Letter to the author of paper that 'disproves Lyme-Alzheimer's connection'

Okay, here's some interesting reading by a Lyme activist, Carl Tuttle. It's a letter to the author of a recent article in a medical journal that claimed a new study has disproven a link between Lyme disease and Alzheimer's. Check it out. There's a little background history that's interesting, also. 

Down at the bottom there is a petition that Carl has been circulating for some time, calling for a Congressional hearing on the debate about the existence of chronic Lyme disease. He has over 22,000 signatures so far. Check that out, too, if you haven't seen it before.

-Bob

Study disproves link between Lyme and Alzheimer's diseases

by Blake Eligh

http://medicalxpress.com/news/2014-07-link-lyme-alzheimer-diseases.html
Journal of Alzheimer's Disease, May 19, 2014. DOI: 10.3233/JAD-140552

Collexis Holdings, Inc.
Life Science Solutions Leader
Europe, Via Bramantino 1, 6600
Locarno, Switzerland
Corresponding author: Aaron A. Sorensen
E-mail: sorensen@collexis.com

Dear Aaron Sorensen, 

In reference to the study disproving Lyme and Alzheimer's disease with its so-called "Author-disambiguation algorithms and bibliometric analysis platforms" where is the microscopic and biochemical evidence for this conclusion?

The Barry Marshall affect on chronic disease

Excerpt from the link above: (Must read entire link when you have a moment)

Twenty five years before researchers Barry Marshall and Robin Warren discovered H. pylori was causing peptic ulcer disease (not stress or diet) a physician in Greece was successfully treating with antibiotics.

John Lykoudis, a general practitioner in Greece reportedly treated more than 30,000 patients.

Now imagine if you will that a bacterium was responsible for the chronic diseases of our time; Multiple Sclerosis, Lupus, Lou Gehrig's, disease, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's disease, or Fibromyalgia? How large is the existing revenue stream for treating these diseases? Calculating exact numbers would be insurmountable.

Ironically these are the same diseases that Lyme patients are routinely misdiagnosed with as we hear the stories over and over again at support group meetings. If Lyme patients don't obtain the correct diagnosis then their "misdiagnosis" is treated maintaining the status quo which would be motivation for refusing long-term antibiotic treatment.

Lykoudis was unable to persuade the Greek medical establishment regarding efficacy of his treatment and was given a fine of 4000 drachmas by a disciplinary committee, and indicted in the Greek courts while unable to get drug companies interested in treatment.

Like Marshall and Warren, Lykoudis found physicians resist challenges to prevailing medical dogma. Ulcers were such a cash cow for gastroenterologists and surgeons that the Mayo Clinic for example was built on gastric surgery. Surgeons and drug companies had a vested interest in maintaining the status quo. That revenue stream however would soon dry up.

History repeats itself.

If late stage untreated Lyme represents say only 25% of today's chronic illnesses it still presents a substantial threat to existing revenue streams. It is blatantly obvious that what has been put in place has been done so to deny the chronic or late stage Lyme epidemic.

Comparison of Lyme Disease Prevalence and Disease Reporting in an Endemic Area

http://article.sapub.org/10.5923.j.microbiology.20130306.11.html#Sec5

Journal of Microbiology Research

doi:10.5923/j.microbiology.20130306.11

Holly Ahern Biology Department, State University of New York at Adirondack, Queensbury, NY, 12804, USA

In this study 16% of respondents experienced cardiac, rheumatologic, or neurological symptoms consistent with late-stage Lyme disease. Comparing late-stage Lyme symptoms to the general population was a brilliant idea because we believe the vast majority of Lyme patients are already in the healthcare system being treated for everything else but Lyme.

Our current 2-tier Lyme disease analysis has a sensitivity of 59% which is not much better than a coin toss. Faulty diagnostic tests have led to the disability of tens of thousands of Lyme patients through misdiagnosis and delayed treatment. Late stage Lyme disease does not respond well to short courses of antibiotics leaving these patients with the dilemma and financial burden of finding a way to treat beyond the IDSA's one-size-fits-all treatment guideline. It is time to recognize that serodiagnostics for Lyme disease is inherently flawed and should be scrapped for testing capable of measuring treatment failure or success in all stages of disease. (Unless of course it is necessary to hide evidence of persistent infection for some undisclosed purpose.)

Author-disambiguation algorithms and bibliometric analysis platforms are not a substitute for accurate/reliable diagnostic tests.

Respectfully Submitted,

 
Carl Tuttle
33 David Dr
Hudson, NH 03051 

Petition: Calling for a Congressional investigation of the CDC, IDSA and ALDF  (22,431 signatures and growing)

Letter to the Editor, The Lancet Infectious Diseases Published May 2012

The Tuttle family was featured on New Hampshire Chronicle's "Living with Lyme" with the program archived on their site in six small segments for viewing on the computer

Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6