Saturday, October 17, 2015
Friday, October 16, 2015
Cancer Researcher Who Nearly Died of Lyme Discusses the Similarities Between the Two Diseases
Neil Spector, MD, author of Gone in a Heartbeat: A Physician's Search for True Healing will speak at the International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) annual conference.
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL., October 15, 2015-- Neil Spector, MD knows cancer. As a leading researcher, he led the development of two targeted cancer therapies which were FDA approved. He is currently the Sandra Coates Chair in Breast Cancer Research at Duke University. But in 2009, Dr. Spector faced his own mortality when a physician informed him he would die without a heart transplant. Dr. Spector's heart had been destroyed by an undiagnosed case of Lyme disease.
Dr. Spector will discuss his experiences as an oncologist and Lyme disease survivor on Friday, October 16, 2015 at the ILADS conference being held at the Marriott Harbor Beach Resort in Fr. Lauderdale, Florida. His presentation is titled: How Lessons from Personalized Cancer Care Can Inform Management of Lyme Disease.
Vit C in treatment of Lyme.
Here are some links to the use of Vitamin C in healing infections
- Mycobacterium tuberculosis is extraordinarily sensitive to killing by a vitamin C-induced Fenton reaction
- Vitamin C may affect lung infections
- Mercola:
- Vitamin C: The "Miracle Nutrient" that Cured Man on the Brink of Death
- Vitamin C: A Concentration-Function Approach Yields Pharmacology and Therapeutic Discoveries
- The relation of vitamin C to bacterial infection
- Vitamin C in Health and Disease
Tuesday, October 13, 2015
New Lyme disease center at Spaulding treats lingering symptoms (Boston)
Reprinted from the Boston Globe
By Kay Lazar GLOBE STAFF OCTOBER 12, 2015
Oct 12, 2015
Attn: Dr. Nevena Zubcevik
Dear Dr Zubcevik,
Thank you for your involvement with Lyme patients and lingering symptoms at the Spaulding Rehabilitation Hospital
Our family had a prolonged exposure to the Lyme bacterium before diagnosis so we missed the narrow window of opportunity for successful short term treatment. I suspect it was a twelve year exposure for me before diagnosis and perhaps four years for my daughter. There are no treatment guidelines for this class of patient and most who went this long are usually incapacitated. When finally diagnosed in the fall of 2008 I was bedridden, on oxygen and nearly died.
As far as objective signs of disease both my daughter and I currently have reactivated Epstein Barr virus which may offer an explanation for the daily bouts of exhaustion that I still experience requiring that I nap frequently. (Mononucleosis has been labeled the sleeping sickness) My daughter's CD57 NK levels are very low (16, reference range: 60-360) as is her IgA levels. She is also testing positive to the B19 Parvovirus. It has been recommended that she see an immunologist and undergo IVIG therapy for her immune dysfunction. It would appear that our immune systems have been compromised allowing these viruses to remain active. The stimulants Vyvanse for ADD and Provigil that my daughter has been prescribed allow her to work but without these amphetamines she does not function well at all. A recent cold turned into yet another sinus infection and she experiences recurrent yeast infections.
It has been suggested that Lyme is immunosuppressive causing a post-sepsis like immunosuppression: (AIDS-like disease)
Dormant viruses re-emerge in patients with lingering sepsis, signaling immune suppression
June 11, 2014
Sepsis-induced immunosuppression: from cellular dysfunctions to immunotherapy.
NEW, by the NIH: "Surviving Sepsis: Detection and Treatment Advances"
By Carolyn Beans for the National Institutes of Health | August 18, 2014 08:43am ET
http://www.livescience.com/47387-sepsis-diagnosis-treatment-research-nigms.html
http://www.livescience.com/47387-sepsis-diagnosis-treatment-research-nigms.html
Preventing Secondary Infections
"Some people who survive sepsis can develop secondary infections days or even months later. A research team that included Richard Hotchkiss, Jonathan Green and Gregory Storch of Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis suspected that this is because sepsis might cause lasting damage to the immune system. To test this hypothesis, the scientists compared viral activation in people with sepsis, other critically ill people and healthy individuals. The researchers looked for viruses like Epstein-Barr and herpes simplex that are often dormant in healthy people but can reactivate in those with suppressed immune systems. [Sepsis Has Long-Term Impact for Older Adults, Study Finds]"
Lyme disease subverts immune system, prevents future protection
July 2, 2015
"The bacteria that cause Lyme disease are able to trick an animal's immune system into not launching a full-blown immune response or developing lasting immunity to the disease, report researchers at the University of California , Davis ."
_______________________________________________________________
Per the following study, reactivated Epstein Barr was cleared after anti-malarial treatment:
PLoS One. 2011;6(10):e26266. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0026266. Epub 2011 Oct 24.
Effect of acute Plasmodium falciparum malaria on reactivation and shedding of the eight human herpes viruses.
Author information
1Department of Microbiology Tumor and Cell Biology (MTC), Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm
Abstract
Human herpes viruses (HHVs) are widely distributed pathogens. In immuno-competent individuals their clinical outcomes are generally benign but in immuno-compromised hosts, primary infection or extensive viral reactivation can lead to critical diseases. Plasmodium falciparum malaria profoundly affects the host immune system. In this retrospective study, we evaluated the direct effect of acute P. falciparum infection on reactivation and shedding of all known human herpes viruses (HSV-1, HSV-2, VZV, EBV, CMV, HHV-6, HHV-7, HHV-8). We monitored their presence by real time PCR in plasma and saliva of Ugandan children with malaria at the day of admission to the hospital (day-0) and 14 days later (after treatment), or in children with mild infections unrelated to malaria. For each child screened in this study, at least one type of HHV was detected in the saliva. HHV-7 and HHV-6 were detected in more than 70% of the samples and CMV in approximately half. HSV-1, HSV-2, VZV and HHV-8 were detected at lower frequency. During salivary shedding the highest mean viral load was observed for HSV-1 followed by EBV, HHV-7, HHV-6, CMV and HHV-8. After anti-malarial treatment the salivary HSV-1 levels were profoundly diminished or totally cleared. Similarly, four children with malaria had high levels of circulating EBV at day-0, levels that were cleared after anti-malarial treatment confirming the association between P. falciparum infection and EBV reactivation. This study shows that acute P. falciparum infection can contribute to EBV reactivation in the blood and HSV-1 reactivation in the oral cavity. Taken together our results call for further studies investigating the potential clinical implications of HHVs reactivation in children suffering from malaria.
So what is my point to all this you might ask?
It is quite possible that reactivated viruses found in Post-Treatment Lyme Disease Syndrome are actually an indirect marker for persistent Borrelia infection.
Respectfully submitted,
Carl Tuttle
Website: New Hampshire Lyme Misdiagnosis
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
Wednesday, October 7, 2015
Alpha-synuclein and Parkinson's Disease
What is alpha-synuclein?
Alpha-synuclein (also α-synuclein) is a protein whose function in the healthy brain is currently unknown. It is of great interest to Parkinson's researchers because it is a major constituent of Lewy bodies, protein clumps that are the pathological hallmark of Parkinson's disease.....
https://www.michaeljfox.org/mobile/topic.php?alpha-synuclein
Tuesday, October 6, 2015
Dr Horowitz's presentation
Dr. Richard Horowitz is one of the lead researchers and doctors dealing with Lyme treatment and education. He has recently published a book called "Why can't I get better?" This is a very clear explanation of what is going on with Lyme and associated diseases, infections, toxicity, endocrine issues, and allergies. He was asked to give a presentation to the Belgium Senate, so he put this talk together. It's 35 minutes long and covers all the important bases. Please watch and comment.
Friday, October 2, 2015
Current Issues in and Approaches to Antimicrobial Resistance
Policy
ISSUE: OCTOBER 2015 | VOLUME: 19
Here is the second article on antimicrobial resistance that came to my attention on the same day as the previous one that I just posted. This one is very long and detailed.-Bob
An overview of the current clinical challenges and approaches to managment
Paul Cook, MD
Chief, Division of Infectious Diseases
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina
East Carolina University
Greenville, North Carolina
Antimicrobial resistance is a global threat to human health. The use and overuse of antibiotics have perpetuated and exacerbated this problem.1 In 2010, US health care providers prescribed 258 million courses of antibiotics in the outpatient setting, resulting in 833 prescriptions per 1,000 persons.2 In the hospital setting, it is estimated that up to 50% of all antibiotics are prescribed improperly or needlessly.3
Annually, more than 2 million individuals are infected with antibiotic-resistant organisms.4These patients are at increased risk for mortality and morbidity, extended hospitalizations, and increased health care costs.5 The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that in the United States alone, more than 23,000 people die as a result of antibiotic-resistant infections each year.4 The cost of antimicrobial resistance has been estimated to exceed $20 billion.6,7 As a result, the CDC now classifies antimicrobial resistance as one of the most serious health threats worldwide.4
Read the rest of the story. This is a very detailed article with lots of charts and info about specific antibiotic resistance.
Trojan Horse Antibiotics Smuggle Agents Into Bacteria
Oct 2, 2015
by iDSE staff
SAN DIEGO—New Trojan horse antibiotics that are based on molecules made by the bacteria themselves may circumvent some of the most prevalent bacterial resistance processes, and keep physicians one step ahead in the never-ending war against the microbe, according to a presentation made in San Diego during the 2015 Interscience Conference of Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy International Congress of Chemotherapy and Infection.
Bacteria need iron for growth and virulence. The concentration of iron in mammalian hosts is much too low to sustain bacteria. Under these extreme iron-deficient events, bacteria produce small molecules called siderophores (iron carriers), which are low-molecular-weight, highly selective, molecules that bind to iron, according to Marvin J. Miller, PhD, the George and Winifred Clark Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry at the University of Notre Dame in Indiana..,.
The rest of the story: