Archive for the ‘Treatment’ Category

Disseminated Cat Scratch Disease in Pediatric Patients in Hawaii

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7260883/

. 2020 May 1; 79(5 Suppl 1): 64–70.
PMCID: PMC7260883
PMID: 32490388

Disseminated Cat Scratch Disease in Pediatric Patients in Hawaii

Scarlett Carmen Johnson, MD, Jessica Kosut, MD, and Natascha Ching, MD

Abstract

Cat scratch disease is known to be a generally benign, self-resolving illness associated with non-specific symptoms, including lymphadenopathy, fever, fatigue, anorexia, and headaches. However, it can also cause disseminated disease with a wide range of manifestations, including liver and spleen microabscesses, osteomyelitis, encephalitis, and uveitis.

Eighteen pediatric cases of disseminated cat scratch disease at a single center in Hawaii are described. This case series emphasizes the importance of disease recognition and use of appropriate diagnostic tools and disease management. The disease burden of pediatric patients with disseminated cat scratch disease in the state of Hawaii has a high incidence and should be considered in pediatric patients with prolonged febrile illnesses.

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**Comment**

This is important because few doctors will consider Bartonella in pediatric patients.  Like the article states, most doctors consider Bartonella to be a benign, self-resolving disease when nothing could be further from the truth.  In fact, I’d go as far to say it can be as bad as Lyme if not worse.  It’s very tenacious.

For more:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/category/bartonella-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/04/24/human-bartonellosis-an-underappreciated-public-health-problem/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/11/14/bartonella-vs-borrelia-key-differences-you-should-know/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/06/uh-study-shows-hawaii-kids-more-vulnerable-to-bartonella/  University of Hawaii study shows Hawaii keiki are more than three times more likely to get severe forms of cat scratch disease than mainland kids.

This is an interesting finding.  I wouldn’t blame only cats. Bartonella can be transmitted from many, many things:

Mode of Transmission: Arthropod vectors including fleas and flea feces, biting flies such as sand flies and horn flies, the human body louse, mosquitoes, and ticks; through bites and scratches of reservoir hosts; and potentially from needles and syringes in the drug addicted. Needle stick transmission to veterinarians has been reported. There is documentation that cats have received it through blood transfusion. 3.2% of blood donors in Brazil were found to carry Bartonella in their blood. Bartonella DNA has been found in dust mites. Those with arthropod exposure have an increased risk, as well as those working and living with pets that have arthropod exposure. 28% of veterinarians tested positively for Bartonella compared with 0% of controls. About half of all cats may be infected with Bartonella – as high as 80% in feral cats and near 40% of domestic cats. In various studies dogs have close to a 50% rate as well. Evidence now suggests it may be transmitted congenitally from mother to child – potentially leading to birth defects.

**On a personal note**

If my husband and I have symptoms – they are typically Bartonella symptoms. After years of treatment, we both use Berberine, which has served as a wonderful maintenance treatment for both of us:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/05/05/good-news-for-bartonella-patients-identification-of-fda-approved-drugs-with-higher-activity-than-current-front-line-drugs/

 

Category:

Bartonella, research, Treatment

Ivermectin, A New Candidate Therapeutic Against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7261036/

Published online 2020 May 30. doi: 10.1186/s12941-020-00368-w
PMCID: PMC7261036
PMID: 32473642

Ivermectin, a new candidate therapeutic against SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19

Khan Sharun,1 Kuldeep Dhama,corresponding author2 Shailesh Kumar Patel,2 Mamta Pathak,2 Ruchi Tiwari,3 Bhoj Raj Singh,4Ranjit Sah,5 D. Katterine Bonilla-Aldana,6,7 Alfonso J. Rodriguez-Morales,corresponding author7,8 and Hakan Leblebicioglu9

The recent report by Caly et al., describing the antiviral potential of ivermectin against the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) in vitro arrive to the agenda of potential candidates for COVID-19 treatment []. This discovery gave hope to the researchers who are screening for drugs that can be repurposed for treating the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). Ivermectin, is a member of the avermectin family (Fig. 1); as these compounds are produced by the soil microorganism, Streptomyces avermitilis, they are called avermectins [].

Ivermectin has showed a wide range of activities, ranging from

  • broad-spectrum endo/ecto-parasiticide activity to antiviral
  • antibacteria
  • anticancer activities []

It was first introduced commercially in 1981 for use in animals. In addition to being used for treating billions of livestock and companion animals worldwide to help maintain food production and animal health, ivermectin is also used for treating several diseases in humans, e.g. a key drug in the elimination programs of onchocercosis [, ]. Ivermectin is considered a drug of choice for various parasitic diseases. As an anthelmintic drug, its mechanism of action in invertebrates mainly involves the opening of glutamate-gated and Gamma aminobutyric acid (GABA)-gated chloride channels, leading to increased conductance of chloride ions and causing subsequent motor paralysis in parasites [].

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**Comment**

Ivermectin has been used very successfully in many Lyme/MSIDS patients as well.

Lyme discoverer, Willy Burgdorfer, wrote of finding nematodes in tick guts way back in 1984 and in 2014 University of New Haven researcher, Eva Sapi, found 22% of nymphs and 30% of adult Ixodes ticks carried nematodes.  

For more:

Excerpt:

Pathologist Alan MacDonald has found three strains of borrelia living in parasitic nematode worms, worm eggs, or larvae in the brain tissue of 19 autopsies.  

MacDonald states that both worms and borrelia can cause devastating brain damage and that

“while patients are wrongly declared free of Lyme and other tick-borne infections, in reality, too often they contract serious neurodegenerative diseases which can kill them.”  

Microbiologist Tom Grier also feels patients should and their practitioners should consider anti-parasitics for nematodes, (making sure to kill all parasites in every growth stage including eggs) followed by antibiotics for Borrelia.  He states treatment would have to be aggressive to get past the Blood-Brain-Barrier, and prolonged to eradicate the Borrelia. Grier gives the caution:  Do not self treat with anthelmintics as they can cause severe inflammatory reactions and fatal encephalitis.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/08/09/dr-paul-duray-research-fellowship-foundation-some-great-research-being-done-on-lyme-disease/

If you are a chronically infected patient and you have used many different antibiotics over an extended period of time, but still struggle with symptoms, you should discuss specific and focused parasitic treatment with your doctor. The first link listed in the comment section should help you understand the complexity of this.

Category:

Activism, Treatment, Viruses

Heparin As A Therapy For COVID-19: Current Evidence and Future Possibilities

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32519894/

. 2020 Jun 10.

doi: 10.1152/ajplung.00199.2020.Online ahead of print.

Heparin as a Therapy for COVID-19: Current Evidence and Future Possibilities

Joseph Alan Hippensteel 1, Wells B LaRiviere 2, James F Colbert 1, Christophe J Langouët-Astrié 1, Eric P Schmidt 1
Affiliations expand

Abstract

Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19), the clinical syndrome associated with infection by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has impacted nearly every country in the world. Despite an unprecedented focus of scientific investigation, there is a paucity of evidence-based pharmacotherapies against this disease. Due to this lack of data-driven treatment strategies, broad variations in practice patterns have emerged. Observed hypercoagulability in COVID-19 patients has created debate within the critical care community on the therapeutic utility of heparin. We seek to provide an overview of the data supporting the therapeutic use of heparin, both unfractionated and low molecular weight, as an anticoagulant for the treatment of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Additionally, we review preclinical evidence establishing biological plausibility for heparin and synthetic heparin-like drugs as therapies for COVID-19 through anti-viral and anti-inflammatory effects. Finally, we discuss known adverse effects and theoretical off-target effects that may temper enthusiasm for the adoption of heparin as a therapy in COVID-19 without confirmatory prospective randomized controlled trials. Despite previous failures of anticoagulants in critical illness, plausibility of heparin for COVID-19 is sufficiently robust to justify urgent randomized controlled trials to determine the safety and effectiveness of this therapy.

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**Comment**

Heparin has also been used successfully for Lyme/MSIDS in many patients.  While not curative, it does help many symptoms for those who suddenly find they have hyper coagulation.  My husband used it and it made a huge difference.  He has since successfully switched to

Interestingly, heparin used prophylactically has prevented Lyme in vitro:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/02/05/non-anticoagulant-heparin-as-a-pre-exposure-prophylaxis-prevents-lyme-disease-infection/

Excerpt:

The drug heparin is structurally similar to these GAGs and inhibits Bbsl attachment to PGs, GAGs, cells, and tissues, suggesting its potential to prevent LD. However, the anticoagulant activity of heparin often results in hemorrhage, hampering the development of this compound as LD PrEP.

 

 

 

 

Category:

research, Treatment, Viruses

Co-infections Among COVID-19 Patients: The Need for Combination Therapy With Non-Anti-SARS-CoV-2 Agents?

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1684118220301274

Co-infections among patients with COVID-19: The need for combination therapy with non-anti-SARS-CoV-2 agents?

Under a Creative Commons license
open access

Abstract

Co-infection has been reported in patients with severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and Middle East respiratory syndrome, but there is limited knowledge on co-infection among patients with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The prevalence of co-infection was variable among COVID-19 patients in different studies, however, it could be up to 50% among non-survivors. Co-pathogens included bacteria, such as

  • Streptococcus pneumoniae
  • Staphylococcus aureus
  • Klebsiella pneumoniae
  • Mycoplasma pneumoniae
  • Chlamydia pneumonia
  • Legionella pneumophila
  • Acinetobacter baumannii
  • Candida species
  • Aspergillus flavus
  • viruses such as influenza, coronavirus, rhinovirus/enterovirus, parainfluenza, metapneumovirus, influenza B virus, and human immunodeficiency virus

Influenza A was one of the most common co-infective viruses, which may have caused initial false-negative results of real-time reverse-transcriptase polymerase chain reaction for severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2).

Laboratory and imaging findings alone cannot help distinguish co-infection from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Newly developed syndromic multiplex panels that incorporate SARS-CoV-2 may facilitate the early detection of co-infection among COVID-19 patients. By contrast, clinicians cannot rule out SARS-CoV-2 infection by ruling in other respiratory pathogens through old syndromic multiplex panels at this stage of the COVID-19 pandemic. Therefore, clinicians must have a high index of suspicion for coinfection among COVID-19 patients. Clinicians can neither rule out other co-infections caused by respiratory pathogens by diagnosing SARS-CoV-2 infection nor rule out COVID-19 by detection of non-SARS-CoV-2 respiratory pathogens.

After recognizing the possible pathogens causing co-infection among COVID-19 patients, appropriate antimicrobial agents can be recommended.

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**Comment**

This would explain why COVID-19 does not resemble a simple virus, just as Lyme disease doesn’t present identically from individual to individual. Lyme/MSIDS is also best treated with combination therapy; however, most regular practitioners follow the antiquated and unscientific CDC treatment guidelines which haven’t worked for over 40 years (which in a nutshell is 21 days of doxycycline for all despite body weight and coinfections).

With each day there seems to be more and more similarities to Lyme/MSIDS in that cases are complex and individual. Medicine needs to acknowledge and embrace this complexity:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/04/26/cdc-playbook-learning-from-lyme/

This also explains why things like antibiotics and anti-parasitics work.  The pathogen list did not include tick-borne pathogens but should, as undoubtedly many of these people could very well have undiagnosed infections that COVID-19, much like vaccines, can reactivate latent infections: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/12/02/scottish-doctor-gives-insight-on-lyme-msids/

Category:

Candida, Mycoplasma, research, Treatment, Viruses

AAPS Sues FDA for ‘Irrational’ Interference of Access to Life-Saving Hydroxychloroquine

https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/06/association-american-physicians-surgeons-sues-fda-irrational-interference-access-life-saving-hydroxychloroquine/

Association of American Physicians and Surgeons Sues FDA for “Irrational” Interference of Access to Life-Saving Hydroxychloroquine

By Jim Hoft
Published June 14, 2020

The Association of American Physicians and Surgeons (https://aapsonline.org) filed a lawsuit against Department of Health and Human Services and the FDA for “irrational interference” by the FDA with timely access to hydroxychloroquine.

Never in history have we seen such a determined effort by the scientific community and pharmaceutical industry to downplay and lie about the use of a successful drug to treat a deadly disease.

Hydroxychloroquine is the first choice in a study of 6,000 doctors treating the coronavirus.  In the field and in independent testing hydroxychloroquine displayed amazing results in treating the COVID-19 virus.

But there was great pushback against hydroxychloroquine for two reasons. The first reason was because it was safe and very inexpensive. The second reason is because Donald Trump promoted its use. (See link for article)

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**Comment**

Just today, the FDA just doesn’t care what works in the clinical setting and gives a big fat NO to HCQ:  https://www.medpagetoday.com/infectiousdisease/covid19/87066?xid=NL_breakingnewsalert_2020-06-

The purpose of recent HCQ paper in the Lancet was to create uncertainty and skepticism in the drug’s ability to treat COVID-19 because the authors have financial ties to big Pharma.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/06/06/fraudulent-hcq-covid-19-study-in-lancet-exposed/

They, along with authorities who also have financial conflicts, want to promote more expensive pharmaceutical options – including Remdesivir. HCQ has shown success in studies around the world, is cheap, has been used safely for decades, and has clinical benefit to certain patients early in the disease process:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/06/01/rebuttal-on-huge-hcq-study-in-lancet/

Science has been hijacked as well:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/06/06/fraudulent-hcq-covid-19-study-in-lancet-exposed/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/06/12/former-french-health-minister-blows-whistle-criminal-pressure-from-bigpharma-on-publications-means-theres-no-longer-any-real-science/

Excerpt:  

The Lancet’s boss, Horton, said:

“Now we are not going to be able to, basically, if this continues, publish any more clinical research data, because the pharmaceutical companies are so financially powerful today and are able to use such methodologies, as to have us accept papers which are apparently methodologically perfect but which, in reality, manage to conclude what they want to conclude…

Until the Bayh-Dole Act is repealed, our own government, which is entrusted with public health, is allowed to own patents competing with the private sector. They then are entrusted to set public policy including treatment guidelines despite this conflict of interest.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/05/20/cdc-crimes-possible-sherman-provisions-clayton-acts-violated/ This link shows that our own government, regarding COVID-19, violated the Sherman Act by taking U.S. tax dollars to China to do coronavirus research as well as violated the Clayton Act by entering into trade among states.

Here’s the successful HCQ studies the FDA must not be looking at:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/06/09/hcq-breakthrough-icmr-finds-its-effective-in-preventing-coronavirus-expands-its-use/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/05/22/new-study-hcq-zinc-greatly-reduces-covid-19-health-risk/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/05/11/podcast-evidence-supporting-hcq-azithromycin-for-covid-19/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/04/24/dr-oz-interviews-dr-didier-raoult-on-hydroxychloroquine-study-for-covid-19/

Regarding effective COVID treatments, the CDC has stonewalled another one as well:  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2020/06/02/successful-covid-19-critical-care-stonewalled-by-cdc/

According to Kory, the FLCCCs MATH+ protocol has been delivered to the White House on four occasions, yet no interest has been shown. Worse, he says they continue to be stonewalled by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the National Institute for Health. Why?

Isn’t saving lives, right now, and by any means possible, more important than pushing for a vaccine? If the MATH+ protocol works with near-100% effectiveness, a vaccine may not even be necessary. The MATH+ protocol gets its name from:

Intravenous MethylprednisoloneHigh-dose intravenous Ascorbic acid

Plus optional treatments Thiamine, zinc and vitamin D

Full dose low molecular weight Heparin
You quickly come to the conclusion that there are people who would rather see patients remain sick.

Category:

Activism, Treatment, Viruses