Archive for the ‘Viruses’ Category

Florida – Possible Local Mosquito-borne Viral Transmission

http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/releases/312035.php

The State of Florida has announced that four people infected with Zika were possibly bitten by local Aedes aegypi mosquitoes.  The CDC is working with Florida officials investigating the cases.

Here’s what’s known

*Most people (80%) infected with Zika virus won’t have symptoms or will only have mild symptoms.

*Zika is spread to people primarily through the bite of an infected Aedes species mosquito (Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus).  This link shows where these mosquitos are in the U.S. http://www.consumerreports.org/insect-repellent/where-zika-mosquitoes-can-live-in-the-us/

*It is sexually transmitted.

*It is congenitally transmitted.

*Zika virus infection can cause microcephaly and other severe fetal brain defects, and is associated with other adverse pregnancy outcomes.

*No vaccines or treatments are currently available to treat or prevent Zika infections.

*As of July, 2016, 1,658 U.S. cases have been reported to the CDC – none of which are believed to be spread by local mosquitoes.  

For more information on Zika https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/07/17/zika-in-the-land-of-oz/ https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/08/fixation-on-zikapolio/ https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/04/08/zika-ebola-zombies-and-the-cdc/

http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/world-news/zika-outbreak-caused-release-genetically-7281671

“The Zika virus outbreak currently gripping the Americas could have been sparked by the release of genetically modified mosquitoes in 2012, critics say.

The insects were engineered by biotechnology experts to combat the spread of dengue fever and other diseases and released into the general population of Brazil in 2012.

But with the World Health Organisation (WHO) now meeting in Geneva to desperately discuss cures for the Zika virus, speculation has mounted as to the cause of this sudden outbreak.

The Zika virus was first discovered in the 1950s but the recent outbreak has escalated alarmingly, causing birth defects and a range of health problems in South and central America.”

Category:

Uncategorized, Viruses

Dr. Zubcevik Challenges TBI Standard of Care

http://www.mvtimes.com/2016/07/13/visiting-physician-sheds-new-light-lyme-disease/

Dr. Nevena Zubcevik, attending physician at Harvard Medical School and co-director of Dean Center for Tick Borne Illness at Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital, http://spauldingrehab.org/research-and-clinical-trials/lyme-disease/, recently spoke at a weekly meeting of clinicians, which was open to the public at Martha’s Vineyard Hospital.

In standing room only, Zubcevic admonished that singer/actor Kris Kristofferson’s recent cure of dementia, once diagnosed and properly treated for Lyme Disease, should be a lesson for medical professionals.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/06/09/alzheimers-byproduct-of-infection/.  She also stated that children present differently than adults, with headache being the most common symptom but to get them tested if they are acting out, experiencing mood issues, irritability, and fatigue.  (They need to be tested; however, with sensitive testing that Lyme Literate Doctors – LLMD’s use.  One lab that offers these tests is Igenex Labs in CA.  The best way to get good information is to contact a Lyme Support Group in your state.  They have all the information regarding LLMD’s, testing, costs, and educational materials.)

She explained of a haunting case of a young male institutionalized for schizophrenia. After proper testing for Lyme Disease, he started daily antibiotics and within six months he was normal.

For more information on how borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme Disease, and various coinfections can and often do affect the brain see: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2015/10/18/psychiatric-lymemsids/ .  Also, see Amy Hilfiger’s story: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/07/01/ally-hilfiger-on-fox-5-ny/, as well as how Toxoplasmosis can affect the brain: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/05/21/toxoplasmosis/.

She also debunked myths.

*Studies show you can get Anaplasmosis in 15 minutes from tick attachment, 10 minutes for Powassan virus, and that it is UNKNOWN how long it takes for the various strains of borrelia (LD). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=296pVc5Zbxw&index=2&list=UUTXTo-yWGZkRwrQ9X6X7E0A

*Doxycycline CAN be given to children, infants, and pregnant women.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26680308  (no correlation between the use of doxycycline and teratogenic effects during pregnancy or dental staining in children was found)

*A two-day course of Doxy has little to no prophylactic value, and that the proper course is 100-200mg twice a day for 20 days, regardless of engorgement time.

*The current testing misses 69 out of 100 patients who have LD, and doesn’t pick up borrelia miyamotoi at all, not to mention other strains. Miyamotoi is prevalent in Massachusetts.

*The “classic” bullseye rash only happens 20% of the time and when it does present can look like a spider bite or bruise.

*Patients often have coinfections which tests do not pick up. These coinfections make patient cases extremely difficult and complex.

She also stated that borrelia can go into tissue, travel in the bloodstream and is twice the speed of a white blood cell which means it can swim against the flow of blood and evade the white cell by quickly burrowing into tissue, thereby avoiding the immune system.

She stated that having LD is a body-wide toxic war – leaving the patient feeling miserable, and that while she is fairly new to this field, she sees no controversy – that animal studies clearly show persistence after treatment and that human tests do too.

She mentions the work of Dr. Ying Zhang of Johns Hopkins Lyme Center and that his work has indicated that current treatments may not clear persisters. Due to this research she feels a combination of several antibiotics, particularly new combinations, are promising.

Zubcevik found that a patient with chronic LD, when given a PET scan, showed blue and purple, indicating atrophy, whereas after six months of IV antibiotics, presented with yellow and green, indicating metabolically active regions.

Zubcevik has patients who have been ignored, beaten down, and who have lost the will to live. They show signs of post-traumatic stress and have destroyed marriages often leaving them alone. They break down crying with she tells them she believes them.

Category:

Anaplasmosis, Clinic, Lyme, Psychological Aspects, research, Toxoplasmosis, Treatment, Viruses

Chronic Viral Infections – Drs. Ross and Nathan

http://www.voiceamerica.com/episode/84958/chronic-viral-infections-yes-we-now-have-treatments

This episode of VoiceAmerica has great information on chronic viruses – something many MSIDS (multi systemic infectious disease syndrome – or Lyme with friends) patients have to contend with.

Ross and Nathan have both had good success with looking for a high Nagalase level as that indicates viral activity.  They have both also had good results using:

Researched Nutritionals, particularly Transfer Factors PlasMyc, Frequency Specific Microcurrents, and GcMAF (Gc protein macrophage activation factor) an immune-regulating compound.  For a great read on it:  http://betterhealthguy.com/gcmaf

For more information on viruses read: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/06/07/dr-david-baewer-coppe-labs/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/28/combating-viruses/

 

Category:

Viruses

A Child’s Lyme Story

It is not normal for a child to complain of leg pain – particularly in their joints.  For Patrik, the doctors told him he had growing pains.

End of story.

But it didn’t end for Patrik, and it doesn’t end for many children because it isn’t growing pains, it can often be a systemic infection that needs to be dealt with.  Patrik’s issues became more cognitive in nature where he had trouble with memory, paying attention, fatigue, and uncontrollable blinking.  This all intensified and he developed anxiety, stuttering, mood swings – and rage.

Patrik finally tested positively for Lyme and found a compassionate doctor who understood him and treated him for autoimmune brain dysfunction triggered by LD.

Please learn from this story, share it with others, and don’t settle for pat answers.  Doctors should not dismiss a child when they have severe pain and/or cognitive issues.

Good news – Patrik is doing better on treatment and has regained much of his cognitive ability.  In my experience children respond very well to proper MSIDS treatment which treats all forms of borrelia, and typically the various coinfections that tend to come along for the ride.

For various treatments to discuss with your practitioner see:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/13/lyme-disease-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/16/babesia-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/01/03/bartonella-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/02/07/mycoplasma-treatment/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/03/28/combating-viruses/

 

 

 

Category:

Babesia, Bartonella, Lyme, Mycoplasma, Treatment, Viruses

Alzheimer’s – Byproduct of Infection?

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2016/06/09/alzheimers-disease-brain-infection.

Harvard Researchers are saying that beta-alyloid proteins are part of your innate immune response and may be beneficial as they trap foreign invaders such as bacteria and viruses; however, these traps form the plaque seen in Alzheimer’s.

Study author Rudolph E. Tanzi, Ph.D., of Harvard Medical School and Massachusetts General Hospital states, “Each plaque had a single bacterium at its center.”  Mice that didn’t produce beta-amyloid were at greater risk of dying from the infection and did not have any plaques in their brains.”

They are theorizing that a small amount of beta-amyloid is protective whereas larger amounts could be damaging, and similarly to leaky gut syndrome, we tend to have a leaky blood-brain barrier the older we get.

Ruth Itzhaki, Ph.D., professor emeritus of molecular neurobiology at Britain’s University of Manchester, and colleagues in 1991 linked Alzheimer’s to herpes simplex virus 1 (HSV-1) – the type that causes cold sores.  There are currently more than 100 studies supporting this link.

Itzhaki states,
” … [W]e propose that infectious agents, including HSV-1, Chlamydia pneumonia, and spirochetes, reach the CNS [central nervous system] and remain there in latent form.  These agents can undergo reactivation in the brain during aging, as the immune system declines, and during different types of stress (which similarly reactivate HSV-1 in the periphery).  The consequent neuronal damage — caused by direct viral action and by virus-induced inflammation — occurs recurrently, leading to (or acting as a cofactor for) progressive synaptic dysfunction, neuronal loss, and ultimately AD [Alzheimer’s disease].  Such damage includes the induction of Aβ [amyloid beta] which, initially, appears to be only a defense mechanism.”

In addition to viruses, bacteria, and fungus, an infectious protein called TDP-43 (think prions and Mad Cow Disease) has also been linked to AD as well as low Vitamin D (helps build the immune system and brain chemicals that protect brain cells).  

http://www.examiner.com/article/kris-kristofferson-has-lyme-disease-memory-loss-misdiagnosed-as-alzheimer-s  Singer, Kris Kristofferson, went through this private hell.  He was wrongly diagnosed with Alzheimer’s but had Lyme Disease.  For years doctors told Kristofferson it was either Alzheimer’s or dementia, and may have been the result of blows to his head from boxing, football and rugby.  The medication he was given gave him bad side effects and didn’t help.

Sound familier?

Since starting treatment for Lyme Kristofferson “has made remarkable strides.”  His wife Lisa said,

“all of the sudden he was back.” Although he still has some bad days, there are other days when he is “perfectly normal,” she said.

Please tell your family and friends who have an Alzheimer’s or dementia diagnosis this story.  We need to look out for one another.

Category:

Lyme, research, Uncategorized, Viruses