Bartonella & Bones

February 3, 2020

https://www.galaxydx.com/bartonella-and-bones/

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Bartonella and Bones

Chronic Bartonella species infections (bartonellosis) can lead to inflammation that impacts the heart, nervous system, and more. According to case studies, these stealth pathogens can also target the bones. How can Bartonella affect a structure that is usually impervious to infection?

History: From World War I to HIV/AIDS

During World War I, one million soldiers in Europe suffered from a mild to severe acute illness referred to as “trench fever”. It was characterized by a relapsing fever, headache, and in some cases extreme pain occurring along the lower halves of the legs. This led to the nickname of “shin bone disease/fever”. Patients with leg pain complained of a burning pain they could feel “in their bones,” making it difficult to walk. Whether pain was due to involvement of the bone, the marrow cavity within the bone, or the periosteum surrounding the bone surface is unknown.

Bartonellosis was not known to be the cause of this ailment until J.W. Vinson isolated B. quintana in 1960. The unsanitary conditions that soldiers lived in acted as a breeding ground for the primary vector, human body lice (Pediculus humanus), and made transmission more likely to occur. Infected soldiers most likely developed a persistent B. quintana bacteremia that their immune systems could not effectively clear due to repeated louse exposure (bites and and scratch inoculation of louse feces), as well as their poor overall health during deplorable wartime conditions.

Additional evidence that Bartonella species affect the bones came during extensive research on HIV/AIDS patients in the 1990s. Physicians found that these immunocompromised patients developed serious multi-systemic conditions called bacillary angiomatosis and bacillary peliosis (BA and BP) involving lesions on the skin, liver, and bones. Researchers discovered that the typical culprits for BA and BP were B. henselae, which is now known as the causative agent of cat scratch disease, and B. quintana, an organism historically associated with lice and war. A case report from 2016 describes a 29-year old HIV-positive man with AIDS (uncontrolled HIV infection) who developed nodules on his skin and advanced lesions in the bones of his right hand due to bacillary angiomatosis. Physicians could not confirm the species of Bartonella using PCR, but histopathological evidence and the patient’s clinical history strongly suggested B. quintana exposure.

Children Most at Risk

Among immunocompetent individuals, the literature over the last decade suggests that a large portion of bartonellosis cases involving the bone occur in children with “atypical” cat-scratch disease (acute bartonellosis). Research suggests that about 10% of CSD patients develop atypical manifestations, with only about 0.3% of cases involving a bone. However, suspected bartonellosis cases that describe bone-related complications have been documented in various patient populations over the past century, especially children. There is not enough research to show why the incidence is greater in pediatric cases, but invasion of the bones could be more likely because their immune systems are still developing and/or their bone structures are changing.

Case reports describe children who develop solitary bone tissue infections (osteomyelitis) that affect the limbs, vertebral bodies, or elsewhere. In one case, a 12-year-old girl complained of serious headaches and neck swelling that was found to be caused by a osteolytic lesion in her cranium. A biopsy was not performed to confirm bartonellosis was the cause, but the patient was B. henselae seroreactive and her symptoms resolved following combination antimicrobial therapy.

B. henselae is currently listed as a potential cause of bacterial osteomyelitis in the diagnosis and management guidelines developed by the American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP). Bone lesions due to bartonellosis are typically discovered via MRI or other imaging techniques such as X-ray. A diagnosis of bartonellosis can be confirmed using blood or lesional biopsy testing. Biopsy of a bone is invasive, but is perhaps the best option for a confirmatory diagnosis through the use of PCR and/or histopathological techniques.

Route of Infection

Little is known about how Bartonella infects bone tissue, either in cases of CSD or in cases of chronic bartonellosis. Research shows that Bartonella genus bacteria have the ability to enter many cell types, so it is possible that osteocytes (bone cells) are among their many host cells. However, the extracellular matrix of bone, composed of collagen and various inorganic compounds, can make infection processes difficult for bacteria. For adults, bacterial osteomyelitis from other bacteria, such as Staphylococcus aureus, occurs most often only after trauma to this protective layer.

Perhaps the more likely route for Bartonella species to infect bone is their ability to infect hematopoietic (blood-creating) stem cells that originate in the bone marrow. Bone marrow is responsible for the production of red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. One study shows that B. henselae can infect isolated CD34+ progenitor cells in vitro. Our blog post on Bartonella and blood explains more on how this may lead to persistent intraerythrocytic infection.

On a comparative medicine basis, osteomyelitis was reported in a young cat infected with Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii, suggesting that other Bartonella species may cause osteomyelitis in other animal species.

Conclusion

Bone pain has been associated with what we now know to be Bartonella genus infection since World War I. Some other atypical bone infections associated with bartonellosis have been observed in AIDS patients. But it is otherwise healthy children who develop cat scratch disease, an acute Bartonella infection, who seem most likely to have this complication. Even among children, bone lesions have rarely been documented and the pathogenesis has been little researched.

References

Carek, P. J. et al. (2001). Diagnosis and management of osteomyelitis. American Family Physician, 63(12), 2413-2421. https://www.aafp.org/afp/2001/0615/p2413.html

Verdon, R. et al. (2002). Vertebral osteomyelitis due to Bartonella henselae in adults: A report of 2 cases. Clinical Infectious Diseases, 35(12), e141-e144. doi:10.1086/344791 https://academic.oup.com/cid/article/35/12/e141/356641

Doná, D. et al. (2018). Osteomyelitis in cat-scratch disease: A never-ending dilemma – A case report and literature review. Case Reports in Pediatrics, 2018, 1679306. doi:10.1155/2018/1679306 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29808150

Diniz, L. M. et al. (2016). Bacillary angiomatosis with bone invasion. Anais Brasileiros de Dermatologia, 91(6), 811-814. doi:10.1590/abd1806-4841.20165436  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28099606

Woestyn, S. et al. (2003). Osteomyelitis caused by Bartonella henselae genotype I in an immunocompetent adult woman. Journal of Clinical Microbiology, 41(7), 3430-3432. doi:10.1128/JCM.41.7.3430-3432.2003 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC165354/

Roubaud-Baudron, C. et al. (2009). [Cat scratch disease with bone involvement: A case report and literature review] (in French). La Revue de Medecine Interne, 30(7), 602-608. doi:10.1016/j.revmed.2009.01.015 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19303175

Varanat, M. et al. (2009). Recurrent osteomyelitis in a cat due to infection with Bartonella vinsonii subsp. berkhoffii genotype II. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 23, 1273-1277. doi:10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0372.x https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0372.x

Breitschwerdt, E. B. (2014). Bartonellosis: One Heath perspectives for an emerging infectious disease. ILAR Journal, 55(1), 46-58. doi:10.1093/ilar/ilu015 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1939-1676.2009.0372.x

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

Bartonella is probably the most under-appreciated piece of the Lyme/MSIDS puzzle, yet it isn’t even on most doctors’ radar.

 

Category:

Bartonella, research

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Tick-Borne Spirochetes in Tick & Small Mammals – CA

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31943036

2020 Jan 15. pii: tjz253. doi: 10.1093/jme/tjz253. [Epub ahead of print]

Circulation of Tick-Borne Spirochetes in Tick and Small Mammal Communities in Santa Barbara County, California, USA.

MacDonald AJ1, Weinstein SB2, O’Connor KE3, Swei A3.

Abstract

A diversity of Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (Johnson, Schmid, Hyde, Steigerwalt & Brenner) (Spirochaetales: Spirochaetaceae) genomospecies, including the Lyme disease agent, Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.), have been identified in the western United States. However, enzootic transmission of B. burgdorferi s.l. in small mammals and ticks is poorly characterized throughout much of the region. Here we report prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. in small mammal and tick communities in the understudied region of southern California.

We found B. burgdorferi s.l. in 1.5% of Ixodes species ticks and 3.6% of small mammals. Infection was uncommon (~0.3%) in Ixodes pacificus Cooley and Kohls (Acari: Ixodidae), the primary vector of the Lyme disease agent to humans in western North America, but a diversity of spirochetes-including Borrelia bissettiae, Borrelia californiensis, Borrelia americana, and B. burgdorferi s.s.-were identified circulating in Ixodes species ticks and their small mammal hosts.

Infection with B. burgdorferi s.l. is more common in coastal habitats, where a greater diversity of Ixodes species ticks are found feeding on small mammal hosts (four species when compared with only I. pacificus in other sampled habitats). This provides some preliminary evidence that in southern California, wetter coastal areas might be more favorable for enzootic transmission than hotter and drier climates. Infection patterns confirm that human transmission risk of B. burgdorferi s.s. is low in this region.

However, given evidence for local maintenance of B. burgdorferi s.l., more studies of enzootic transmission may be warranted, particularly in understudied regions where the tick vector of B. burgdorferi s.s. occurs.

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**Comment**

Remember – they find ticks on beaches – it doesn’t get much hotter and drier than there.  I know dogs are picking up ticks in the sand dunes of Padre Island, TX – another inferno.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/06/07/ticks-on-beaches/

Excerpt:

Rosenkranz explained, “Think about it, right now there’s a lot of seagulls and other birds flying and they can carry ticks. People who are walking their dogs they are still allowed to do that they can get a tick that falls off of a dog, it’s pretty common in that sense.”

When it comes to Assateague, ticks can actually fall off the ponies and latch on to you.

Kelly Taylor, an Assistant Public Information Officer at Assateague National Seashore said, “You know you come out, ticks can be on horses so you want to keep your distance from the horses. We always recommend school bus length is the safe length for you, the safe length for the horses.”

And remember, just because ticks are found anywhere in low numbers doesn’t mean they aren’t there and can’t infect you or your pets.

Category:

Lyme, research, Ticks

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Reevaluating the Microbial Infection Link to Alzheimer’s Disease

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/31796672/

2020;73(1):59-62. doi: 10.3233/JAD-190765.

Reevaluating the Microbial Infection Link to Alzheimer’s Disease.

Schnaider L1, Arnon ZA1, Gazit E1,2,3.

Abstract

 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common cause of dementia. Despite substantial investment in research, there are no current effective treatments to prevent or delay the onset and development of AD and the exact molecular mechanism of AD pathogenesis is still not fully understood. Researchers have long suspected that microbial infections may play a role in AD; however, this hypothesis has been greatly overlooked for decades, only recently gaining a traction and recognition within the broad scientific community due to new overwhelming evidence on the association of various pathogenic microbes and AD.

Here, we provide our perspective on the significance of these findings, which shed light on the interplay between molecular self-assembly, neurodegeneration, and antimicrobial peptides, as well as propose an amendment to the amyloid cascade hypothesis. It is important to note that this association does not yet prove a causal link, but these reports warrant a thorough investigation into the microbial infection-AD hypothesis which might in turn deliver the elusive therapeutic target the scientific community has been so desperately searching for.

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**Comment**

Perfect example of what happens when the scientific community puts blinders on – they miss things. When science becomes little more than a “good old boy club,” everyone else suffers.  Nowhere is this more evident than in Lyme/MSIDS disease research.

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/01/13/lyme-science-owned-by-good-ol-boys/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/06/28/who-owns-the-elisa-patents/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/16/another-propaganda-paper-by-auwaerter-more-conflicts-of-interest/ Of note, Auwaerter is on the scientific advisory committee of Diasorin, a company that makes diagnostic tests for Lyme as well as EBV  https://www.diasorin.com/en/node/8937.

This is important as many Lyme/MSIDS patients have both diseases and is a conflict of interest.  https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/04/11/diagnosed-with-ebv-had-lyme/

In 1970 DiaSorin began the development of Infectious Disease products designed for use with ELISA technology. Since 2001 it has launched a broad array of new CLIA products, with unique infectious disease assays for use on the LIAISON® systems.

All DiaSorin Infectious Disease products are registered in compliance with the European CE mark rules with commercially available assays in the US having FDA clearance.

Category:

Alzheimer's, research

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New Tick Threats & Control Tactics – 90 Min. Webinar: Feb. 4, 2020

February 2, 2020

https://register.gotowebinar.com/register/1996543094261897475  Register Here

NEW TICK THREATS AND CONTROL TACTICS – PANEL DISCUSSION (90-minute webinar)

Tue, Feb 4, 2020 1:00 PM – 2:30 PM CST

This webinar will feature a panel discussion dedicated to the growing threat
posed by ticks and new control tactics to address this expanding pest. Webinar participants will be able to pose questions, in real time, to a panel of entomologists
and other related experts who understand the health concerns posed by ticks to
individuals and their pets. Seize on this opportunity to ask experts about the newest tick
prevention and control measures. EPA is committed to protecting the privacy
and security of the information it holds. By clicking the “Register” button, you agree
to receive emails from EPA regarding this webinar. In addition, you consent to allow
EPA to use your information, in aggregate, to report on webinar attendance and participant demographics. EPA will not share your
information with any outside entities.
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Category:

Activism, Ticks

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Crucial Deadline for WI Complementary & Alternative Health Care Access Bill

Crucial Deadline Approaching for Wisconsin’s Complementary and Alternative Health Care Access bill, SB 492/AB 546!  Take Action Now!

We desperately need your help to get AB 546 on the agenda for the next voting meeting of the Assembly Health Committee on Feb. 13!  Why? That will be the committee’s last voting meeting of this legislative session!  If it’s on the Agenda, then there’s still hope it can become law!  If you already wrote to your legislators, do it again please.  If you haven’t, we’re begging you for a minute of your time to Take Action here.

If AB 546 is left off the agenda, then the bill is essentially dead for the session in both chambers and we’ll have to start all over next year (i.e., find sponsors, get a draft bill number, circulate a co-sponsorship memo, wait for bill introduction and committee assignments, lobby for a public hearing in each committee in each chamber, lobby for each bill to be included on the agenda of a voting meeting, pass it out of committee, etc., and all the remaining milestones we still hope to accomplish this session)!

Thank you to everyone who joined NHFA in Madison for the public hearings on the bills in the Assembly and Senate Health Committees on Jan 7 and Jan 23, respectively.  We made a strong case at each about why this proactive, solution-oriented legislation is needed to protect consumer access to unlicensed practitioners who provide complementary health care services in Wisconsin, including herbalists, traditional naturopaths, homeopaths, nutrition consultants, and many others.

But, the bills are stuck in committee!!!  Help us move it out by Taking Action here and spreading the word to your friends and family in Wisconsin.  If the Assembly Health Committee votes on it on Feb. 13, then the Senate Health Committee is more likely to schedule a vote to do so too.  Please do everything you can to get the bill past this important milestone.

Together we can protect complementary and alternative health care practitioners who are vulnerable to being charged criminally for practicing medicine – or another licensed health care profession – without a license.  And, in turn. your right to access and utilize their wonderful healing services. Take Action now.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Category:

Activism, Treatment

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