The physical symptoms of chronic Lyme disease and fibromyalgia are challenging on their own. But when your mental capacities start to waver, it can take levels of frustration and fear to a whole new level.
Why are Lyme and fibromyalgia sufferers so prone to brain and neurological symptoms, and what can you do to find effective and lasting relief?
Join an updated live webinar with Dr. Bill Rawls, author of the best-selling book Unlocking Lyme, who knows firsthand what it’s like to live with Lyme brain and fibro fog. He’ll explain why Lyme disease and fibromyalgia tend to target the brain, and share insights on the best herbs and other natural lifestyle remedies for overcoming symptoms and reducing the risk and severity of long-term degenerative cognitive conditions such as dementia.
You’ll learn exactly what you need to clear the fog and restore healthy cognitive and neurological function, so that you can get back to thinking and feeling like yourself again.
• Why cognitive symptoms like confusion, short-term memory loss, anxiety, anger, and depression are so common in chronic illness patients such as those with Lyme disease, fibromyalgia, and Long COVID.
• How microbes, inflammation, and immune dysfunction disrupt cognitive function
• The best herbs and natural remedies for restoring and protecting brain health
• Numerous insights during the live Q&A with Dr. Rawls
About Dr. Bill Rawls
Bill Rawls, M.D., is a physician and leading expert in Lyme disease, integrative health, and herbal medicine. In the middle of his successful medical career, Dr. Rawls’ life was interrupted by Lyme disease. In his journey to overcome it, he explored nearly every treatment possible – from conventional medicine to a range of alternative therapies. In the more than 12 years since his recovery, Dr. Rawls has helped thousands of patients find their path to healing from Lyme disease and chronic illness. He is the author of the best-selling book Unlocking Lyme, and the Medical Director of RawlsMD.com and Vital Plan, an online holistic health company and Certified B Corporation®.
Ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug that may be even more useful against COVID-19 than hydroxychloroquine (HCQ). However, like HCQ, use of ivermectin has been globally suppressed, discouraged and even warned against, despite decades of safe use for other ailments
In the U.S., the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) has been calling for widespread adoption of Ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and for the treatment of all phases of COVID-19
What makes ivermectin particularly useful in COVID-19 is the fact that it works both in the initial viral phase of the illness, when antivirals are required, as well as in the inflammatory stage, when the viral load drops off and anti-inflammatories become necessary
A scientific review funded by the WHO found ivermectin reduced COVID-19 deaths by 75%. It also increased viral clearance. A meta-analysis of a greater number of studies found a 68% reduction in deaths
Despite robust scientific support for ivermectin, the WHO, the U.S. FDA and NIH all refuse to recommend the drug on grounds of insufficient evidence
When it comes to the treatment of COVID-19, many Western nations have been hobbled by the politicization of medicine. Throughout 2020, media and many public health experts warned against the use of hydroxychloroquine (HCQ), despite the fact that many practicing doctors were praising its ability to save patients. Most have been silenced through online censorship. Some even lost their jobs for the “sin” of publicly sharing their successes with the drug.
Another decades-old antiparasitic drug that may be even more useful than HCQ is ivermectin. Like HCQ, ivermectin is on the World Health Organization’s list of essential drugs, but its benefits are also being ignored by public health officials and buried by mainstream media.
Ivermectin is a heartworm medication that has been shown to inhibit SARS-CoV-2 replication in vitro.1 In the U.S., the Frontline COVID-19 Critical Care Alliance (FLCCC) has been calling for widespread adoption of Ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and for the treatment of all phases of COVID-19.2,3
In the video above, Dr. John Campbell interviews Dr. Tess Lawrie about the drug and its use against COVID-19. Lawrie is a medical doctor and Ph.D. researcher who has done a lot of work in South Africa.
She’s also the director of Evidence-Based Medicine Consultancy Ltd.,4 which is based in the U.K., and she helped organize the British Ivermectin Recommendation Development (BIRD) panel5 and the International Ivermectin for COVID Conference, held April 24, 2021.
Ironically, as a consultant to the World Health Organization and many other public health organizations, her largest clients are the very ones who are now actively suppressing the use of this drug.
Ivermectin Useful in All Stages of COVID
What makes ivermectin particularly useful in COVID-19 is the fact that it works both in the initial viral phase of the illness, when antivirals are required, as well as the inflammatory stage, when the viral load drops off and anti-inflammatories become necessary.
According to Dr. Surya Kant, a medical doctor in India who has written a white paper6 on ivermectin, the drug reduces replication of the SARS-CoV-2 virus by several thousand times.7 Kant’s paper led several Indian provinces to start using ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and as treatment for COVID-19 in the summer of 2020.8
In the video, Lawrie reviews the science behind her recommendation to use ivermectin. In summary:
•A scientific review by Dr. Andrew Hill at Liverpool University, funded by the WHO and UNITAID and published January 18, 2021, found ivermectin reduced COVID-19 deaths by 75%. It also increased viral clearance. This finding was based on a review of six randomized, controlled trials involving a total of 1,255 patients.
•Lawrie’s meta-analysis, published February 8, 2021, found a 68% reduction in deaths. Here, 13 studies were included in the analysis. This, she explains, is an underestimation of the beneficial effect, because they included a study in which the control arm was given HCQ.
Since HCQ is an active treatment that has also been shown to have a positive impact on outcomes, it’s not surprising that this particular study did not rate ivermectin as better than the control treatment (which was HCQ).
•Adding two new randomized controlled trials to her February analysis that included data on mortality, Lawrie published an updated analysis March 31, 2021, showing a 62% reduction in deaths.
When four studies with high risk of bias were removed during a subsequent sensitivity analysis, they ended up with a 72% reduction in deaths. Sensitivity analyses are done to double-check and verify results.
WHO Still Refuses to Recommend Ivermectin
Curiously, when the WHO finally updated its guidance on ivermectin at the end of March 2021,9,10 they gave it a thumbs-down, saying more data are needed. They only recommend it for patients who are enrolled in a clinical trial. Yet they based their negative recommendation on a review that included just five studies, which ended up showing a 72% reduction in deaths.
Lawrie points out discrepancies in this WHO analysis, such as two studies deemed by Lawrie to have a high risk of bias being listed by the WHO team to have a low risk of bias. (In the interview, she explains why she considers them to have a high risk of bias.)
What’s more, in the WHO’s summary of findings, they suddenly include data from seven studies, which combined show an 81% reduction in deaths. The confidence interval is also surprisingly high, with a 64% reduction in deaths on the low end, and 91% on the high end.
What’s more, their absolute effect estimate for standard of care is 70 deaths per 1,000, compared to just 14 deaths per 1,000 when treating with ivermectin. That’s a reduction in deaths of 56 per 1,000 when using ivermectin. The confidence interval is between 44 and 63 fewer deaths per 1,000.
Despite that, the WHO refuses to recommend this drug for COVID-19. Rabindra Abeyasinghe, a WHO representative to the Philippines, commented that using ivermectin without “strong” evidence is “harmful” because it can give “false confidence” to the public.11
As noted by Daniel Horowitz in an April 1, 2021, article in The Blaze,12 “That sure sounds a lot like telling people if they wear a mask indoors, they won’t get COVID. Tragically, when they invariably do get the virus, the global health elites have nothing to treat them with.”
Doctors Urge Acceptance of Ivermectin to Save Lives
As mentioned earlier, in the U.S., the FLCCC has also been calling for widespread adoption of ivermectin, both as a prophylactic and for the treatment of all phases of COVID-19.13,14
FLCCC president Dr. Pierre Kory, former professor of medicine at St. Luke’s Aurora Medical Center in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, has testified to the benefits of ivermectin before a number of COVID-19 panels, including the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs in December 2020,15 and the National Institutes of Health COVID-19 Treatment Guidelines Panel January 6, 2021.16 As noted by the FLCCC:17
“The data shows the ability of the drug Ivermectin to prevent COVID-19, to keep those with early symptoms from progressing to the hyper-inflammatory phase of the disease, and even to help critically ill patients recover.
Dr. Kory testified that Ivermectin is effectively a ‘miracle drug’ against COVID-19 and called upon the government’s medical authorities … to urgently review the latest data and then issue guidelines for physicians, nurse-practitioners, and physician assistants to prescribe Ivermectin for COVID-1918 …
… numerous clinical studies — including peer-reviewed randomized controlled trials — showed large magnitude benefits of Ivermectin in prophylaxis, early treatment and also in late-stage disease. Taken together … dozens of clinical trials that have now emerged from around the world are substantial enough to reliably assess clinical efficacy.
… data from 18 randomized controlled trials that included over 2,100 patients … demonstrated that Ivermectin produces faster viral clearance, faster time to hospital discharge, faster time to clinical recovery, and a 75% reduction in mortality rates.”19
A one-page summary20 of the clinical trial evidence for Ivermectin can be downloaded from the FLCCC website. A more comprehensive, 31-page review21 of trials data has been published in the journal Frontiers of Pharmacology.
At the time of this writing, the number of trials involving ivermectin has risen to 55, including 28 randomized controlled trials. A listing of all the Ivermectin trials done to date, with links to the published studies, can be found on c19Ivermectin.com.22
The FLCCC’s COVID-19 protocol was initially dubbed MATH+ (an acronym based on the key components of the treatment), but after several tweaks and updates, the prophylaxis and early outpatient treatment protocol is now known as I-MASK+23 while the hospital treatment has been renamed I-MATH+,24 due to the addition of ivermectin.
The two protocols25,26 are available for download on the FLCCC Alliance website in multiple languages. The clinical and scientific rationale for the I-MATH+ hospital protocol has also been peer-reviewed and was published in the Journal of Intensive Care Medicine27 in mid-December 2020.
NIH Loosens Restrictions, FDA Warns Against Prophylactic Use
In mid-January 2021, the NIH did revise its guidelines on ivermectin, in large part thanks to the data presented by Kory and others. However, while the NIH no longer warns against its use, they also do not outright recommend it, and they did not grant ivermectin emergency use authorization.
As a result, many patients in the U.S. still struggle to access the drug, as many doctors are unwilling to prescribe it off-label against health officials’ recommendations.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has adopted an even less favorable stance, March 9, 2021 actually issuing a consumer warning March 5, 2021, to not use ivermectin as a prophylactic.28 The FDA also has not approved ivermectin for prevention of or treatment for SARS-CoV-2.29
The International Ivermectin for COVID Conference
April 24 through 25, 2021, Lawrie hosted the first International Ivermectin for COVID Conference online.30 Twelve medical experts31 from around the world shared their knowledge during this conference, reviewing mechanism of action, protocols for prevention and treatment, including so-called long-hauler syndrome, research findings and real world data.
All of the lectures, which were recorded via Zoom, can be viewed on Bird-Group.org.32 In her closing address, Lawrie stated:33
“The story of Ivermectin has highlighted that we are at a remarkable juncture in medical history. The tools that we use to heal and our connection with our patients are being systematically undermined by relentless disinformation stemming from corporate greed.
The story of Ivermectin shows that we as a public have misplaced our trust in the authorities and have underestimated the extent to which money and power corrupts.
Had Ivermectin being employed in 2020 when medical colleagues around the world first alerted the authorities to its efficacy, millions of lives could have been saved, and the pandemic with all its associated suffering and loss brought to a rapid and timely end.
Since then, hundreds of millions of people have been involved in the largest medical experiment in human history. Mass vaccination was an unproven novel therapy. Hundreds of billions will be made by Big Pharma and paid for by the public.
With politicians and other non-medical individuals dictating to us what we are allowed to prescribe to the ill, we as doctors, have been put in a position such that our ability to uphold the Hippocratic oath is under attack.
At this fateful juncture, we must therefore choose, will we continue to be held ransom by corrupt organizations, health authorities, Big Pharma, and billionaire sociopaths, or will we do our moral and professional duty to do no harm and always do the best for those in our care?
The latter includes urgently reaching out to colleagues around the world to discuss which of our tried and tested safe older medicines can be used against COVID.”
During the conference, Lawrie proposed that doctors around the world join together to form a new people-centered World Health Organization. “Never before has our role as doctors been so important because never before have we become complicit in causing so much harm,” she said.
“We now have four large randomized control trials totaling over 1,500 patients each trial showing that as a prophylaxis agent [against COVID-19] it is immensely effective,” Kory said. “You will not get sick. You will be protected from getting ill if you take it in early outpatient treatment.”
Clostridium difficile is labeled as one of the organisms of greatest concern for antibiotic resistance by the National Institutes of Health.
Most healthcare practitioners associate it with acute colitis and diarrhea. However, it can also colonize the gastrointestinal tract, creating chronic symptoms that are harder to recognize.
Colonization of a number of problematic Clostridia species (and the metabolites they produce) can create neurological irritation and neurotransmitter imbalances, and has been implicated in:
Attention issues
Mood disorders
Neurological conditions
In this three-part series, Dr. Kurt Woeller delivers clinically relevant information that comes from years of working with neurologically symptomatic patients, his experience in specialized testing, and from a place of commitment to excellent patient care.
Dive into Part 1 where Dr. Woeller introduces the breadth of alternative symptoms that can manifest with Clostridium difficile (C. diff) and other pathogenic species.Stay tuned for upcoming Parts 2 and 3 where Dr. Woeller identifies methods most effective for detecting C. diff and discusses his most trusted therapeutics for addressing positive test results.Best for your health,
Kurt N. Woeller, DO, has been a functional and integrative medicine physician and a biomedical autism treatment specialist for over two decades. A respected author, international lecturer, and educator, he provides healthcare practitioner education through his online Integrative Medicine Academy.
Dr. Woeller serves as a clinical consultant and educator for both BioHealth Laboratory and Great Plains Laboratory (GPL). At GPL, he teaches the Organic Acid Test (OAT) interpretation and implementation course.
At his private practice in Bend, OR, he focuses on specialized diagnostic testing and treatment for individuals with complex medical conditions like autism, autoimmune and neurological disorders.
Novel candidate in development aims to be first approved non-vaccine therapeutic for Lyme disease prevention
Allows initiation of Phase 1 study to evaluate safety, pharmacokinetics, and dosing
More than 30 million Americans at risk for Lyme disease exposure, which can result in severe neurological and other debilitating symptoms
IRVINE, Calif., May 04, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ: TARS), a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company whose mission is to focus on unmet needs and apply proven science and new technology to revolutionize treatment for patients, starting with eye care, today announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has accepted the Company’s Investigational New Drug (IND) application for TP-05, an oral, non-vaccine therapeutic for the prevention of Lyme disease. With this IND acceptance, Tarsus will initiate a Phase 1 single ascending dose and multiple ascending dose (SAD/MAD) study to evaluate the safety, tolerability, and pharmacokinetics (PK) of TP-05 in healthy volunteers. Study initiation is anticipated in July.
“We are pleased that the FDA has accepted the IND for TP-05, which is an important milestone in our pipeline development. Currently, there are no approved pharmacological prophylactic options for tick kill and preventing transmission of Lyme disease, which has the potential to cause severe, often debilitating symptoms with permanent and irreversible damage,” said Bobak Azamian, M.D., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer of Tarsus. “There is a significant unmet need for a therapeutic to quickly and reliably prevent this disease that can lead to poor outcomes for so many people. We look forward to initiating our clinical development program for TP-05 and advancing the path for this much-needed therapeutic for Lyme disease prevention.”
Lyme disease is transmitted to humans after the bite of a blacklegged tick infected with the Borrelia bacteria. It is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States and can result in inflammation, nerve, joint and muscle pain and swelling, numbness, shortness of breath and – in severe cases – neurological complications such as facial palsy, vision issues, and meningitis symptoms, including severe headaches and neck stiffness. Lyme disease impacts more than 300,000 people in the U.S. each year and over 30 million are at high or moderate risk for contracting the disease.
TP-05 is an oral systemic formulation of lotilaner, a well-characterized anti-parasitic agent that paralyzes and kills ticks by blocking the parasite-specific GABA-CI channels. TP-05 is believed to be the only non-vaccine based therapeutic in development and is designed to rapidly provide systemic blood levels of lotilaner, and kill infected ticks attached to the human body before they can transmit the Borrelia bacteria that causes Lyme disease. In addition to the prevention of Lyme disease, Tarsus is also exploring TP-05 for the community prevention of malaria.
Tarsus is currently conducting a pivotal trial evaluating the efficacy and safety of TP-03, a topical ophthalmic formulation of lotilaner, for the treatment of Demodex blepharitis, a common ocular condition caused by an infestation of Demodex mites.
About TP-05
TP-05 is an oral systemic formulation of lotilaner, a well-characterized anti-parasitic agent that paralyzes and kills parasites by inhibiting parasite-specific GABA-Cl channels. Tarsus is studying TP-05 for the prevention of Lyme disease. In July of 2021, Tarsus will initiate a Phase 1 single ascending dose and multiple ascending dose (SAD/MAD) study to evaluate the safety, tolerability and pharmacokinetics (PK) of TP-05 in healthy volunteers. In addition to Lyme disease, Tarsus is also exploring TP-05 for the community prevention of malaria.
About Lyme Disease
Lyme disease is the most common vector-borne disease in the United States, transmitted to humans after the bite of a blacklegged tick infected by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. Over 30 million Americans are at high or moderate risk of contracting Lyme disease and there are approximately 300,000 – 400,000 cases in the U.S. each year. People who spend extended amounts of time outdoors in wooded, grassy areas are at higher risk of getting the infection. Data from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) shows that the risk of Lyme disease is spreading to new geographical areas, resulting in a significant need for prophylactic solutions. Currently, there are no FDA-approved pharmacological prophylactic options for Lyme disease.
About Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. Tarsus Pharmaceuticals, Inc. is a late clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that applies proven science and new technology to revolutionize treatment for patients, starting with eye care. It is advancing its pipeline to address several diseases with high unmet need across a range of therapeutic categories, including eye care, dermatology, and infectious disease prevention. Its lead product candidate, TP-03, is a novel therapeutic in a pivotal Phase 2b/3 trial for the treatment of Demodex blepharitis. TP-03 is also being developed for the treatment of Meibomian Gland Disease.
https://vetmed.illinois.edu/pet_column/fda-alert-on-flea-medications/ Only medications in the isoxazoline class of flea and tick medications are under investigation at this time. This includes Bravecto, Nexgard, Credelio, and Simparica (brand names for fluralaner, afoxolaner, lotilaner, and sarolaner).
Credelio contains the ingredient, lotilaner, which is an antiparasitic drug that kills the fleas and ticks that live on your pet’s body surface. Lotilaner blocks the transfer of chloride ions from passing through cell membranes, which causes uncontrolled neuromuscular activity and results in the death of fleas and ticks. Credelio starts killing fleas within 4 hours of administration and kills over 99% of fleas within 8 hours of administration. Credelio starts killing ticks* in 4 hours and 98.7% killed within 8 hours. *(Ixodes ricinus) Source
https://ivcjournal.com/isoxazoline-flea-and-tick/ On September 20, 2018, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned animal caregivers and veterinarians about the risk of serious neurologic events, including seizures, muscle tremors and ataxia, in dogs and cats treated with certain flea and tick medications. The warning applies to medications in the isoxazoline class — specifically, NexGard (afoxalaner), Bravecto (fluralaner), Simparica (sarolaner) and Credelio (lotilaner). The FDA updated their release on April 22, 2019 to include another recently-approved product in the isoxazoline class — namely, Revolution Plus (selamectin and sarolaner topical solution). The isoxazoline class encompasses a group of azolyl phenyl chemical compounds originally developed as parasiticides about 20 years ago. They are now widely used around the world. Adverse reactions to these compounds appear to affect animals randomly, although those with certain chronic diseases, the young and elderly, and animals that are immune-compromised or have the genetic mutation of the MDR1 gene are at higher risk.
A Comprehensive & Practical Review of Mold Toxicity and its Complications
Last Updated: May 05 2021
By Scott, The Better Health Guy
I had the opportunity to attend “A Comprehensive & Practical Review of Mold Toxicity and its Complications” held online on April 24-25, 2021. This event was a wonderful collaboration between Neil Nathan, MD and Jill Crista, ND.
Disclaimer: Nothing in this text is intended to serve as medical advice. All medical decisions should be made only with the guidance of your own personal licensed medical authority.
Disclaimer: This information was taken as notes during the training course and may not represent the exact statements of the speakers. Errors and/or omissions may be present.
Note: As this information may be updated as any errors are found, I kindly request that you link to this single source of information rather than copying the content below. If any updates or corrections are made, this will help to ensure that anyone reading this is getting the most current and accurate information available.
Mold toxicity is a big deal and needs to be addressed before some Lyme/MSIDS patients experience improvement. Again, Lyme literate doctors are educated in these issues.
I had the opportunity to attend “A Comprehensive & Practical Review of Mold Toxicity and its Complications” held online on April 24-25, 2021. This event was a wonderful collaboration between Neil Nathan, MD and Jill Crista, ND.
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 