Thursday, May 25, 2017

Galaxy Lab Tests- 47 Species

A colleague posted this on a listserv today: 

A patient asked about Galaxy Labs tests for Bartonella.  While researching I spotted this list that includes what Galaxy Lab can test for, which includes -- 47 species of Bartonella, Anaplasma, Spotted Fevers and Babesia/Theileria.  See list here:


Good to know. About six years ago I was tested at Galaxy for nine strains of Bartonella. Looks like they've added a lot to the list since then. -Bob

Wednesday, May 24, 2017

B. burgdorferi persister cells survive attacks by antibiotics and may contribute to chronic illness in Lyme disease patients -

 
http://danielcameronmd.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/09/Spirochetes-in-mouse-tissue1.jpg
B. burgdorferi persister cells survive attacks by antibiotics and may contribute to chronic illness in Lyme disease patients - Daniel Cameron MD
 
by Daniel J. Cameron, MD MPH

Persistent infection of Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) has been proven experimentally in Peromyscus mice, laboratory mice, rats, hamsters, gerbils, guinea pigs, dogs and non-human primates. [1-8] Some researchers and clinicians argue, the existence of a persistent Bb infection explains why some Lyme disease patients remain sick even after treatment. According to one study, as many … 


Monday, May 22, 2017

Discovery that immune cells in the brain remove toxins

When scientists saw the mouse heads glowing, they knew the discovery was big


 

Kari Alitalo had studied lymphatic vessels for more than two decades. So he knew that this network, which carries immune cells throughout the body and removes waste and toxins, didn't extend into the brain: This had been accepted wisdom for more than 300 years. "Nobody questioned that it stopped at the brain," says Alitalo, a scientist at the University of Helsinki in Finland.

Three years ago, Alitalo wanted to develop a more precise map of the lymphatic system. To do this, he used genetically modified mice whose lymphatic vessels glowed when illuminated by a particular wavelength of light. (The mice had been given a gene from a species of glowing jellyfish.)

When viewing the modified mice under the light, Aleksanteri Aspelund, a medical student in Alitalo's laboratory, saw something unexpected: The heads of the mice glowed. At first, he suspected that there was something wrong — with the animals, the lighting or the measuring equipment. But when Alitalo and Aspelund repeated the experiment, they got the same result. It seemed that the lymphatic vessels extended to the brain after all.

This was surprising, to say the least: In the 21st century, major findings involving basic human anatomy are rare. "These days, you don't make discoveries like this," Alitalo says. "But every once in a while in science, you stumble on something really unexpected. You open a new door, to a whole new world."

Alitalo is one of several scientists exploring this new world. Working independently, several other researchers, including Maiken Nedergaard of the University of Rochester and Jonathan Kipnis of the University of Virginia School of Medicine, have also shown that lymphatic vessels extend into the brain.

The discovery is much more than a historical footnote. It has major implications for a wide variety of brain diseases, including Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, stroke and traumatic brain injury.

Researchers have identified two networks: the vessels that lead into and surround the brain, and those within the brain itself. The first is known as the lymphatic system for the brain, while the latter is called the glymphatic system. The "g" added to "lymphatic" refers to glia, the kind of neuron that makes up the lymphatic vessels in the brain. The glymphatic vessels carry cerebrospinal fluid and immune cells into the brain and remove cellular trash from it.



Nedergaard describes the glymphatic system as like a dishwasher for the brain. "The brain is very active," she says, "and so it produces a lot of junk that needs to be cleaned out."

In hindsight, she says, the system should have been noticed long ago. When the skull and head are dissected, the vessels are visible to the naked eye. But no one bothered to really look: "Usually the brain is seen only as a bunch of nerve cells. We have come to think of the brain as a computer. And it's not. It's a living organ."

Nedergaard and Helene Benveniste, a scientist at Yale University, have found evidence linking problems in the lymphatic and glymphatic systems to Alzheimer's. In a study on mice, they showed that glymphatic dysfunction contributes to the buildup in the brain of amyloid beta, a protein that plays a key role in the disease.

Last year, Jeff Iliff, a neuroscientist at Oregon Health & Science University, and several colleagues examined postmortem tissue from 79 human brains. They focused on aquaporin-4, a key protein in glymphatic vessels. In the brains of people with Alzheimer's, this protein was jumbled; in those without the disease, the protein was well organized. This suggests that glymphatic breakdowns may play a role in the disease, Iliff says.

The vessels have also been implicated in autoimmune disease. Researchers knew that the immune system has limited access to the brain. But at the same time, the immune system kept tabs on the brain's status; no one knew exactly how. Some researchers theorize that the glymphatic system could be the conduit and that in diseases such as multiple sclerosis — where the body's immune system attacks certain brain cells — the communication may go awry.

The system may also play a role in symptoms of traumatic brain injury. Nedergaard has shown that in mice, the injuries can produce lasting damage to the glymphatic vessels, which are quite fragile. Mice are a good model, she says, because their glymphatic systems are very similar to humans'. She and Iliff found that even months after being injured, the animals' brains were still not clearing waste efficiently, leading to a buildup of toxic compounds, including amyloid beta. Nedergaard returns to the dishwasher analogy. "It's like if you only use a third of the water when you turn on the machine," she says. "You won't get clean dishes."

Recent research has also found evidence that the glymphatic system may extend into the eye. For decades, scientists have noted that many people with Alzheimer's disease also have glaucoma, in which damage to the optic nerve causes vision loss. But they struggled to find a common mechanism; the glymphatic system may be the link.

In January, Belgian and Swiss researchers identified a rich network of glymphatic vessels within the optic nerve. The scientists also found that when these vessels malfunction, they seem to leave behind deposits of amyloid beta as well as other neurotoxins that damage the optic nerve.

And in March, Harvard University researchers reported that glymphatic flow is significantly decreased in the period just before a migraine. The intense pain in these headaches is caused largely by inflamed nerves in the tissue that surrounds the brain. Neuroscientists Rami Burstein and Aaron Schain, the lead authors, theorize that faulty clearance of molecular waste from the brain could trigger inflammation in these pain fibers.

One key to glymphatic performance seems to be sleep. Nedergaard has shown that at least in mice, the system processes twice as much fluid during sleep as it does during wakefulness. She and her colleagues focused on amyloid beta; they found that the lymphatic system removed much more of the protein when the animals were asleep than when they were awake. She suggests that over time, sleep dysfunction may contribute to Alzheimer's and perhaps other brain illnesses. "You only clean your brain when you're sleeping," she says. "This is probably an important reason that we sleep. You need time off from consciousness to do the housekeeping."

Nedergaard and Benveniste have also found that sleep position is crucial. In an upright position — someone who is sitting or standing — waste is removed much less efficiently. Sleeping on your stomach is also not very effective; sleeping on your back is somewhat better, while lying on your side appears to produce the best results. The reason for these differences remains unclear, but Nedergaard suspects that it is probably related to the mechanical engineering of the lymphatic vessels and valves; she suggests that the healthiest approach may be to move periodically while you sleep.

Sleep is probably not the only way to improve glymphatic flow. For instance, a paper published in January by Chinese researchers reported that in mice, omega-3 fatty acidsimproved glymphatic functioning.

Benveniste is examining dexmedetomidine, an anesthetic that may have the ability to improve glymphatic flow. And in a small human study, other scientists have found that deep breathing significantly increases the glymphatic transport of cerebrospinal fluid into the brain.

Alitalo is experimenting with growth factors, compounds that can foster regrowth of the vessels in and around the brain. He has used this method to repair lymphatic vessels in pigs and is now testing the approach in the brains of mice that have a version of Alzheimer's.

"Right now there are no clinical therapies in this area," he says. "But give it a little time. This has only just been discovered."

A 1993 video of testimony by Dr. Joseph J. Burrascano, Jr.

1993 Senate Committee Testimony- Dr. Joseph J. Burrascano, Jr. Just a few minutes long. Look how long some of our heroes have been working on this problem. And of course, Dr. Burrascano had to, in the end, give up his private practice, just as he says has happened to others who dared to challenge the medical system. In the video he says he fears that his testimony might in fact jeopardize his own practice.

BetterHealthGuy.com: Chronic Lyme Disease Summit 2 and Recent Podcast Episodes!

Attention support group members and readers of my blog,

Looks like there are a lot of free interviews with leading chronic Lyme disease doctors between June 19 and June 26.  
These are  from Scott Forsgren, also known as "The Better Health Guy). See below.

-Bob

Hi, just a reminder that you're receiving this email because you have expressed an interest in BetterHealthGuy.com. Don't forget to add scott@betterhealthguy.com to your address book so we'll be sure to land in your inbox!
 
You may unsubscribe if you no longer wish to receive our emails.
Chronic Lyme Disease Summit 2 


The Chronic Lyme Disease Summit 2 is just around the corner from June 19-26, and it is going to be GREAT!

This event is FREE and ONLINE.  The speakers this year are AMAZING!  They include:

Dr. Amy Derksen, ND
Dr. Christine Schaffner, ND
Dr. David Jernigan, DC
Dr. Dave Ou, MD
Dr. Dietrich Klinghardt, MD, PhD
Greg Lee, LAc
Dr. Isaac Eliaz, MD
Dr. Jay Davidson, DC
Dr. Jill Carnahan, MD
Dr. Katie Dahlgren, ND
Dr. Todd Watts, DC
Dr. Wayne Anderson, ND

and many more!  I am also honored to be one of the speakers at this event.

Register now for the event and be kept informed via email.  It's going to be a great week, and I, for one, can't wait!



Recent BetterHealthGuy Blogcasts
I have been having a lot of fun interviewing some of the brightest minds I've encountered.  I appreciate all of the feedback and kind words on recent shows and am looking forward to more shows to follow.

To watch or listen to any of the podcasts below, simply click on the image and you'll be taken to the episode page where you can watch on my site or YouTube or find the links to listen with LibSyn, iTunes, Google Play, or Stitcher.










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Information is not intended to treat, diagnose, cure, or prevent any disease. Information provided is for informational purposes only and represents the personal experiences and information encountered to date by its author. While BetterHealthGuy.com employs reasonable efforts to provide accurate information, no warranties or representations are made as to the accuracy, validity, or reliability of any information which may be presented. 

No responsibility is assumed for any errors or omissions in the content of this newsletter. BetterHealthGuy.com suggests that you to do your own research and consult directly with your personal medical professional. Information is not intended to serve as medical advice. Always seek the advice of your licensed health care provider before making any treatment decisions.

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County and state tick status

In the event you need to know what the CDC says is your county or state's tick status.  


-Bob

County-Scale Distribution of Ixodes scapularis and Ixodes pacificus (Acari: Ixodidae) in the Continental United States 

J Med Entomol (2016) 53 (2): 349-386.
 
Published:
 
18 January 2016
 
Article history




Tuesday, May 2, 2017

Lyme & TBD Rashes - Google Photos

Here is a collection of many, many Lyme disease rashes and skin conditions. It is a good idea to educate yourself about the skin conditions and appearances if you're concerned about Lyme disease diagnosis.

https://photos.google.com/share/AF1QipPCghqfePpqXpT0idln_kuFl82Q8NrezteAzVozBrfyNXvLJ_F7ld8GgwJPRwrvPQ?key=VUV5R1hEZUViR2tsbjgtUDR0dkRMS1BHUHItb0dn