non-invasive method. In addition, the RK Protocol allows optimization of efficacy of drugs and other therapeutic interventions. Although the RK Protocol was initially developed for persistent Lyme disease, it shows significant potential in conditions ranging from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases and autism. In oncology, the RK Protocol may serve to facilitate early diagnosis and to increase sensitivity of cancer cells to the killing effects of a variety of remedies ranging from conventional radio- and chemotherapy to more recent forms of immunotherapy. Thus, the 1st goal of the RK Protocol is diagnostic: That is, to make pathogens, toxins, transformed cells and cells infected by viruses that are inaccessible to conventional diagnostic and therapeutic tools, “visible” to the therapist who can detect them with laboratory methods and deal with them with appropriate interventions; and also to make them “visible” to the immune system that can fight them in a physiological manner. The 2nd goal is to optimize drug uptake and utilization in the organs and tissues studied and targeted with these procedures.

**An example was given of a patient with a history of angina who could not be causally diagnosed with classic cardiology tests.  A urine example was collected before therapeutic ultrasounds which did NOT show any pathogen presence despite a positive Bartonella presence with ART.  This patient also tested negative on the Western Blot (CDC criteria) from IgeneX lab; however, the DNA test performed on the urine sample 1 hour after therapeutic ultrasounds identified Bartonella bacilliformis, a well-known cause of endocarditis, commonly diagnosed only post-mortem.  “The patient responded rapidly and favorably to targeted biological treatment involving daily therapeutic ultrasound application and sever anti-microbial agents.”  

Category:

Lyme, research, Testing, Uncategorized