Madison Area Lyme Support Group

Wormser’s Junk Science, Deliberate Avoidance of Chronically Ill Patients & A Letter Him Asking Why

November 22, 2019

Wormser’s junk science and deliberate avoidance of the horribly disabled

NOV 13, 2019 —

Editorial censorship over the past thirty years has kept the truth from the public as patient testimony all across America (and the globe) is describing a disease that is destroying lives, ending careers while leaving its victim in financial ruin. This petition site is a clearinghouse of evidence to be used in current and future litigation over the deliberate mishandling of Lyme disease by the academics that have controlled the narrative, government health officials who have aligned themselves and financed the deception with US taxpayer dollars and the editors of journals who continue to conceal the truth.

There is no way my letter to the editor below will see the light of day so it is being published here for everyone to see …….

When evidence based medicine has been spun to fit bias agendas and the patient voice has been intentionally ignored who investigates the dishonest science?

-Carl Tuttle

Letter to: Dr. Joerg Heber with copy to The Tick-borne Disease Working Group and Dr. Anthony Fauci who continues to fund Wormser’s “JUNK SCIENCE”
———- Original Message ———-
From: CARL TUTTLE < runagain@comcast.net>
To: jheber@plos.org, plosone@plos.org
Cc: ipuebla@plos.org, mdohm@plos.org, gvousden@plos.org, mbyrne@plos.org, afauci@niaid.nih.gov
Date: November 12, 2019 at 8:28 AM
Subject: Post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms score: Developing a new tool for research.

PLOS

Post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms score: Developing a new tool for research.

Turk SP, Lumbard K, Liepshutz K, Williams C, Hu L, Dardick K, Wormser GP, Norville J, Scavarda C, McKenna D, Follmann D, Marques A https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0225012

Excerpt:

“Some patients have residual non-specific symptoms after therapy for Lyme disease, referred to as post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms or syndrome, depending on whether there is functional impairment.”

Nov 12, 2019

PLOS
1160 Battery Street
Koshland Building East, Suite 225
San Francisco, CA 94111
Attn: Joerg Heber, Editor-in-Chief (PhD in Semiconductor Physics)

Dear Dr. Heber,

As the Editor-in-Chief of a scientific journal you should be well aware of the following: (Taken from the attached JAMA letter to the editor published Dec 18, 2018) https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jama/article-abstract/2718786

“It is well known that untreated streptococcal pharyngitis can progress to rheumatic fever, causing irreversible heart damage. Untreated syphilis leads to progressive disability and dementia, and untreated human immunodeficiency virus infection progresses to AIDS with significant disability and death. What happens to a patient with Lyme disease who goes months, years, or decades before diagnosis because of a false-negative serological test result?”

Wormser et al do not discuss the consequences of untreated Lyme disease in their PLOS published paper. Why do you think that is the case Dr. Heber?

Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome after early treatment and untreated late stage Lyme of months, years or decades are two distinctly different disease states with the later going unrecognized for over three decades. The absence of a bulls-eye rash after tick bite allows patients to progress to severe neurological disease instead of obtaining a prompt diagnosis and early treatment. Purposely avoiding the advanced stage of disease hides the horribly disabled and anyone unable to see this is somewhat naïve. Avoiding the seriously disabled Lyme patient population hides the severity of the disease as exposed in the “Under our Skin” documentary.

Under Our Skin – Extended Trailer (5min, please watch the video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sxWgS0XLVqw

For the past three decades, Lyme disease has been portrayed as hard to catch and easily treated [1] while those who control the narrative (Through editorial censorship) refuse to recognize this pathogen as an antibiotic resistant/tolerant superbug by suppressing evidence of persistent infection. [2] This misclassification has all but eliminated government funding that should have been equal to or greater than AIDS or Zika which are also life-altering/life-threatening infections in need of cures.

For example: (in reference to persistent infection)

I would like to point out the following case study from Stony Brook Lyme Clinic. I understand the patient received thirteen spinal taps, multiple courses of IV and oral meds, and relapsed after each one, proven by CSF antigens and/or PCR. The only way this patient (said to be a physician) remained in remission was to keep her on open ended clarithromycin- was on it for 22 months by the time of publication.

Seronegative Chronic Relapsing Neuroborreliosis.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7796837

Lawrence C.a · Lipton R.B.b · Lowy F.D.c · Coyle P.K.d aDepartment of Medicine, bDepartment of Neurology, and cDivision of Infectious Diseases, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, and dDepartment of Neurology, State University of New York at Stony Brook, New York, NY., USA
Eur Neurol 1995; 35:113–117 (DOI:10.1159/000117104)

Abstract

We report an unusual patient with evidence of Borrelia burgdorferi infection who experienced repeated neurologic relapses despite aggressive antibiotic therapy. Each course of therapy was associated with a Jarisch-Herxheimer-like reaction. Although the patient never had detectable free antibodies to B. burgdorferi in serum or spinal fluid, the CSF was positive on multiple occasions for complexed anti-B. burgdorferi antibodies, B. burgdorferi nucleic acids and free antigen.

Duke University Oncologist Dr. Neil Spector required a heart transplant after his infection was left untreated for four years while serology was repeatedly negative for Lyme disease.
Gone in a Heartbeat – A Physician’s Search for True Healing

https://www.lymedisease.org/book-review-spector-lyme-disease/

Patient testimony all across America (and the globe) is describing a disease that is destroying lives, ending careers while leaving its victim in financial ruin.

The truth about this devastating disease has been kept from the public for 43 years and there are no Public Service Announcements informing the public that you could become horribly disabled [3] [4] or die [5] from Lyme disease.

A worldwide community of physicians has been influenced by the ongoing disinformation campaign aimed at promoting the idea that Lyme is little more than a nuisance disease as health agencies across the globe are blindly following what has been deceitfully established here in the U.S. The academics that controlled the narrative for the past three decades have been named as defendants in a Texas District Court racketeering lawsuit and that fact is missing from the conflicts of interest statement in the Wormser published PLOS article. Why is that Dr. Heber?

Court Document:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/18uyrli878ug51m/LymeDisease%20RICO%20Lawsuit.pdf?dl=0

We are dealing with a life-altering/life-threatening infection with faulty/misleading antibody tests, inadequate treatment, no medical training and absolutely no disease control; a public health disaster.

And once again we see Wormser fixated on the acute stage of disease after early treatment as he continues to believe that he has pulled the wool over the eyes of the reader and medical community.

When evidence based medicine has been spun to fit bias agendas and the patient voice has been intentionally ignored who investigates the dishonest science?

A response to this inquiry is required.

Respectfully submitted,

Carl Tuttle

Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH
Cc: Iratxe Puebla, Senior Managing Editor
Michelle Dohm, Managing Editor, Editorial Board Services
George Vousden, Senior Editor
Meghan Byrne, Senior Editor, Team Manager
Anthony S. Fauci, M.D., NIAID Director

References: (Please read them!)

1. Lyme Disease Is Hard to Catch And Easy to Halt, Study FindsNew York Times By GINA KOLATA Published: June 13, 2001

http://www.nytimes.com/2001/06/13/us/lyme-disease-is-hard-to-catch-and-easy-to-halt-study-finds.html

Excerpt: But some who have treated hundreds of patients with long-term antibiotics, like Dr. Sam L. Donta of Boston University Medical Center, were not convinced. The antibiotics in the studies were not given for a long enough time, Dr. Donta said, and he would have chosen different ones. Perhaps all that the studies show, he said, is ”that this particular treatment doesn’t work.”

2. Peer Reviewed Evidence of Persistence of Lyme Disease Spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi and Tick-Borne Diseases after the mandated one-size-fits-all IDSA treatment approach:(700 articles)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/n09sk90eo6xz7ua/700%20articles%20LYME%20EvidenceofPersistence-V2.pdf?dl=0

3. Latent Lyme Disease Resulting in Chronic Arthritis and Early Career Termination in a United States Army Officer(Published: 06 March 2019)

https://academic.oup.com/milmed/advance-article/doi/10.1093/milmed/usz026/5370051?searchresult=1

4. Nicole Malachowski: Unfit for Duty from Debilitating Tick-Borne Disease

http://cdmrp.army.mil/cwg/stories/2018/nicole_malachowski_profile

5. Deaths From Lyme Disease Compiled by: John D. Scott, Research Scientist 17 April 2018

https://www.dropbox.com/s/eo794dx7zspc1ln/Ld%20deaths.doc?dl=0

Today’s letter to Dr. Gary Wormser of New York Medical College

NOV 14, 2019 —

There has never been a response to any of my inquiries addressed to Dr. Wormser….I wonder why? A copy of this letter was sent to the lead attorney of the current Texas RICO lawsuit.

———- Original Message ———-
From: CARL TUTTLE <runagain@comcast.net>
To: gary wormser <gary_wormser@nymc.edu>, jheber@plos.org
Cc: ipuebla@plos.org, mdohm@plos.org, gvousden@plos.org, mbyrne@plos.org, afauci@niaid.nih.gov, amarques@niaid.nih.gov, gwormser@nymc.edu, donna_mckenna@nymc.edu, dean.follmann@nih.gov, gary_wormser@nymc.edu, joshua.norville@tufts.edu, lymestudy@mfpstorrs.com, linden.hu@tufts.edu, plosone@plos.org
Date: November 14, 2019 at 8:48 AM
Subject: Re: Post-treatment Lyme disease symptoms score: Developing a new tool for research.

Nov 14, 2019

Division of Infectious Diseases,
New York Medical College,
Valhalla, NY 10595
Attn: Gary P. Wormser, MD

Dr. Wormser,

As an Infectious Disease Specialist I would like to ask you a few questions that I hope you could take the time to answer:

1. Does untreated strep throat lead to rheumatic fever causing irreversible heart damage?

2. Does untreated human immunodeficiency virus infection progresses to AIDS with significant disability and death?

3. Does untreated syphilis lead to progressive disability and dementia?

4. Does untreated Lyme disease produce sudden death with no warning signs; [1,2,3,] heart damage requiring transplant, [4] paralysis with seizures, [5] lymphoma [6] and persistent infection after antibiotic treatment [7, 8,9,10,11] along with congenital transmission [12] and ability to create wheelchair bound patients [13]?

Your thirty year fixation on the acute stage of disease (with bulls-eye rash) after early treatment gives the impression that you have disregarded the consequences of untreated Lyme disease which leaves the patient horribly disabled similar to the other examples I have presented.

I believe you have coined the phrase “aches and pains of daily living” when patients experience a return of symptoms after the one-size-fits-all IDSA treatment mandate.

“Post Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome” after early treatment and untreated late stage Lyme of months, years or decades are two distinctly different disease states with the later going unrecognized for over three decades. Patients who have had a prolonged exposure to the pathogen are almost always incapacitated.

5. So what is your motivation for disregarding the consequences of untreated Lyme disease? Is it because the outcome of untreated Lyme doesn’t match the well-established dogma that Lyme is a simple nuisance disease; hard to catch and easily treated, which you helped to establish?

We have a disease that is wreaking havoc all across America (and the world) while you remain focused on the early stage of disease as indicated in your latest PLOS publication; shameful indeed.

Misclassification has pigeonholed Lyme disease into a low-risk and non-urgent health issue which has all but eliminated adequate government funding for a disease capable of long term disability and death.

A response to this inquiry is requested.

Carl Tuttle

Lyme Endemic Hudson, NH

References: (Tip of the iceberg)

1. Cardiac Tropism of Borrelia burgdorferi: An Autopsy Study of Sudden
Cardiac Death Associated with Lyme Carditis. (March 2016)
http://ajp.amjpathol.org/article/S0002-9440(16)00099-7/abstract

Excerpt:

“Fatal Lyme carditis caused by the spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi rarely is identified. Here, we describe the pathologic, immunohistochemical, and molecular findings of five case patients.”

2. CDC Case Study #1: Three Sudden Cardiac Deaths Associated with Lyme Carditis:

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm?s_cid=mm6249a1_w

3. CDC Case Study #2: A case report of a 17-year old male with fatal Lyme carditis

http://www.cardiovascularpathology.com/article/S1054-8807(15)00025-3/abstract?rss=yes

4. Professor Neil Spector: Duke physician uses near-death experience to encourage patient self-advocacy

http://www.dukechronicle.com/articles/2015/05/28/duke-physician-uses-near-death-experience-encourage-patient-self-advocacy#.VYlYnxtViko

Dr Neil Spector from Duke University required a heart transplant after his Lyme disease went undiagnosed for four years.

5. Nashua Mom in the ‘Lyme Light’ on Katie Couric Show

http://patch.com/new-hampshire/nashua/nashua-mom-talks-chronic-lyme-on-katie-couric-show

Fifth-grade teacher Kelly Downing was paralyzed from the neck down and interviewed by Katie Couric.

6. Infection by Borrelia burgdorferi and cutaneous B-cell lymphoma (Cancer)

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9331890

Specific DNA sequences of Borrelia burgdorferi were identified in cutaneous lesions from 9 patients (follicle center lymphoma: 3/20; immunocytoma: 3/4; marginal zone B-cell lymphoma: 2/20; diffuse large B-cell lymphoma: 1/6).

7. Application of Nanotrap technology for high sensitivity measurement of urinary outer surface protein A carboxyl-terminus domain in early stage Lyme borreliosis.
http://translational-medicine.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12967-015-0701-z

41 of 100 patients under surveillance for persistent LB in an endemic area were positive for urinary OspA protein after antibiotic treatment.

8. Culture evidence of Lyme disease in antibiotic treated patients living in the Southeast.

http://danielcameronmd.com/culture-evidence-of-lyme-disease-in-antibiotic-treated-patients-living-in-the-southeast/

Rudenko and colleagues reported culture confirmation of chronic Lyme disease in 24 patients in North Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. All had undergone previous antibiotic treatment.

9. DNA sequencing diagnosis of off-season spirochetemia with low bacterial density in Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi infections.

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24968274

Faulty/misleading antibody tests landed a sixteen year old male in a psychiatric ward when his lab results did not meet the CDC’s strict criteria for positive results. His Western blot had only four of the required five IgG bands. Subsequent DNA sequencing identified a spirochetemia in this patient’s blood so his psychiatric issues were a result of neurologic Lyme disease misdiagnosed by antiquated/misleading serology. This patient was previously treated with antibiotics.

10. Granulomatous hepatitis associated with chronic Borrelia burgdorferi infection: a case report

http://www.labome.org/research/Granulomatous-hepatitis-associated-with-chronic-Borrelia-burgdorferi-infection-a-case-report.html

The patient had active, systemic Borrelia burgdorferi infection and consequent Lyme hepatitis, despite antibiotic therapy.

11. Scotty Shelton and Persistent Infection in Saginaw MN

https://www.change.org/p/the-us-senate-calling-for-a-congressional-investigation-of-the-cdc-idsa-and-aldf/u/11685820

“Scotty’s brain (cerebral cortex) was positive for Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia myamotoi, his testicle is positive for Bb. We are now testing other tissues. Seven years of antibiotics and 3.5 years of natural treatments (along with antibiotics) and he was highly highly positive.”

12. Congenital Transmission of Lyme/TBD

https://www.dropbox.com/s/z10em0szgpm8bll/Congenital%20Transmission%20of%20Lyme%202015.doc?dl=0

13. Wheelchair-Bound Girl Calls Blessing By Pope Francis ‘Most Precious Moment Of My Life’

http://newyork.cbslocal.com/2015/09/24/pope-francis-blesses-girl-in-wheelchair/

NEW YORK (CBSNewYork) — A 12-year-old girl who has been confined to a wheelchair since being diagnosed with Lyme disease said meeting Pope Francis as he arrived in New York Thursday was “the most precious moment of my life.”

Category:

Activism, Lyme

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Differentiating Psychosomatic, Somatopsychic, Multisystem Illnesses and Medical Uncertainty

https://www.mdpi.com/2227-9032/7/4/114

Differentiating Psychosomatic, Somatopsychic, Multisystem Illnesses and Medical Uncertainty

by Robert C. Bransfield^1,* and Kenneth J. Friedman^2,†

Abstract

There is often difficulty differentiating between psychosomatic, somatopsychic, multisystem illness, and different degrees of medical uncertainty. Uncommon, complex, and multisystem diseases are commonly misdiagnosed. Two case histories are described, and relevant terms differentiating psychosomatic, somatopsychic, and multisystem illnesses are identified, reviewed, and discussed. Adequate differentiation requires an understanding of the mind/body connection, which includes knowledge of general medicine, psychiatry, and the systems linking the body and the brain. A psychiatric diagnosis cannot be given solely based upon the absence of physical, laboratory, or pathological findings. Medically unexplained symptoms, somatoform disorder, and compensation neurosis are outdated and/or inaccurate terms. The terms subjective, nonspecific, and vague can be used inaccurately. Conversion disorders, functional disorders, psychogenic illness, factitious disorder imposed upon another (Munchausen’s syndrome by proxy), somatic symptom disorder, psychogenic seizures, psychogenic pain, psychogenic fatigue, and delusional parasitosis can be over-diagnosed. Bodily distress disorder and bodily distress syndrome are scientifically unsupported and inaccurate. Many “all in your head” conditions may be related to the microbiome and the immune system. Better education concerning the interface between medicine and psychiatry and the associated diagnostic nomenclature as well as utilizing clinical judgment and thorough assessment, exercising humility, and maintaining our roots in traditional medicine will help to improve diagnostic accuracy and patient trust. View Full-Text

________________

**Comment**

Thank God for Dr. Bransfield – a doctor who continues to underscore the need to listen to patients.

Here’s a video of Dr. Shapiro, member of the Tick-borne Disease Working Group despite a loud protest by the Lyme/MSIDS community, in a 2014 videotaped interview where he describes the term“medically unexplained symptoms” and urges the medical community to develop ways to prevent “healthcare-seeking behaviors” by parents who believed their children may have Lyme disease. https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/06/11/dr-eugene-shapiro-medically-unexplained-symptoms/

Excerpt:

“…it’s very clear that simply telling parents that Lyme disease is not the cause of these nonspecific symptoms such as fatigue, various pain syndromes that is not sufficient and that we need a new paradigm to how to best manage such patients. Often it’s not the pediatric infectious disease specialists who doesn’t have an ongoing relationship with his patients who is likely the best but someone who can develop a trusting relationship with them. Very frequently these parents are seeking affirmation that these symptoms are real and in fact they are real it’s just that they’re not caused by Lyme disease…..”

Due to this man, patients have suffered for decades: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/30/child-with-lymemsidspans-told-by-doctors-she-made-it-all-up/

And here, a school nurse documents 19 cases that were misdiagnosed when the children all had Lyme/MSIDS: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/09/05/school-nurse-documents-nineteen-lyme-disease-case-studies-misdiagnosis-is-rampant/

Again, a huge, huge problem is that many patients do not meet the strict CDC criteria for diagnosis including an ancient serology test looking for antibodies when it misses over half of all cases: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/11/21/how-many-lyme-disease-patients-dont-meet-strict-diagnostic-criteria/

Category:

Lyme, Psychological Aspects, research

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Inflammatory Processes Drive Progression of Alzheimer’s and Other Brain Diseases

November 21, 2019

https://neurosciencenews.com/alzheimers-inflammation-15235/

Inflammatory processes drive progression of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases

NEUROSCIENCE NEWSNOVEMBER 20, 2019

Summary: The NLPR3 inflammasome and the inflammatory response it triggers play a critical role in the emergence of tau pathology.Source: DZNE

Inflammation drives the progression of neurodegenerative brain diseases and plays a major role in the accumulation of tau proteins within neurons. An international research team led by the German Center for Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE) and the University of Bonn comes to this conclusion in the journal Nature. The findings are based on the analyses of human brain tissue and further lab studies. In the particular case of Alzheimer’s the results reveal a hitherto unknown connection between Amyloid Beta and tau pathology. Furthermore, the results indicate that inflammatory processes represent a potential target for future therapies.

Tau proteins usually stabilize a neuron’s skeleton. However, in Alzheimer’s disease, frontotemporal dementia (FTD), and other “tauopathies” these proteins are chemically altered, they detach from the cytoskeleton and stick together. As a consequence, the cell’s mechanical stability is compromised to such an extent that it dies off. In essence, “tau pathology” gives neurons the deathblow. The current study led by Prof. Michael Heneka, director of the Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases and Gerontopsychiatry at the University of Bonn and a senior researcher at the DZNE, provides new insights into why tau proteins are transformed. As it turns out, inflammatory processes triggered by the brain’s immune system are a driving force.

A Molecular Switch

A particular protein complex, the “NLRP3 inflammasome”, plays a central role for these processes, the researchers report in Nature. Heneka and colleagues already studied this macromolecule, which is located inside the brain’s immune cells, in previous studies. It is a molecular switch that can trigger the release of inflammatory substances. For the current study, the researchers examined tissue samples from the brains of deceased FTD patients, cultured brain cells, and mice that exhibited hallmarks of Alzheimer’s and FTD.

“Our results indicate that the inflammasome and the inflammatory reactions it triggers, play an important role in the emergence of tau pathology”, Heneka said. In particular, the researchers discovered that the inflammasome influences enzymes that induce a “hyperphosphorylation” of tau proteins. This chemical change ultimately causes them to separate from the scaffold of neurons and clump together. “It appears that inflammatory processes mediated by the inflammasome are of central importance for most, if not all, neurodegenerative diseases with tau pathology.”

A Link between Amyloid Beta and Tau

This especially applies to Alzheimer’s disease. Here another molecule comes into play: “amyloid beta” (Amyloid Beta). In Alzheimer’s, this protein also accumulates in the brain. In contrast to tau proteins, this does not happen within the neurons but between them. In addition, deposition of Amyloid Beta starts in early phases of the disease, while aggregation of tau proteins occurs later.

In previous studies, Heneka and colleagues were able to show that the inflammasome can promote the aggregation of Amyloid Beta. Here is where the connection to the recent findings comes in. “Our results support the amyloid cascade hypothesis for the development of Alzheimer’s. According to this hypothesis, deposits of Amyloid Beta ultimately lead to the development of tau pathology and thus to cell death,” said Heneka. “Our current study shows that the inflammasome is the decisive and hitherto missing link in this chain of events, because it bridges the development from Amyloid Beta pathology to tau pathology. It passes the baton, so to speak.” Thus, deposits of Amyloid Beta activate the inflammasome. As a result, formation of further deposits of Amyloid Beta is promoted. On the other hand, chemical changes occur to the tau proteins resulting into their aggregation.

A Possible Starting Point for Therapies

“Inflammatory processes promote the development of Amyloid Beta pathology, and as we have now been able to show, of tau pathology as well. Thus, the inflammasome plays a key role in Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases,” said Heneka, who is involved in the Bonn-based “ImmunoSensation” cluster of excellence and who also teaches at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. With these findings, the neuroscientist sees opportunities for new treatment methods. “The idea of influencing tau pathology is obvious. Future drugs could tackle exactly this aspect by modulating the immune response. With the development of tau pathology, mental abilities decline more and more. Therefore, if tau pathology could be contained, this would be an important step towards a better therapy.”

ABOUT THIS NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH ARTICLE

Source:
DZNE
Media Contacts:
Marcus Neitzert – DZNE
Image Source:
The image is in the public domain.

Original Research: Closed access
“NLRP3 inflammasome activation drives tau pathology”. Christina Ising et al.
Nature doi:10.1038/s41586-019-1769-z.

Abstract

NLRP3 inflammasome activation drives tau pathology

Alzheimer’s disease is characterized by the accumulation of amyloid-beta in plaques, aggregation of hyperphosphorylated tau in neurofibrillary tangles and neuroinflammation, together resulting in neurodegeneration and cognitive decline1. The NLRP3 inflammasome assembles inside of microglia on activation, leading to increased cleavage and activity of caspase-1 and downstream interleukin-1β release2. Although the NLRP3 inflammasome has been shown to be essential for the development and progression of amyloid-beta pathology in mice3, the precise effect on tau pathology remains unknown. Here we show that loss of NLRP3 inflammasome function reduced tau hyperphosphorylation and aggregation by regulating tau kinases and phosphatases. Tau activated the NLRP3 inflammasome and intracerebral injection of fibrillar amyloid-beta-containing brain homogenates induced tau pathology in an NLRP3-dependent manner. These data identify an important role of microglia and NLRP3 inflammasome activation in the pathogenesis of tauopathies and support the amyloid-cascade hypothesis in Alzheimer’s disease, demonstrating that neurofibrillary tangles develop downstream of amyloid-beta-induced microglial activation.

_________________

For more: https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/07/22/does-alzheimers-disease-stem-from-infection-scientists-debate-one-company-targets-gingivitis-bacterium-to-slow-alzheimers-progression/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/09/11/its-time-to-find-the-alzheimers-germ/

For more on the potential connection between Alzheimer’s and tick borne illness:

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/06/09/alzheimers-byproduct-of-infection/ (Link to Kris Kristofferson’s case. Lyme treatment turned the Alzheimer’s completely around)

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/01/18/a-bug-for-alzheimers/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/07/28/herpes-viruses-implicated-in-alzheimers-disease/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/06/03/borrelia-hiding-in-worms-causing-chronic-brain-diseases/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2016/08/09/dr-paul-duray-research-fellowship-foundation-some-great-research-being-done-on-lyme-disease/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2018/03/25/a-brief-history-of-neuroborreliosis-research-dementia-an-inside-look-at-two-researchers/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/10/14/lost-link-als-lyme/

https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2017/06/10/the-coming-pandemic-of-lyme-dementia/

Category:

Alzheimer's, Inflammation, Lyme, Uncategorized

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Blood ‘cleaning’ Treatments Which Pulls Disease From Body Using Magnets Ready For Human Trials

https://www-telegraph-co-uk.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.telegraph.co.uk/science/2019/11/10/blood-cleaning-treatment-pulls-disease-body-using-magnets-ready/amp/

Blood ‘cleaning’ treatment which pulls disease from body using magnets ready for human trials

Dr George Frodsham, who came up with the idea

Category:

research, Treatment

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How Many Lyme Disease Patients Don’t Meet Strict Diagnostic Criteria?

https://danielcameronmd.com/how-many-lyme-disease-patients-dont-meet-strict-diagnostic-criteria/

HOW MANY LYME DISEASE PATIENTS DON’T MEET STRICT DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA?

In a recent article published in Open Forum Infectious Disease, Kobayashi and colleagues suggest that Lyme disease is often mistakenly diagnosed as causing various illnesses, which has led to the unnecessary use of antibiotics. The authors conducted a retrospective study of patients with possible Lyme disease, who were referred to an infectious disease clinic in Maryland between 2000 and 2013. ¹

By Dr. Daniel Cameron

Kobayashi and colleagues concluded that nearly 3 out of 4 patients referred to the clinic did not have Lyme disease. They did not interview the referring doctor at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Instead, they conducted a chart review.

However, to be included in the study, patients had to meet the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s (IDSA) guidelines or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) clinical and serological criteria.

The authors found that out of 1,261 patients, all but one were symptomatic when they presented to the clinic, with a median duration of complaints of 558 days, ranging from 1 day to 51 years.

“The 5 most commonly identified symptoms were arthralgia (71.3%), fatigue/malaise (66.8%), headache (42.1%), myalgia (40.8%), and sleep disturbance (34.3%),” writes Kobayashi.

Only a few patients had abnormal physical findings.

“The 5 most common abnormal physical findings were rash other than erythema migrans (6.6%), joint swelling (5.9%), tender points (3%), objective sensory abnormality (2.1%), and motor weakness (1.5%),” the authors explain.

The researchers did not report a number of clinical presentations that can occur in Lyme disease, including:

Lyme encephalopathy [2]
Lyme neuropathy [2]
Neuropsychiatric Lyme disease [3]
Pediatric neuropsychiatric disorders – PANS [4]
Lyme carditis [5]
Autonomic dysfunction – POTS [6]
Post-treatment Lyme fatigue – Post-Lyme disease [7]
Neuropathic pain [8]
Persistent symptoms after Lyme disease [9]
Lyme disease with co-infection e.g. Babesia [10]

It may be that many physicians do not recognize or document these types of manifestations, given that the authors didn’t mention any of these presentations.

Approximately 1 in 10 patients had a history of co-infections.

“Although 139 (11%) co-infections were diagnosed before evaluation at the infectious diseases clinic, none of these infections were confirmed or treated based upon the evaluations performed in this study,” writes Kobayashi.

“Of these 139 putative co-infections, 61 (44%) were said to be caused by Babesia microti or B. duncani, 40 (29%) by Epstein-Barr virus, 30 (22%) by Bartonella, 11 (8%) by Ehrlichia spp., and 32 (23%) were attributed to other infectious agents,” writes Kobayashi.

Dismissing chronic Lyme disease for somatic symptom disorder diagnosis

Study finds misdiagnosis and delayed diagnosis common for Lyme disease patients

Getting the diagnosis correct and avoiding anchor bias

References:

Takaaki Kobayashi, Yvonne Higgins, Roger Samuels, Aurasch Moaven, Abanti Sanyal, Gayane Yenokyan, Paul M Lantos, Michael T Melia, Paul G Auwaerter, Misdiagnosis of Lyme Disease With Unnecessary Antimicrobial Treatment Characterizes Patients Referred to an Academic Infectious Diseases Clinic, Open Forum Infectious Diseases, Volume 6, Issue 7, July 2019.
Logigian EL, Kaplan RF, Steere AC. Chronic neurologic manifestations of Lyme disease. N Engl J Med. 1990;323(21):1438-1444.
Fallon BA, Nields JA. Lyme disease: a neuropsychiatric illness. Am J Psychiatry. 1994;151(11):1571-1583.
Sigra S, Hesselmark E, Bejerot S. Treatment of PANDAS and PANS: a systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018;86:51-65.
Muehlenbachs A, Bollweg BC, Schulz TJ, et al. Cardiac Tropism of Borrelia burgdorferi: An Autopsy Study of Sudden Cardiac Death Associated with Lyme Carditis. Am J Pathol. 2016.
Kanjwal K, Karabin B, Kanjwal Y, Grubb BP. Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome following Lyme disease. Cardiology journal. 2011;18(1):63-66.
Krupp LB, Hyman LG, Grimson R, et al. Study and treatment of post Lyme disease (STOP-LD): a randomized double masked clinical trial. Neurology. 2003;60(12):1923-1930.
Simons LE. Fear of pain in children and adolescents with neuropathic pain and complex regional pain syndrome. Pain. 2016;157 Suppl 1:S90-97.
Klempner MS, Hu LT, Evans J, et al. Two controlled trials of antibiotic treatment in patients with persistent symptoms and a history of Lyme disease. N Engl J Med. 2001;345(2):85-92.
Krause PJ, Telford SR, 3rd, Spielman A, et al. Concurrent Lyme disease and babesiosis. Evidence for increased severity and duration of illness. Jama. 1996;275(21):1657-1660.

_________________

**Comment**

This article brings up very important points – many patients do not meet the stringent CDC diagnostic criteria to even be accepted into research studies much less be diagnosed with Lyme/MSIDS. For 40 years we’ve had blood serology that misses half of all cases as well as the fact many patients do not present with the “classic” EM rash but either have no rash at all or a rash that presents differently. https://madisonarealymesupportgroup.com/2019/02/22/why-mainstream-lyme-msids-research-remains-in-the-dark-ages/

You’d have to be blind to not see how patients are immediately set up for failure.

While they continue to shout about unnecessary antibiotics, most patients are denied care. Trust me when I say we all have much better things to do besides taking expensive, painful treatment!

Until the CDC/IDSA/NIH admit that they only have a very partial picture of how Lyme/MSIDS presents patients are doomed to the same suffering they’ve been suffering for over 40 years.

Category:

Lyme, research, Treatment

Comments Off on How Many Lyme Disease Patients Don’t Meet Strict Diagnostic Criteria?

Madison Area Lyme Support Group

Wormser’s Junk Science, Deliberate Avoidance of Chronically Ill Patients & A Letter Him Asking Why

Wormser’s junk science and deliberate avoidance of the horribly disabled

When evidence based medicine has been spun to fit bias agendas and the patient voice has been intentionally ignored who investigates the dishonest science?

Wormser et al do not discuss the consequences of untreated Lyme disease in their PLOS published paper. Why do you think that is the case Dr. Heber?

Patient testimony all across America (and the globe) is describing a disease that is destroying lives, ending careers while leaving its victim in financial ruin.

When evidence based medicine has been spun to fit bias agendas and the patient voice has been intentionally ignored who investigates the dishonest science?

Today’s letter to Dr. Gary Wormser of New York Medical College

Your thirty year fixation on the acute stage of disease (with bulls-eye rash) after early treatment gives the impression that you have disregarded the consequences of untreated Lyme disease which leaves the patient horribly disabled similar to the other examples I have presented.

Differentiating Psychosomatic, Somatopsychic, Multisystem Illnesses and Medical Uncertainty

Differentiating Psychosomatic, Somatopsychic, Multisystem Illnesses and Medical Uncertainty

Inflammatory Processes Drive Progression of Alzheimer’s and Other Brain Diseases

Inflammatory processes drive progression of Alzheimer’s and other brain diseases

Blood ‘cleaning’ Treatments Which Pulls Disease From Body Using Magnets Ready For Human Trials

Blood ‘cleaning’ treatment which pulls disease from body using magnets ready for human trials

How Many Lyme Disease Patients Don’t Meet Strict Diagnostic Criteria?

HOW MANY LYME DISEASE PATIENTS DON’T MEET STRICT DIAGNOSTIC CRITERIA?

However, to be included in the study, patients had to meet the Infectious Diseases Society of America’s (IDSA) guidelines or the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s (CDC) clinical and serological criteria.

It may be that many physicians do not recognize or document these types of manifestations, given that the authors didn’t mention any of these presentations.

Approximately 1 in 10 patients had a history of co-infections.

Related Articles:

References:

You’d have to be blind to not see how patients are immediately set up for failure.

Until the CDC/IDSA/NIH admit that they only have a very partial picture of how Lyme/MSIDS presents patients are doomed to the same suffering they’ve been suffering for over 40 years.

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