Musical about Lyme Disease being created by Wisconsin resident, Audra Cashman
Our next Lyme support meeting will be Friday, August 25, 2017 at 5:30-8:45pm at Pinney Library in Madison.
I would love to see and hear from all of you, plus, my daughter will be in attendance as she is writing a musical about Lyme Disease as well as composing the music, and needs your ideas. Please come and share as who knows – your story may make the stage!
See you soon!
Transfusion-transmitted babesiosis leading to severe hemolysis in two patients with sickle cell anemia
Karkoska K, Louie J, Appiah-Kubi AO, Wolfe L, Rubin L, Rajan S, Aygun B.
Pediatric Blood & Cancer, online first, 2017 Aug 2.
https://doi.org/10.1002/pbc.26734
Abstract
The intracellular parasites Babesia microti and Babesia duncani can be transmitted by blood transfusion and cause severe life-threatening hemolytic anemia in high-risk patients, including those with sickle cell disease.
The rarity of the diagnosis, as well as its similar clinical presentation to delayed hemolytic transfusion reaction, may lead to a delay in diagnosis, as well as inappropriate treatment with steroids or other immunosuppressive agents.
The morbidity caused by this disease in especially vulnerable populations justifies the need for a universal blood-screening program in endemic areas.
For more on Babesia: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/16/babesia-treatment/
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/11/19/seroprevalence-of-babesia-in-individuals-with-ld/
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/06/02/study-showing-results-testing-babesia-microti/
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/12/15/blood-screening-for-babesia/
Dr. Jay Davidson interviews functional medicine expert, Dr. Todd LePine. They walk through Lyme disease, parasites, the importance of mitochondria, nutrition, infrared technology, parasites, and much more!
Show Details:
1:12 – Dr. Todd LePine’s Background
5:50 – Top Testing Dr. LePine Uses for his Functional Medicine Approach
8:25 – Dr. LePine’s Preferred Lyme Disease Specific Testing
11:00 – Genetic Testing
14:40 – Mitochondria and Your Health
17:15 – Courtagen- Genetic Testing Related to Mitochondria
18:10 – Exercise and Nutrition Impacting Your Mitochondria
20:00 – PQQ Supplement for Mitochondria
20:40 – Mitochondria as Bacteria
21:30 – Evolution of Nutrition and Cycling Your Diet
25:30 – Intermittent Fasting
25:30 – Circadian Rhythm
28:55 – Lyme Disease aka “Tick-Bourne Illness”
32:45 – The Role of Antibiotics in Lyme
36:25 – Probiotics
38:30 – Parasites
40:10 – Treatments and Protocols for Lyme
42:15 – Chronic Lyme and Lack of Fevers
43:30 – Infrared Therapy
44:15 – Book Recommendation by Dr. LePine: Plague Time: The New Germ Theory of Disease
45:00 – Chronic Conditions and the Immune System
45:50 – Last Thoughts from Dr. Lepine on Lyme Disease: “The Great Mimicker”
48:30 – Visit Dr. LePine’s Website: http://www.drlepine.com or additional educational resources at: Genova Diagnostics — https://www.gdx.net/
http://danielcameronmd.com/growing-list-eye-problems-lyme-disease/
GROWING LIST OF EYE PROBLEMS IN LYME DISEASE
Ophthalmic manifestations of tick-borne diseases are increasing in the United States, according to a review published recently in Current Opinion in Ophthalmology. And, “although ocular involvement can be self-limited, delays in diagnosis may result in vision impairment and even blindness,” stated Sathiamoorthi from the Mayo Clinic. [1]
by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH
The authors described patients with tick-transmitted diseases presenting with the following ophthalmologic findings:
Follicular conjunctivitis
Periorbital edema and mild photophobia
Bell’s palsy, cranial nerve palsies and Horner syndrome
Argyll Robertson pupil
Keratitis
Optic neuritis, papilledema, papillitis and neuroretinitis
Myositis of extraocular muscles and dacryoadenitis
Episcleritis, anterior and posterior scleritis
Anterior, intermediate, posterior and panuveitis
Retinal vasculitis, cotton wool spots and choroiditis
Retinitis, macular edema and endophthalmitis
The authors point out that optic neuritis, which is often seen in multiple sclerosis, occurs in Lyme disease, as well. Furthermore, they remind readers that although it is rare, uveitis can also be found in Lyme disease (LD). “Findings include vitreitis, retinal vasculitis, cotton wool spots, choroiditis, macular edema and endophthalmitis,” stated Sathiamoorthi. “In several cases, spirochetes were detected in vitreous material.”
Uveitis is an inflammation of the uvea, which is made up of the iris, ciliary body and choroid. Anterior, intermediate and posterior uveitis as well as panuveitis has also been described. [2]
Uveitis can be found with a wide range of acute and chronic presentations. “Patients with anterior uveitis usually complain of pain, redness, blurred vision, and photophobia, watering,” according to Agrawal from the Medical Research Foundation, India. [3] “Most of the patients would have had repeated attacks and would have sought consultation with multiple ophthalmologists and would have used topical and/or systemic medications on and off.”
Ocular complications are infrequent but can be serious. “Complications such as macular edema, chorioretinitis and optic neuropathy may be vision-threatening and require treatment with corticosteroids as long as the recommended antimicrobial regimen has been instituted,” stated Sathiamoorthi.
The true incidence of ocular findings, however, remains unknown. According to Sathiamoorthi, one case of seronegative uveitis was discredited. “At least one of the earlier case reports of Lyme uveitis found spirochetes in vitreous material, yet serological testing was negative for Lyme antibodies.”
The authors conclude the “degree and frequency of ocular signs and symptoms varies widely between the different [tick-borne] diseases. …The opthamologist needs to be alert to the possibility of an infectious cause depending on the patient’s risk factors. The growing number of Lyme disease cases and other tick-borne diseases…should heighten clinical suspicion for tick-borne illness…”
References:
Sathiamoorthi, S. and W.M. Smith, The eye and tick-borne disease in the United States. Curr Opin Ophthalmol, 2016. 27(6): p. 530-537.
Sudharshan, S., S.K. Ganesh, and J. Biswas, Current approach in the diagnosis and management of posterior uveitis. Indian J Ophthalmol, 2010. 58(1): p. 29-43.
Agrawal, R.V., et al., Current approach in diagnosis and management of anterior uveitis. Indian J Ophthalmol, 2010. 58(1): p. 11-9.
Tick bite care, references for Urgent Care and PCPs.
ILADS Member Jane Marke, MD has the following message. To contact her directly, write to contact@ilads.org and your message will be forwarded on to her.
I’m getting lots of calls from friends and family all over the country who are having trouble getting treated for tick bites. If you have having a similar experience, you, too, might want to have something handy to send them about what to expect, and how to enlist the health providers they see in giving appropriate treatment. To that ends I’ve gathered what I think is helpful for people to bring to Urgent Care or their PCP with them if they find these providers resistant to treating them.
Thanks to MMI, Lucy Barnes and PubMed for content.
________________________________________________________________________________________
Basic email:
Dear________,
Here’s what I think is most important to know about tick bite treatment:
Tick Bite Care
What to do if you get a tick bite? There are some myths, but there’s good science busting them.
1. Tick attachment time is irrelevant. If a tick is sick enough, Lyme bugs are in their saliva, and they transmit the disease immediately. If the tick is less infected, they have to send bugs from their stomach to mouth, and that takes longer. But do you really want to count on how sick the tick is? Don’t let anybody tell you that because the tick wasn’t attached for 24-36 hours you’re ok.
2. One double-dose of doxycycline is not sufficient. The guidelines that are on the government guideline website, www.guidelines.gov advise 21 days. (That’s a federal government Institute of Medicine website and it’s high quality). No other Lyme guidelines exist. (CDC is not in charge of guidelines; the Institute of Medicine is.) The problem with the study of one single-dose of doxy is that it looked for the bull’s eye rash; it did not look to see if people got sick later. It reduced the rash incidence by 87%. That’s something; but not enough, and it tells us nothing about whether those without rash got sick later. There is no reason to not follow the government guidelines and to risk your health or that of your child because somebody only wants to give you one “double dose” of doxy. There are mice studies of this treatment, and they look abysmal.
3. If you missed the tick bite and have the bull’s eye rash you are lucky inasmuch as you have incontrovertible evidence of being infected with Lyme. You HAVE Lyme. You can still get “early Lyme” treatment, but it’s not the same as treatment for a tick bite. You can find recommendations for treatment on the http://www.guidelines.gov website. Here’s a direct link to the Lyme Guidelines: http://bit.ly/2tqnaGU. These are government endorsed guidelines, the best we have at this point in time.
4. Tick-testing is controversial. Don’t wait for the testing to get treated. Negative tick tests give you no useful information; we have no idea how reliable tick testing is vs human testing. But if a tick is positive for a co-infection, something other than Lyme, you might consider getting prophylactic treatment. That’s your call, made with your doctor, but it’s a real consideration. So if you send the tick for testing, make sure the lab tests for co-infections, as well as several species of Lyme.
Jane Marke, MD, ILADS member
New York, NY
**Comment**
If you find a doctor willing to become educated on TBI’s (tick borne illness) please give them this link: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/20/help-doctors-get-educated-on-lyme-and-tick-borne-illness/
Please read: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/12/start-treatment-if-tbis-are-suspected/
Even the CDC is stating to treat empirically (this is new as of July, 2017): https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/good-morning-america-cdc-advises-multiple-lyme-tests-due-to-false-negative-results/ CDC spokesperson at end of video.
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/05/01/co-infection-of-ticks-the-rule-rather-than-the-exception/ If ticks are co-infected, patients can be too.
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/07/01/one-tick-bite-could-put-you-at-risk-for-at-least-6-different-diseases/ Ticks transmit a whole lot more than Lyme.
https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/20/why-we-cant-get-better/
Madison Area Lyme Support Group 