Tick removal product

Here is what is in the tick releaser spray:

Ingredients: Clove oil, lemongrass oil, purified water, almond oil, glycerin.

The new Tick Releaser Spray & Test Kit took top honors by winning the Gold Product Innovation award at Backer’s Total Pet Expo 2014. The kit provides not only a means to safely remove ticks, but also to send them in for diagnostic testing to rule out the possibility of disease transmission.

The new Tick Releaser Spray & Mail-In Test Kit from Earth’s Balance is an all-encompassing solution. It’s a convenient, cost-effective means to protect pets and family. After the tick has been safely removed, it is a good idea to have it tested to ensure it does not carry debilitating disease.

The kit itself includes: releaser spray (made with all-natural essential oils), tweezers, collection tube, alcohol prep pad and mail-in diagnostic testing order form. All-natural and toxin-free, it provides a means to release ticks quickly, safely and intact. Simply spray, tweeze and collect. Then fill out the order form and mail the tick in for your selected diagnostic tests.

For an additional fee, ticks can be submitted and tested for the following diseases: Lyme disease, Anaplasma, Babesia, Ehrlichia,  Bartonella, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia. Prices range from $25 for one disease up to $75 for a total panel of all seven diseases.

Tick Releaser Spray & Mail-In Test Kit will be available in stores and online in early spring. For more information, visit Earthsbalance.com or call 1-800-292-3424.

* * * * * *
http://rvdailyreport.com/products/earth-balance-offers-tick-releaser-spray-mail-in-test-kit/

Ticks can be submitted and tested for the following diseases: Anaplasma, Babesia, Ehrlichia, Lyme disease, Bartonella, Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever and Tularemia. Lab testing fees range from $25 for one disease up to $75 for a total panel of all seven diseases.

For more information, visit earthsbalance.com.  Dealers and retailers interested in carrying Earth’s Balance Tick Releaser and  Mail-In Test Kit should email sales representative Jason Reid at jreid@marshallpet.com.

* * * * *
Ads-

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PnvCNfUK6gU

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M1OxZNeEZyc

The first ad says the tick is mailed to Research Associates Laboratory. http://www.vetdna.com   It is located in Dallas, Texas.

Here's the information from the company's about page:

Since 1992 Research Associates laboratory has been providing state of the art molecular diagnostics to veterinarians, zoos, universities, restaurants, hotels, and the pet and pest industries. We are the nation's oldest and most experienced veterinary molecular diagnostic laboratory.

We are the only diagnostic laboratory offering affordable next day results 6 days per week.

Laboratory Director

    Ernie Colaizzi

Contact

    (972) 960-2221
    (972) 960-1997
    14556 Midway Road Dallas, TX 75244 (Google Map)

* * * *
The lab offers what's called "Real Time PCR testing." http://www.vetdna.com/real-time-pcr-testing
* * * *

So apparently, Earth's Balance (http://www.earthsbalance.com/products/tick-releaser-spray-and-mail-in-test-kit), which is a subsidiary of Marshall Pet Products (http://www.marshallpet.com/) seems to have teamed with a vet lab for the tick testing. The out-of-the gate marketing is clearly for hunters and other people who spend time in the woods.

Sexual transmission of Lyme disease

Culture and identification of Borrelia spirochetes in human vaginal and seminal secretions [v1; ref status: awaiting peer review, http://f1000r.es/4rm]

Marianne J. Middelveen¹, Jennie Burke², Eva Sapi³, Cheryl Bandoski³, Katherine R. Filush³, Yean Wang², Agustin Franco², Arun Timmaraju³, Hilary A. Schlinger¹, Peter J. Mayne¹, Raphael B. Stricker¹

http://f1000research.com/articles/3-309/v1

Abstract

Background: Recent reports indicate that more than 300,000 cases of Lyme disease are diagnosed yearly in the USA. Preliminary clinical, epidemiological and immunological studies suggest that infection with the Lyme disease spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) could be transferred from person to person via intimate human contact without a tick vector. Detecting viable Borrelia spirochetes in vaginal and seminal secretions would provide evidence to support this hypothesis.

Methods: Patients with and without a history of Lyme disease were selected for the study after informed consent was obtained. Serological testing for Bb was performed on all subjects. Semen or vaginal secretions were inoculated into BSK-H medium and cultured for four weeks. Examination of genital cultures and culture concentrates for the presence of spirochetes was performed using light and darkfield microscopy, and spirochete concentrates were subjected to Dieterle silver staining, anti-Bb immunohistochemical staining, molecular hybridization and PCR analysis for further characterization. Immunohistochemical and molecular testing was performed in three independent laboratories. Positive and negative controls were included in all experiments.

Results: Control subjects who were asymptomatic and seronegative for Bb had no detectable spirochetes in genital secretions by PCR analysis. In contrast, spirochetes were observed in cultures of genital secretions from 11 of 13 subjects diagnosed with Lyme disease, and motile spirochetes were detected in genital culture concentrates from 12 of 13 Lyme disease patients using light and darkfield microscopy. Morphological features of spirochetes were confirmed by Dieterle silver staining and immunohistochemical staining of culture concentrates. Molecular hybridization and PCR testing confirmed that the spirochetes isolated from semen and vaginal secretions were strains of Borrelia, and all cultures were negative for treponemal spirochetes. PCR sequencing of cultured spirochetes from three couples having unprotected sex indicated that two couples had identical strains of Bb sensu stricto in their semen and vaginal secretions, while the third couple had identical strains of B. hermsii detected in their genital secretions.

Conclusions: The culture of viable Borrelia spirochetes in genital secretions suggests that Lyme disease could be transmitted by intimate contact from person to person.

Save A Dog, Inc. News » Lyme Prevention

Here's what appears to be very helpful website about Lyme disease prevention, specifically about how dogs play into your strategy of prevention. There is a lot of veterinary information here and some straight talk about how to protect yourself and your dog from acquiring Lyme.

http://www.saveadog.org/blog/index.php/2013/11/25/lyme-prevention/

Bob

New iSpot Lyme Test

iSpot Lyme: A New Generation of Lyme Disease Testing

https://www.neurorelief.com/index.php?p=cms&cid=486&pid=149

The iSpot Lyme™ assay is a new generation of in vitro diagnostic test for the detection of antigen-specific effector/memory T cells that respond to stimulation by ...

iSpotLyme - For greater accuracy, request iSpot Lyme™

www.ispotlyme.com/

The iSpot Lyme test allows for earlier detection and increases accuracy because it detects the bacterial infection that accompanies Lyme disease. Find out how ...

New T-Cell Test a "Game-Changer" for Lyme

holisticprimarycare.net/.../1512-new-t-cell-test-a-game-changer-for-lyme...

Aug 30, 2013 - The iSpot Lyme test is far more sensitive and specific than the standard Western Blot, which despite it's limitations, remains a cornerstone of the ...

lyme positive result on ispot lyme test - MDJunction

www.mdjunction.com/.../10584397-lyme-positive-result-on-ispot-lyme-t...

Mar 29, 2013 - lyme positive result on ispot lyme test: Hello, I am new to this forum...I have fibro/CFS for 4 years now. Finally got someone to do Lyme test...it ...

Assessing Lyme Disease: Using the iSpot™ Lyme Test ...

► 17:14► 17:14

www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxwNu33zRE8

Apr 11, 2013 - Uploaded by neuroscienceinc

Presented by: Joe Ailts, Director of Medical Education Undiagnosed or undertreated Lyme disease may result in ...

Pharmasan Labs introduces iSpot Lyme - New Hope 360

newhope360.com › Supply News & Analysis

Apr 2, 2013 - The iSpot Lyme test represents a breakthrough in diagnostic accuracy, leading to faster diagnosis and treatment.

Breaking News - NYS Bill Signed into Law - Chapter 532

This letter from a Lyme activist in NY is in reference to the bill that just passed NY State legislature in support of ILADS standard of care for NY citizens who have Lyme disease and desire long-term antibiotic treatment. (See post earlier today.)

-Bob

To All,

 

WE DID IT!

 

The memo will be issued and the chapter amendment may or may not be available until Jan. We were told that we will be very happy, it is strong! 

 

It was our ability to work together that we were able to educate the NYS government to the dire need for sick people to be treated as individuals, especially when the science on persistence of borreliosis (Lyme and other borrelia) is not settled. 

 

Our NYS Coalition on Lyme and Tickborne diseases worked with Support Groups, patients, reporters, researchers, scientists, physicians, state and federal reprersentatives and others. It is with great thanks to ALL OF YOU for your support, letters, calls and whatever you did to help.We are powerful together and we made a difference! Give yourselves a round of applause.

 

Way too many people  have suffered needlessly. The limited number of physicians who were willing to treat us with compassion, were those who had the most difficult complicated cases; the discards of other physicians. They are the ones with the experience, knowledge and skill who risked their very licenses to give so many their lives back again and reduce illness. Yet they were constantly harassed by unwarranted, costly investigations by the NYS Office of Professional Medical  Conduct. Understandably this had a chilling effect on other doctors willingness to treat patients as individuals beyond the 2-4 week outdated IDSA Guideline.

 

It is unconscionable, in the light of this that sick people have been turned away and allowed to suffer endlessly without hope. Some Tickborne disease patients even died from lack of medical care. Two I know about within 10 miles of my home are a 17 year old, and a mother; they both are in their graves. Let this be a turning point!

 

 NYS, the Empire State, is putting a line in the sand to say, that's enough!

Dietary Supplements Containing Live Bacteria or Yeast in Immunocompromised Persons: Warning - Risk of Invasive Fungal Disease

Safety Alerts for Human Medical Products 

Here is the content from another source.  It was not the bacteria intended to be in the product that was the problem, but rather a contaminant.  However, the FDA is saying new product application wanted.  Does this mean they are going to be regulating probiotics???

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Dietary Supplements Containing Live Bacteria or Yeast in Immunocompromised Persons: Warning - Risk of Invasive Fungal Disease

December 9, 2014

Audience: Health Professional, Pediatrics , Internal Medicine, Consumer

[Posted 12/09/2014]

ISSUE: FDA is warning health professionals of the risks associated with the regarding use of dietary supplements containing live bacteria or yeast in immunocompromised persons. A premature infant administered a dietary supplement, ABC Dophilus Powder (Solgar), as part of in-hospital course of treatment, developed gastrointestinal mucormycosis caused by the mold Rhizopus oryzae and died. Rhizopus oryzae mold was found to be present as a contaminant in an unopened container of the ABC Dophilus Powder, which is formulated to contain three species of live bacteria.

FDA, along with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Connecticut Department of Public Health, are investigating the death of this preterm infant who developed gastrointestinal mucormycosis.  In mid-November, Solgar issued a recall for certain lots of ABC Dophilus Powder and public health warnings were issued advising customers and consumers not to use the recalled product.

FDA is informing healthcare providers that dietary supplements, including those that are formulated to contain live bacteria or yeast, are generally not regulated as drugs by the FDA.  As such, these products are not subject to FDA's premarket review or approval requirements for safety and effectiveness, nor to the agency's rigorous manufacturing and testing standards for drugs, including testing for extraneous organisms.

BACKGROUND: FDA is warning health professionals of the potential risks associated with the use of dietary supplements containing live bacteria or yeast in immunocompromised persons. Gastrointestinal mucormycosis primarily occurs in immunocompromised persons, such as prematurely born infants.

RECOMMENDATION: FDA advises practitioners to approach the application of these interventions with caution. FDA encourages health care providers who use dietary supplements containing live bacteria or yeast as drugs (e.g., to treat, mitigate, cure, or prevent a disease or condition) to submit an Investigational New Drug Application (IND) for FDA review

Health care providers and consumers are encouraged to report adverse events following use of dietary supplements both to the manufacturer using the address or phone number which is required to be on the product label and to the FDA. Visit www.safetyreporting.hhs.gov to submit a report online, or call 1-800-FDA-1088.

[12/09/2014 - Dear Healthcare Provider Letter - FDA]

http://www.fda.gov/Safety/MedWatch/SafetyInformation/SafetyAlertsforHumanMedicalProducts/ucm426331.htm?source=govdelivery&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery

 

 

NY State Passes New Law on Antibiotics

December 18, 2014
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/health/lyme-disease/2014/12/18/cuomo-signs-lyme-disease-bill/20576915/
or http://tinyurl.com/k64cnbq


Doctors who prescribe longer courses of antibiotic treatments for Lyme disease have new protections under state law today.

Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed a bill late Wednesday that prohibits the state Office of Professional Medical Conduct from investigating a licensed physician based solely upon the recommendation or provision of a treatment that is not universally accepted by the medical profession.


Full story: http://tinyurl.com/k64cnbq

Letters: 
letterstoeditor@poughkeepsiejournal.com

__._,_.__

NY Governor has Signed the Lyme Bill !!

This is fantastic news for New York residents! It also sets a precedent for other states.  

-Bob

​
WE'VE GOT A NEW LAW TO PROTECT LYME DOCTORS!

Governor Cuomo signed the Patients' Rights/ Doctor Protection bill this evening (12/17/14)!  The bill provides that the OPMC may not charge a physician or other medical licensee with misconduct solely for recommending or providing treatments that are not universally accepted by the medical profession, including, but not limited to, treatments for Lyme disease.

This law has been a long time in coming, but it's done!  There may be some technical tweaks, but we are assured that they do not alter the intent of the bills that were unanimously passed in both Senate and Assembly.

THANK YOU TO EVERY ONE OF YOU WHO CONTACTED (and recontacted) THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE!!  That effort made the difference!  Thousands of Lyme victims told their stories and the legislative staffers and Governor Cuomo's staff, none of whom really knew much about Lyme to start with, now know more than they ever thought possible. And they now understand what the fuss is all about. This would not have happened without you all.  Pat yourselves on the back -- this is YOUR law.

Feel free to send a note of thanks to Governor Cuomo, Senator Kemp Hannon, Assemblywoman Didi Barrett, and Assemblyman Richard Gottfried for their dedication to this cause.  

We will send more details as they become available.

Best regards to everyone!

Chris Fisk
Lyme Action Network

Damage of Collagen and Elastic Fibres by Borrelia Burgdorferi - Known and New Clinical and Histopathological Aspects

In the last year or so I have noticed a rapid loss of elasticity in my own skin. Coincident with this, I had a positive culture test result from Advanced Laboratory Services for Borrelia meaning that even after years of antibiotic therapy both oral and intravenous, I still have active Borrelia in my blood. Over the ten or so years of my reading about Lyme disease and related conditions, I've seen references in the literature about Bartonella affecting skin. However, those have mostly been about degradation or destruction of surface capillaries visible in the skin.  I've had plenty of that as well in the last year. This paper addresses the issue of loss of elasticity and collagen of the skin as a result of infection by Borrelia rather than Bartonella. Specifically, it references loss of collagen as well as connective soft tissues such as tendons and ligaments and even the dislocation of the spinal vertebrae that can result when critical connective tissues begin to lose strength. - Bob

Damage of Collagen and Elastic Fibres by Borrelia Burgdorferi - Known and New Clinical and Histopathological Aspects

Muller, KE. Damage of Collagen and Elastic Fibres by Borrelia Burgdorferi – Known and New Clinical and Histopathological Aspects.

Open Neurol J. 2012; 6: 179–186.  http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3751012/

 

Lyme Borreliosis, or Lyme disease, manifests itself in numerous skin conditions. Therapeutic intervention should be initiated as soon as a clinical diagnosis of erythema migrans is made. The histopathology of some of the skin conditions associated with Lyme Borreliosis is characterised by structural changes to collagen, and sometimes also elastic fibres. These conditions include morphea, lichen sclerosus et atrophicus and acrodermatitis chronica atrophicans. More recently, further skin conditions have been identified by the new microscopic investigation technique of focus floating microscopy: granuloma annulare, necrobiosis lipoidica, necrobiotic xanthogranuloma, erythema annulare centrifugum, interstitial granulomatous dermatitis, cutaneous sarcoidosis and lymphocytic infiltration; these conditions also sometimes cause changes in the connective tissue. In the case of ligaments and tendons, collagen and elastic fibres predominate structurally. They are also the structures that are targeted by Borrelia. The resultant functional disorders have previously only rarely been associated with Borreliosis in clinical practice. Ligamentopathies and tendinopathies, spontaneous ruptures of tendons after slight strain, dislocation of vertebrae and an accumulation of prolapsed intervertebral discs as well as ossification of tendon insertions can be viewed in this light.

Update on persistent symptoms associated with Lyme disease. - PubMed - NCBI

If you like reading medical studies or abstracts (much easier to read the abstracts, IMHO, but you can miss the nuances in the detailed publication if you do), here's an interesting/annoying one supposedly proving that Lyme bacteria do not persist in the human body after basic treatment with oral antibiotics. Of course, this topic is THE pivotal argument going on between the IDSA and ILADS docs and researchers. There are other areas of contention, yes, but this argument determines health insurance company policy, standards of care that affect virtually anyone diagnosed with Lyme, and especially chronic Lyme. A study such as this can truly have life-or-death consequences for those of us living with chronic Lyme disease. 

-Bob Cowart

Curr Opin Pediatr. 2014 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print]
Update on persistent symptoms associated with Lyme disease.

Oliveira CR, Shapiro ED.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Update+on+persistent+symptoms+associated+with+Lyme+disease

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=Update+on+persistent+symptoms+associated+with+Lyme+disease.

Curr Opin Pediatr. 2014 Dec 7. [Epub ahead of print]

Update on persistent symptoms associated with Lyme disease.

Oliveira CR1, Shapiro ED.

Author information
Abstract

PURPOSE OF REVIEW:

Lyme disease, caused by Borrelia burgdorferi, is the most common 
vector-borne illness in the United States. The pathogenesis, ecology, 
and epidemiology of Lyme disease have been well described, and 
antimicrobial treatment is very effective. There has been controversy 
about whether infection can persist and cause chronic symptoms despite 
treatment with antimicrobials. This review summarizes recent studies 
that have addressed this issue.

RECENT FINDINGS:

The pathogenesis of persistent nonspecific symptoms in patients who were 
treated for Lyme disease is poorly understood, and the validity of 
results of attempts to demonstrate persistent infection with B. 
burgdorferi has not been established. One study attempted to use 
xenodiagnosis to detect B. burgdorferi in patients who have been treated 
for Lyme disease. Another study assessed whether repeated episodes of 
erythema migrans were due to the same or different strains of B. 
burgdorferi. A possible cause of persistent arthritis in some treated 
patients is slow clearance of nonviable organisms that may lead to 
prolonged inflammation. The results of all of these studies continue to 
provide evidence that viable B. burgdorferi do not persist in patients 
who receive conventional antimicrobial treatment for Lyme disease.

SUMMARY:

Patients with persistent symptoms possibly associated with Lyme disease 
often provide a challenge for clinicians. Recent studies have provided 
additional evidence that viable B. burgdorferi do not persist after 
conventional treatment with antimicrobials, indicating that ongoing 
symptoms in patients who received conventional treatment for Lyme 
disease should not be attributed to persistent active infection.

VIDEO ABSTRACT:

PMID:
     25490690
     [PubMed - as supplied by publisher]

 

Response to the study, by Carl Tuttle,  US-based Lyme activist, challenging the accuracy of the study:

Dec 11, 2014

 
LWW Business Offices 
250 Waterloo Road
London
SE1 8RD
United Kingdom
Attn: Richard B. Johnston, Jr., MD Editor-in-Chief,      
Current Opinion in Pediatrics
Current Opinion in Pediatrics
Dear Dr Johnston,
 
In reference to the Shapiro article, "Update on persistent symptoms associated with Lyme disease" I would like to point out that the CDC criteria for positive serologic results require five out of ten IgG bands on the Western blot. In contrast, a single band criterion in China is sufficient to diagnose Lyme disease.(1)
 
The CDC's positive case definition for Lyme disease (five out of ten bands) was created for surveillance/reporting purposes only but is routinely responsible for misdiagnosis. A recent paper published in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences (2) identified the misdiagnosis of a sixteen year old (Patient #3) who was hospitalized for pure psychiatric illnesses at a psychiatric hospital for seven weeks. The boy's Western blot identified only four out of five positive bands so the so-called "Lyme expert" mislabeled the teenager as a psychiatric patient and the boy was hospitalized without proper treatment of the infectious agents.
 
The correct diagnosis was made through the use of DNA sequencing positive for B. burgdorferi identifying the infectious agents in the patient's blood. I would like to point out that this patient failed a previous treatment following the recommended one-size-fits-all IDSA treatment guideline for Lyme disease; identifying persistent infection.
 
Shapiro's so-called expert opinion ("antimicrobial treatment is very effective") does not hold true in this case. I would like to call attention to Shapiro's additional misleading Lyme disease comments previously archived on the Internet:
 
http://lyme.kaiserpapers.org/memorable-quotes-by-lyme-disease-denialists.html#Shapiro
 
Per the U.S. Food and Drug Administration website there appears to be four pages of patient complaints regarding faulty/misleading Lyme disease antibody testing and subsequent misdiagnosis.(3)
 
Current misleading serology is frequently responsible for delayed diagnosis and often used to deny insurance reimbursement. Yale University Schools of Medicine and of Public Health prefers to turn a blind eye to these facts as Shapiro has had a career long bias against persistent infection. Any lab test outside of serology threatens that bias.
 
Respectfully submitted,
 
Carl Tuttle                                                       
Hudson, NH
 
Attachment: Dr David J. Volkman's letter to Dr. Thomas Frieden, Director of the CDC.
 
References:
[1] A Study of the Technique of Western Blot for Diagnosis of Lyme Disease caused by Borrelia afzelii in China
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23425802
 
[2] DNA Sequencing Diagnosis of Off-Season Spirochetemia with Low Bacterial Density in Borrelia burgdorferi and Borrelia miyamotoi Infections
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4139787/
 
[Please be advised that there is an error in the paper; CORRECTION: "negative IgM and positive IgG for 4 bands" NOT 6 as verified by Dr Lantsman]
 
[3] MAUDE - Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience
http://www.accessdata.fda.gov/scripts/cdrh/cfdocs/cfmaude/TextResults.cfm?dls=1&q=lyme&pf=&pn=10&sc=
 

Transfusion-associated Anaplasma phagocytophilum infection in a pregnant patient

*Transfusion-associated /Anaplasma phagocytophilum/ 

infection in a pregnant patient with thalassemia trait: a
case report. *
Shields K, Cumming M, Rios J, Wong MT, Zwicker JI, Stramer
SL, Alonso CD.
/Transfusion/, online before print, 2014 Nov 11.

*Background*
Human granulocytic anaplasmosis (HGA) is an acute
nonspecific febrile illness caused by the bacterium
/Anaplasma phagocytophilum/. Although usually transmitted
via tick bite, HGA may rarely also be acquired through
transfusion. HGA during pregnancy may pose significant
gestational risks due to altered maternal immune status and
the potential for perinatal transmission.

*Case Report*
A pregnant 34-year-old Massachusetts woman with
β-thalassemia trait was diagnosed at 32 weeks of gestation
with transfusion-associated HGA (TAHGA) after receiving nine
leukoreduced red blood cell transfusions. She was
successfully treated with rifampin therapy and gave birth to
a healthy child who tested negative for HGA after delivery.
An implicated blood donor was subsequently identified
through physician collaboration with the regional American
Red Cross and Massachusetts Department of Public Health.

*Discussion*
This is the 11th reported case of HGA in pregnancy and is at
least the sixth known case in which leukoreduction did not
prevent TAHGA. As seen in this case, nonspecific
symptomatology of variable onset can impede diagnosis and
treatment. This may increase risk of poor outcomes in
maternal HGA patients. Cases of TAHGA, although currently
uncommon, may increase as the incidence of HGA in certain
parts of the country increases.

*Conclusion*
Heightened cross-institutional awareness of the potential
risk of TAHGA is warranted. Clinicians need to consider
transfusion-associated infections when fever occurs in a
transfusion recipient. This case provides additional
evidence that leukoreduction does not obviate risk of /A. 
phagocytophilum/ contamination of donated blood components.

http://doi.org/10.1111/trf.12908

http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/trf.12908/abstract

Fibromyalgia in Patients with Culture-Confirmed Lyme Disease

It looks from this study as though Lyme and Fibromyalgia are not highly correlated, suggesting that Lyme does not cause FM, as some have speculated.

-Bob

Long-Term Assessment of Fibromyalgia in Patients with Culture-Confirmed Lyme Disease
Wormser GP, Weitzner E, McKenna D, Nadelman RB, Scavarda C, Farber S, Prakash P, Ash J, Nowakowski J.
Arthritis & Rheumatology, online first, 2014 Dec 2.

http://doi.org/10.1002/art.38972

Abstract

Background: Fibromyalgia occurs in 2% to 8% of the general population. One of the triggers may be Lyme disease.

Methods: Patients with culture-confirmed Lyme disease who originally presented with erythema migrans have been evaluated annually in a prospective study to determine their long-term outcome. In 2011-2013, subjects were evaluated for fibromyalgia by interview and tender point examination.

Results: 100 subjects were assessed, 52% of whom were male; the mean age was 64.9 years (median 64 years, range 42-86 years). The mean duration of follow-up was 15.4 years (median 16 years, range 11-20 years). At least twenty-four (24%) subjects had experienced a second episode of erythema migrans before the evaluation for fibromyalgia. One patient (1%, 95% C.I.: 0.025 to 5.4%) met criteria for fibromyalgia. The symptoms consistent with fibromyalgia began more than 19 years after Lyme disease was diagnosed.

Conclusions: Fibromyalgia was observed in only 1% of 100 patients with culture-confirmed early Lyme disease, a frequency consistent with that found for the general population.

http://doi.org/10.1002/art.38972

Tick testing company

Here's a tip for getting ticks tested for Lyme and coinfections, cheap. Saw this on a listserv today, from a naturopath:

I have been using the tic-kits.  I do have a contact person if you would like to speak to someone about it.  I have tested a few ticks with these.  They test for borrelia, bartonella, anaplasma and ehrlichia.  The test is pretty inexpensive, at $45 for all 4 infections.  I have been using the lab who sold me the kits, Pharmasan labs, for many years.  I find them reliable.  

 tic-kit.com 

Military Lyme Support group

35 messages added in the last 7 days

Group Description

Military Lyme Support® was Founded in 2002 by a USAF Spouse who found it impossible to get adequate treatment for Lyme and Co-infections at her local Military Treatment Facility. This site is a source for information and emotional support for ALL Members of the Armed Forces: Veterans, Active Duty, Reserve, Family and Caregivers. 

To date, Lyme and other vector-borne diseases are often unrecognized, misdiagnosed, and untreated. Lyme is known as the "Great Imitator" and Doctors often prefer more familiar diagnoses like GWS, FM, CFS, XMRV, Lupus, Sjogrens, MS, RA, ALS, Autism, ADHD, or Mental Illness, just to name a few. This "cook-book" diagnostic approach leaves our Members with untreated, chronic diseases that can cause complete disability.

Military Lyme Support empowers our Members to get the cutting-edge treatment they need to overcome their illnesses via the ILADS Treatment Guidelines. Doctor referrals, VA, MTF and Tricare advice is also provided.

Please Note: You can test negative multiple times, and still be infected, as the currently available tests are grossly unreliable and inaccurate. If you have a rash, you are CDC positive for Lyme Disease...even if you test negative!

DISCLAIMER: All information posted on this site is the opinion of the author(s)alone and is provided for educational purposes only. It is not to be construed as medical advice regarding the treatment of any symptoms or disease. You should obtain the medical advice of your personal physician before pursuing any treatment mentioned here.

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/MilitaryLyme/info

To join: mailto:militarylyme-subscribe@yahoogroups.com

Jailed for Lyme Disease. Really? Really.

Erin Zahradka Become a fan Award-winning professional photographer

 From Huff Post, Dec 4, 2014
 Posted: 12/02/2014 5:08 pm EST Updated: 12/02/2014 5:59 pm EST 
 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/erin-zahradka/jailed-for-lyme-diesease-_b_6257162.html
 
We've all heard this before, and many of us know it firsthand to be true. Disease is unfair, and it strikes us without warning or discretion. Yet there is one thing we have come to expect from living in the United States -- that the medical and legal systems are here to support us all equally and fairly. Sounds great in theory, but when put to the test, if you're a round peg, good luck fitting in the square hole.

Implants to stop Lyme disease??

MEDFORD/SOMERVILLE, Mass. (Nov. 24, 2014) -- Researchers at Tufts University, in collaboration with a team at the University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana, have demonstrated a resorbable electronic implant that eliminated bacterial infection in mice by delivering heat to infected tissue when triggered by a remote wireless signal.  The silk and magnesium devices then harmlessly dissolved in the test animals. The technique had previously been demonstrated only in vitro. The research is published online in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences Early Edition the week of November 24-28, 2014.

"This is an important demonstration step forward for the development of  on-demand medical devices that can be turned on remotely to perform a therapeutic function in a patient and then safely disappear after their use, requiring no retrieval," said senior author Fiorenzo Omenetto, professor of biomedical engineering and Frank C. Doble professor at Tufts School of Engineering. "These wireless strategies could help manage post-surgical infection, for example, or pave the way for eventual 'wi-fi' drug delivery."

- See more at: http://now.tufts.edu/news-releases/wireless-electronic-implants-stop-staph-then-harmlessly-dissolve#sthash.v11NNMZp.dpuf

Gibson, Maloney push NY Governor Cuomo to sign Lyme bill

Click here:

 

http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/story/news/health/lyme-disease/2014/12/02/gibson-maloney-cuomo-lyme-bill/19802729/

Once again, thanks to the Poughkeepsie Journal and to reporter, John Ferro, for their concern and efforts to get the Lyme bill passed.   PLEASE thank him by recommending and making a comment on the article!

 

GREAT thanks are due to our Congressmen Gibson and Maloney for bringing this critical issue to Governor Cuomo by expressing their concerns in their letter to Governor Cuomo. They also worked to get HR4701 and many other bills passed in a bipartisan manner. These two are a prime example for all of our US Congress, doing what is right for constituents and the USA! Now Governor Cuomo, it is your turn to do what is right for NYS.  NY is the Empire State, it is time to act like it and lead the way! (read this article at the link at the top)

 

As Karla Lehtonen commented:

Let's get 10,000 emails to Cuomo! For more campaign info including a flyer, sample email to friends & family, bill info, FAQ, and NY Voices of Lyme facebook link: 

http://www.nyclymesupport.org/cuomo.htm

 

Jill Auerbach
Hudson Valley Lyme Disease Association, Chairperson
NYS Coalition on Lyme and Tick-borne Disease, Member

"What's the problem? Well it's the ticks of course!"

Excerpts from interview with Willy Burgdorfer, Ph.D., Lyme disease discoverer

Watch interviews with the discoverer of the Lyme disease bacterium and how it is transported by ticks to humans.

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

Exercise and gut flora diversity are positively correlated

Being physically fit appears to be associated with a greater diversity of gut bugs, researchers found.

In a case-control study, Irish athletes had a far wider range of intestinal microbes than did matched controls who weren't athletes, Fergus Shanahan, MD, of the University College Cork in Ireland, and colleagues reported online in Gut.

"Exercise seems to be another important factor in the relationship between the microbiota, host immunity, and host metabolism, with diet playing an important role," they wrote.

There's been much attention surrounding gut microbiota and its relationship with obesity and metabolism, but few have looked specifically at the effects of exercise on these gut microbes.

Shanahan and colleagues looked at 40 professional athletes from an international rugby team while they participated in pre-season camp -- a regulated environment -- and compared them with healthy male controls from the Cork region of Ireland.

They found that athletes and controls differed with respect to plasma creatinine kinase, a marker of extreme exercise, and inflammatory and metabolic markers. Athletes had less inflammation and better metabolism than did controls, they reported.

Athletes also had a far higher diversity of gut bugs -- 22 phyla, 68 families, and 113 genera compared with just 11 phyla, 33 families and 65 genera for controls with a low body mass index (BMI), and 9 phyla, 33 families and 61 genera for controls with a high BMI.

Athletes also consumed far more protein than controls, with protein accounting for 22% of their total energy intake compared with 16% of energy intake for low-BMI controls and 15% for high-BMI controls.

This high protein intake, as well as high levels of creatinine kinase, positively correlated with bacterial diversity, suggesting that both diet and exercise are drivers of biodiversity in the gut, Shanahan and colleagues wrote.

The results provide evidence that exercise has a beneficial effect on gut microbiota diversity, they concluded, but it also indicates that the relationship is complex since it's also tied to dietary extremes -- which is why further investigation is needed into the relationship, with a particular need for intervention-based studies to tease it apart.

In an accompanying editorial, Georgina Hold, MD, of the University of Aberdeen in Scotland, noted that the article is the first to report that exercise increases gut microbe diversity and that it "highlights that exercise is another important factor in the complex relationship among the host, host immunity, and the microbiota."

She added that future studies examining the impact of exercise and the nutritional value of foods in terms of relevance to gut bacteria are essential: "Developing new ways to manipulate the beneficial properties of our microbiota by finding ways to integrate health-promoting properties into modern living should be the goal."

Bartonella causing liver disease

At our Lyme support meetings, we of course often talk about our coinfection test results, and about the multi-pronged approach to treating Lyme disease, since coinfections are common in the same patient. There are  many known coinfnections that come along in the same tick, and more are being discovered all the time. Not only does the Lyme bacteria itself have three different forms (spirochete, cyst, biofilm), but there are many species of Borrelia. Then, there are the coinfections such as Bartonella, Ehrlichea, Babesia, Cytomegalvirus, EBV, HHV6, Protomyxzoa, and so on, and each of these requires a different drug or herbal regimen for effective eradication or at least reduction. Specialists often disagree over the order in which the different microbes should be attacked,  which ones prevent the others from being effectively treated. That's a big topic. But here's a little side note worth considering:

Below is an abstract of a case study (a single patient) whose liver was infected with Bartonella henselae. It was very difficult to discover the cause of the patient's pain, and then to determine that there was an infection, and that it was  Bartonella. This kind of case study makes me wonder how many bugs we all have running around unchecked in our bodies. 

It  seems to me, more and more, that the best way to get better from all these many coinfections is to do as much bolstering of our immune systems as possible. That is what my homeopath used to say to me, as she was trying (unsuccessfully) to find the right 'constitutional remedy' to reboot my immune system. I wish she had been successful. Often, unfortunately, chronic Lyme patients are so sick that their immune systems are not working correctly and just won't reboot from getting a lot of rest, eating a clean diet, removing heavy metals from the body, doing psychological work to reduce/rethink negative thought patterns that affect the immune system, and so on. 

-Bob

Granulomatous hepatitis due to Bartonella henselae infection in an immunocompetent patient

 

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3287964/

 

Abstract

 

Background

 

Bartonella henselae (B. henselae) is considered a rare cause of granulomatous hepatitis. Due to the fastidious growth characteristics of the bacteria, the limited sensitivity of

histopathological stains, and the non-specific histological findings on liver biopsy, the

diagnosis of hepatic bartonellosis can be difficult to establish. Furthermore, the optimal

treatment of established hepatic bartonellosis remains controversial.

 

Case presentation

 

We present a case of hepatic bartonellosis in an immunocompetent woman who presented

with right upper quadrant pain and a five cm right hepatic lobe mass on CT scan. The patient underwent a right hepatic lobectomy. Surgical pathology revealed florid necrotizing granulomatous hepatitis, favoring an infectious etiology. Despite extensive histological and serological evaluation a definitive diagnosis was not established initially. Thirteen months after initial presentation, hepatic bartonellosis was diagnosed by PCR studies from surgically excised liver tissue. Interestingly, the hepatic granulomas persisted and Bartonella henselae was isolated from the patient's enriched blood culture after several courses of antibiotic therapy.

 

Conclusion

 

The diagnosis of hepatic bartonellosis is exceedingly difficult to establish and requires a high degree of clinical suspicion. Recently developed, PCR-based approaches may be required in select patients to make the diagnosis. The optimal antimicrobial therapy for hepatic bartonellosis has not been established, and close follow-up is needed to ensure successful eradication of the infection.

 

 

NY Governor must sign Lyme bill

Editorial: Governor must sign Lyme disease bill

Friday, November 14, 2014

From The Daily Gazette

Schenectady, NY

Gazette Editorial pages

With the Polar Vortex upon us and the Ebola scare closer in the rearview mirror than it appears, right now might seem like an odd time to be talking about Lyme disease.

But the governor and the state Legislature will return to Albany soon, and on their desks is a bill that could help treat this terrible, growing tick-borne illness.

The legislation, entitled the Patients' Rights/Doctor Protection bill (S.7854/A.7558B), would enable doctors to use effective forms of long-term treatment on patients with Lyme disease and other tick-borne illnesses without fear of being charged with professional misconduct or loss of medical license.

We're not talking about turning our backs on legitimate medical science and allowing any quack to invent his own treatment for the disease.

We're talking about allowing government regulators to be flexible when doctors employ new, long-term antibiotic treatments to care for patients suffering from pain and chronic health problems due to long bouts with it.

The medical community is particularly wary of long-term antibiotic treatments. But such long-term treatment is sometimes necessary to fight stubborn cases of Lyme disease where short doses of antibiotics haven't worked.

The reason we should care about this bill is because Lyme disease is growing at epidemic levels. There are more than 300,000 new cases of Lyme disease in the U.S. each year, and New York has among the highest rates in the country.

The epicenter for the state is the Mid-Hudson Valley area. But cases also are prevalent in our area. In 2011, according to a Gazette report in 2013, Schenectady County reported 79 cases of Lyme Disease; Schoharie County, 29; Saratoga County, 525; Rensselaer County, 656; Montgomery County, 30; Fulton County, 8; and Albany County, 364.

The number of confirmed cases has grown exponentially during the past two decades and is expected to continue to grow at an alarming rate.

And just because it's getting cold out doesn't mean the threat is over. While they're generally active during the spring and summer, disease-spreading ticks can still be prevalent through Thanksgiving and can even be a threat in winter.

The state and individual counties have information about ticks and Lyme Disease on their websites. so visit them for more information about how to prevent, identify and treat the disease.

But for people who already suffer from it, and for whom short-term antibiotic treatments didn't cure them, it's imperative that the state give them relief.

The bill has already passed both houses of the Legislature. The governor now needs to sign it and let doctors do what's necessary.

The source:

 http://www.dailygazette.com/news/2014/nov/14/1114_editlyme/