Archive for the ‘research’ Category

Research on Morgellons

Morgellons Disease – Video abstract 116608  Uploaded on Sep 28, 2016
Video abstract of review paper “Morgellons disease: a filamentous borrelial dermatitis” to be published in the International Journal of General Medicine by Middelveen and Stricker.

https://www.dovepress.com/articles.php?article_id=29451
Marianne J Middelveen, Raphael B Stricker

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, Bethesda, MD, USA

Morgellons disease: a filamentous borrelial dermatitis

Abstract: Morgellons disease (MD) is a dermopathy characterized by multicolored filaments that lie under, are embedded in, or project from skin. Although MD was initially considered to be a delusional disorder, recent studies have demonstrated that the dermopathy is associated with tickborne infection, that the filaments are composed of keratin and collagen, and that they result from proliferation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in epithelial tissue. Culture, histopathological and molecular evidence of spirochetal infection associated with MD has been presented in several published studies using a variety of techniques. Spirochetes genetically identified as Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto predominate as the infective agent in most of the Morgellons skin specimens studied so far. Other species of Borrelia including Borrelia garinii, Borrelia miyamotoi, and Borrelia hermsii have also been detected in skin specimens taken from MD patients. The optimal treatment for MD remains to be determined.

Morgellons disease – Video abstract: 39017  Published on Jan 8, 2013
Video abstract of original research paper “Characterization and evolution of dermal filaments from patients with Morgellons disease” by Middelveen MJ, Mayne PJ, Kahn DG, et al.

https://www.dovepress.com/characterization-and-evolution-of-dermal-filaments-from-patients-with–peer-reviewed-article-CCID
Marianne J Middelveen,1 Peter J Mayne,1 Douglas G Kahn,2 Raphael B Stricker1

1International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, Bethesda, MD, USA; 2Department of Pathology, Olive View–UCLA Medical Center, Sylmar, CA, USA

Characterization and evolution of dermal filaments from patients with Morgellons disease

Abstract: Morgellons disease is an emerging skin disease characterized by formation of dermal filaments associated with multisystemic symptoms and tick-borne illness. Some clinicians hypothesize that these often colorful dermal filaments are textile fibers, either self-implanted by patients or accidentally adhering to lesions, and conclude that patients with this disease have delusions of infestation. We present histological observations and electron microscopic imaging from representative Morgellons disease samples revealing that dermal filaments in these cases are keratin and collagen in composition and result from proliferation and activation of keratinocytes and fibroblasts in the epidermis. Spirochetes were detected in the dermatological specimens from our study patients, providing evidence that Morgellons disease is associated with an infectious process.

https://www.dovepress.com/filament-formation-associated-with-spirochetal-infection-a-comparative-peer-reviewed-article-CCID
Marianne J Middelveen, Raphael B Stricker
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, Bethesda, MD, USA

Filament formation associated with spirochetal infection: a comparative approach to Morgellons disease

Abstract: Bovine digital dermatitis is an emerging infectious disease that causes lameness, decreased milk production, and weight loss in livestock. Proliferative stages of bovine digital dermatitis demonstrate keratin filament formation in skin above the hooves in affected animals. The multifactorial etiology of digital dermatitis is not well understood, but spirochetes and other coinfecting microorganisms have been implicated in the pathogenesis of this veterinary illness. Morgellons disease is an emerging human dermopathy characterized by the presence of filamentous fibers of undetermined composition, both in lesions and subdermally. While the etiology of Morgellons disease is unknown, there is serological and clinical evidence linking this phenomenon to Lyme borreliosis and coinfecting tick-borne agents. Although the microscopy of Morgellons filaments has been described in the medical literature, the structure and pathogenesis of these fibers is poorly understood. In contrast, most microscopy of digital dermatitis has focused on associated pathogens and histology rather than the morphology of late-stage filamentous fibers. Clinical, laboratory, and microscopic characteristics of these two diseases are compared.

Category:

Lyme, Morgellons, research

Hope for Southerners

Up until now, the powers that be have pretty much denied the existence of Lyme Disease in the South. A great example of this happened recently when children from Arkansas were denied treatment because the Director of the Infectious Disease Program stated that although they have ticks that transmit LD, there aren’t any recorded cases.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/09/24/arkansas-kids-denied-lyme-treatment/

This illogical ideology is about to change thanks to the work of Kerry Clark, PhD, MPH, Professor of Epidemiology & Environmental Health at the University of North Florida. At the recent Lyme Disease Association (LDA) 17th Annual Conference in St. Paul, MN, Clark presented his work showing that Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Bbsl) DNA has been detected in scores of human patients and dogs from the South, who had no travel history to Lyme endemic regions. Bbsl was isolated in culture from patients from both Florida and Georgia – never before described in scientific literature.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/292984009_A_divergent_strain_isolated_from_a_resident_of_the_southeastern_United_States_was_identified_by_MLST_analysis_as_Borrelia_bissettii

The take home: Clark is finding strains in the South that the current CDC two-tier testing will never pick up in a thousand years.

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/285584725_Isolation_of_live_Borrelia_burgdorferi_sensu_lato_spirochetes_from_patients_with_undefined_disorders_and_symptoms_not_typical_for_Lyme_diseases

The take home: Clark found live Bbsl (bissettii-like strain) in people from the Southeast who had undefined disorders not typical of LD, and were treated for LD even though they were seronegative, proving that B. bissetti is responsible for worldwide human infection.

He also showed DNA of Bbsl in Lone Star ticks which might be a bridge vector of transmission to humans.

To see Dr. Clark’s work, go to: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Kerry_Clark/publications

Dr. Clark was the first to report finding LD spirochetes in animals and ticks in South Carolina, as well as in wild lizards in South Carolina and Florida. He has documented the presence of LD Borrelia species, Babesia microti, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Rickettsia species, and other tick-borne pathogens in wild animals, ticks, dogs, and humans in Florida and other southern states.

Category:

Babesia, Lyme, research, Ticks

Study on Ceftriaxone

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01744/abstract

Abstract

Although the majority of Lyme disease patients can be cured, at least 10-20% of the patients continue to suffer from persisting symptoms such as fatigue, muscular and joint pain, and neurologic impairment after standard 2-4 week antibiotic treatment. While the causes for this post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms are unclear, one possibility is due to B. burgdorferi persisters that are not effectively killed by current antibiotics such as doxycycline or amoxicillin used to treat Lyme disease. A previous study showed that four rounds of ceftriaxone pulse dosing treatment eradicated B. burgdorferi persisters in vitro using a relatively young late log phase culture (5 day old).

In this study, we investigated if ceftriaxone pulse dosing could also eradicate B. burgdorferi persisters in older stationary phase cultures (10 day old) enriched with more resistant microcolony form of persisters. We found that ceftriaxone pulse dosing could only eradicate planktonic log phase B. burgdorferi spirochetal forms and round body forms but not more resistant aggregated biofilm-like microcolony persisters enriched in stationary phase cultures. Moreover, we found that not all drugs are suitable for pulse dosing, with bactericidal drugs ceftriaxone and cefuroxime being more appropriate for pulse dosing than bacteriostatic drug doxycycline and persister drug daptomycin.

We also showed that drug combination pulse dosing treatment was more effective than single drug pulse dosing. Importantly, we demonstrate that pulse dosing treatment impaired the activity of the persister drug daptomycin and its drug combination against B. burgdorferi persisters and that the most effective way to kill the more resistant biofilm-like microcolonies is the daptomycin/doxycycline/ceftriaxone triple drug combination without pulse dosing. Our findings indicate pulse dosing may not always work as a general principle but rather depends on the specific drugs used, with cidal drugs being more appropriate for pulse dosing than static or persister drugs, and that drug combination approach with persister drugs is more effective at killing the more resistant microcolony form of persisters than pulse dosing.

These observations may have implications for more effective treatment of Lyme disease. Future studies are required to validate these findings in animal models of B. burgdorferi persistence.

http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01744/abstract

Free, full provisional text (pdf file, 2.31 MB):
http://journal.frontiersin.org/article/10.3389/fmicb.2016.01744/pdf

Category:

Lyme, research, Treatment

The Kite Mosquito Patch

Approximately 2 min.

http://www.kitepatch.com/kite-patch

Dr. Anandasankar Ray and his team from the University of California, Riverside, has developed the Kite Patch, a small patch worn on clothing to protect against mosquitos.  The patch blocks the mosquitoes’ ability to track and detect humans for up to 48 hours.  It should be for sale in 2017.  http://magazine.ucr.edu/44

All Kite products are free from DEET or any other potentially harmful or toxic chemicals.  The company is committed to replacing outdated and potentially unhealthy repellents that have dominated the market for decades.

The patch could help protect against malaria, West Nile, Dengue fever, and other mosquito-borne diseases.

http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v474/n7349/full/nature10081.html  Journal article.

http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2015/08/11/high-tech-hope-for-repelling-mosquitoes/?_r=0  One person’s review.

 

Category:

Malaria, mosquitoes, research, Viruses

Willy Speaks From the Grave Rickettsia helvetica

https://www.statnews.com/2016/10/12/swiss-agent-lyme-disease-mystery/

In a riveting article (go to link above) STAT obtained Willy Burgdorfer’s documents found in his garage after his death in 2014.

 Approx. 4 min WBUR interview with Charles Piller, author of the link above.

What makes this crucial for MSIDS patients is his fascination and concern with Rickettsia helvetica, something he coined, “Swiss Agent.” The article poses an idea that doctors might be mistaking this infection for Lyme or that this agent could also be another co-infection complicating and confusing cases.

Rickettsia helvetica is known predominantly in Europe and Asia as relatively rare but linked to sudden deaths from heart disease. Other symptoms include facial palsy, deafness, meningitis, chronic muscle weakness, temporary paralysis, debilitating fatigue, severe headaches, and sarcoidosis.

There is no test in the U.S. for Rickettsia helvetica.

Burgdorfer discovered the pathogen in 1978 in Switzerland. The stacks of papers found in his garage indicate he meant to delve into it further with a prophetic note written in red on top of the stack that stated, “I wondered why somebody didn’t do something, then I realized that I am somebody.”

University of California, Berkeley, medical entomologist and Lyme expert, Robert Lane, states that Rh could cause clinical illness on its own or act with other pathogens worsening cases.

When the discovery of the cause of Lyme was reported in the journal Science in 1982, Burgdorfer identified Rickettsia in Lyme patients’ sera and ticks, but in the final article no mention of it was made.

Currently, the CDC is using molecular techniques on 30,000 sera samples from those with suspected tick-borne illness but will take several more years to finish. It is believed that if Rickettsia helvetica is there, it will be found.

Dr. W. Ian Lipkin, director of the Center for Infection and Immunity at Columbia University, has identified 20 new viruses in ticks, using a process that could result in making tests affordable to patients. He also trying to get funding to include Rickettsia in his research.

We can thank Burgdorfer for contemplating all of this before his death and ultimately contacting Ron Lindorf to retrieve his boxes of research. Willy told him he wanted it available to people on the internet so they could read it for themselves. From there, Lindorf met with Kris Newby, the producer of “Under Our Skin,” the best primer on Lyme Disease out there. http://underourskin.com/#home-underourskin.  If you haven’t seen this film, you need to now. It will explain all the reasons why we find ourselves in a medical quagmire. The sequel, “Emergence,”
http://underourskin.com/sequel/#sequel-home is just as powerful and offers much hope as it follows many patients through treatment to health.

Newby shared the documents with STAT, hoping that an independent report would be made.

 

Category:

Lyme, research, Ticks