Rutgers researchers: Mold can cause symptoms that mimic Parkinson's

By Kathleen O'Brien/The Star-Ledger
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on November 11, 2013 at 3:08 PM, updated November 11, 2013 at 6:08 PM

Rutgers fungus expert Joan Bennett had always been a skeptic of "sick building syndrome" – the notion the air in a building can be so toxic it makes people sick.

Then the home she owned in New Orleans was flooded by Hurricane Katrina in 2005. While others would mourn their losses, Bennett got busy taking swabs of mold, intent on studying them back in New Jersey, where she and her husband had temporarily relocated.

In collecting them, however, she said she immediately felt ill, despite wearing gloves, a mask and protective gear. The dizziness, headaches and nausea she experienced made her open to the possibility that small amounts of mold can harm people.

"The odor just made me feel horrible, and I thought, ‘Aha!’ Maybe there’s something in these gasses," said Bennett, now a professor of plant biology and pathology at Rutgers. "I became a convert."

From that research came today’s announcement she and her colleagues had located a chemical emitted by mold that gives fruit flies the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease.

Their finding was published today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences....

See the rest of the story:
http://www.nj.com/news/index.ssf/2013/11/rutgers_researchers_mold_can_cause_symptoms_that_mimic_parkinsons.html

Treating Lyme with heat

Fire, the Great Purifier
October 31, 2010
By ©Caroline Sojourner

Give me a chance to create a fever and I will cure any disease. Parmenides.

Heating the body by various means can bring major relief from the miseries of Lyme. A regular practice of some form of high-temperature therapy will help to keep down the symptoms of Lyme.

Low Body Temperature in Illness

People who are chronically or seriously ill usually have below-normal body temperature. The immune system in a colder body becomes less active. A proper temperature is necessary for herbs and supplements to be effective; it is necessary for the production of enzymes; and it is necessary for the formation of red blood cells....

The rest of the story...
http://totalhealing.info/livinghighwithlyme/http:/totalhealing.info/livinghighwithlyme/fire-the-great-purifier#.T1lnUGlapy4.facebook

Under Our Skin movie about Lyme seen widely

Here's the latest scoop on the success of the Lyme documentary that everyone interested in Lyme should see at least once

UNDER OUR SKIN: Lyme Awareness Month Roundup, DVD Price Drop

Community support is helping save lives one viewing at a time

With the Lyme disease epidemic unchecked and the medical-industrial complex failing those in need, UNDER OUR SKIN continues to open eyes and change minds. Last month was National Lyme Disease Awareness Month and, in honor of this, we created initiatives to encourage and support community screenings nationwide. Over 50 educational screenings took place in the one month. In addition, UNDER OUR SKIN was rebroadcast on public television stations 112 times in May, and there are an additional 33 airdates scheduled in June (including New York, LA, and San Francisco), bringing the film's total reach to 84% of the U.S. As a way to continue to support community engagement and widespread viewing of the film, we've dropped the price of our Community Use DVD to $79. We also have a number of new package specials on our online store. And, remember, we're always here to help you organize and promote your events, so stay in touch!‣ Learn more

Lyme Conference video from Skidmore College now available online

The live webcast of the Lyme conference hosted by Skidmore College in New York last week was quite emotional at times, and certainly informative. Missed it? No worries. The video stream was recorded for those who want to watch it after the fact.

They broke it into three parts. (Loved the typo in the file names - 'bourne' instead of 'borne'. Someone's got the Bourne Supremacy on their mind. Then again, taking on the CDC, IDSA, and NY State is kind of in the action-movie category.)

IMHO, Drs Richard Horowitz and Kenneth Leigner were the big attractions. Horowitz gave a high-energy Power Point mini-course in Lyme and associated diseases. Leigner fully socked it to the establishment IDSA contingent, with a dressing down the likes of which I hadn't heard from an LLMD before. Pam Weintraub was the keynote speaker - passionate and articulate as always.

For direct links to the videos, you can click here:

Part 1:
http://livestre.am/3TIV9

Part 2:
http://livestre.am/3U6GK
At 1:47 (one hour, 47 minutes) into part 2, Dr. Leigner makes his compelling statement.

Part 3:
http://livestre.am/3U8oL

Here's the program and list of speakers:

Schedule

9:00 Morning Session Opens Christina T. Fisk, Co-Chair Organizing Committee
Welcome to LymeNEXT Congressman Chris Gibson, 20th Congressional District, NY

9:15 Keynote Address
Into the Woods: The Patient Journey through Lyme Disease
Pamela Weintraub, Executive Editor, Discover Magazine and author of Cure Unknown: Inside the Lyme Epidemic

10:00 The Scope and Economic Burden of Lyme Disease
An Epidemic of Lyme Disease? Holly Ahern
The Economic Impact and Burden of Lyme Disease Lorraine Johnson

11:15 A Diagnosis that Fits the Disease - Multiple Chronic Infectious Disease Syndrome (MCIDS) Richard I. Horowitz, MD

1:20 Afternoon Session Opens Christina T. Fisk, Co-Chair Organizing Committee

1:30 Protecting Physicians who Treat Lyme Disease Daniel Cameron, MD

2:00 Preventing Transfusion-Transmitted Babesiosis David Leiby, PhD

2:45 New Methods for Lyme and TBD Detection Ahmed Kilani, PhD

3:15 A “Manhattan Project” for Lyme Disease Kenneth Liegner, MD

3:45 Closing Remarks Congressman Chris Gibson

micro biomes studies of bugs in our guts and body

Copyright: Science Photo Library

I picked this up from the Lymedisease.org web site. It's a BBC article about gut bacteria and how strong a roll it plays in keeping us well (and making us sick if it is messed up). -Bob

Sun Apr 15, 2012 6:25 pm (PDT)

It is about the microscopic bugs that live all over your body – on your skin, in your mouth, in your nose, and in particular your digestive tract. These bugs are so numerous that they outnumber your own cells by a factor of 10. You are vastly more microbe than human.

Before you get so disgusted you stop reading, consider this: many of these bugs are as essential to your life as your own cells. These microbes have been around since before humans existed, and our bodies have evolved to adapt to their presence just as they have adapted to ours.

They are also – to quote one expert – the “last frontier” of medical research, a crucial aspect of our health that scientists rarely considered until recently. It is also one of the most daunting challenges facing biologists today.

“We know next to nothing about this whole universe that we host,” according to Bruce Birren, co-director of the Genome Sequencing and Analysis Program at the Broad Institute, a research collaborative between Harvard and MIT scientists. “It’s as if we’re coming to a planet for the first time and asking: what do we find?”.....

The rest of the story is here:

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20120412-the-beasts-inside-you

Tai Chi helps with Parkinson's disease

Tai Chi may improve Parkinson's symptoms: research

An hour of Tai Chi twice a week can improve stability and walking ability in people with Parkinson's disease, a study has found.

To read more:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9069156/Tai-Chi-may-improve-Parkinsons-symptoms-research.html

Essentiale-N IV’s

Essentiale-N IV’s: PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE IS LIFE

The work of Patricia Kane PhD has brought to light the crucial importance of phosphatidylcholine (PC). Perhaps you have never heard of it. It is a component of lecithin, and the major phospholipid of every human cell membrane. It is also a precursor to acetylcholine, a major neurotransmitter, via its intermediary choline. It is used in orthodox medicine for the treatment and prophylaxis of fatty embolism, and is the active ingredient in Plaque-X which has been marketed and used In Europe for the treatment of arteriosclerosis and reversal of plaque for many years. Drs Kane and Braccia have developed their own protocol for administration of the imported Essential- N brand of PC and have been applying it clinically for neurodetoxification and for the treatment of neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s, MS, and ALS, as well as Lyme, CFIDS, fibromyalgia, autism, hepatitis, and mood disorders. The “PK Protocol” named after originator Patricia Kane PhD, involves IV push of lower doses of stabilized PC known as Essential –N. This is the product Caring Medical now uses for all therapeutic administration of PC. Certain neurologic conditions will require twice daily injections of PC, often followed by IV glutathione, but the maximum amount of Essentiale-N per IVP is 2 vials or 10cc given up to twice daily. The usual frequency of IV’s is twice weekly. Successful therapy with PC is associated with a drop in serum CPK. and improvement in the FACT vision testing score. The IV is administered as a short IV push. ...

See rest of article:

http://www.caringmedical.com/media_articles/Essentiale-N_IVs_PHOSPHATIDYLCHOLINE_IS_LIFE.htm

GcMAF for Treating Lyme

Mt. Sinai ME/CFS conference - De Meirleir lecture

My LLMD recently prescribed GcMAF for treating my Lyme/Parkinson's. GcMAF (Gc protein macrophage activation factor) is an immune-regulating compound developed in Europe that may have benefit for those of us struggling with immune system-related issues, such as Lyme disease, CFS, etc. Below is a description and link to a web site about CFS, with a video about GcMAF.

Six presentations were given at the Mt. Sinai ME/CFS Research and Treatment Center conference on Sunday November 20, 2011. Here is a lecture delivered by Dr. Kenny De Meirleir, who practices medicine in Brussels. Dr. De Meirleir has worked with ME/CFS patients for many years and is seen as one of the foremost ME/CFS Clinician/Researchers. Dr. De Meirleir spoke for a half-hour on the compassionate use of GcMAF in this patient population. Dr. De Meirleir will be associated with this new ME/CFS Center at Mt. Sinai- as a clinical consultant.

see video here:
.
http://cfspatientadvocate.blogspot.com/2011/11/mt-sinai-mecfs-conference-de-meirleir.html

US FDA Fails to Outlaw Amalgams

After enormous public pressure from scientists, dentists, health professionals, and consumers, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) promised to make an announcement about dental amalgam by the end of 2011.

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2012/01/17/fda-action-on-dental-amalgam.aspx?e_cid=20120117_DNL_art_1

Herbs, Hormones, and Heavy Metals

Here's a 53-page PowerPoint presentation by Dr. Richard Horowitz about Lyme treatments, detox, metals, efficacy of herbal treatments, and treatment of hormone imbalances. This is a PDF file on the ILADS site.
http://www.ilads.org/files/compendium07/Horowitz.pdf

Latest Pesticide Info from EWG

EWG Dirty Dozen

 

Environment Working Group (EWG) just released its 2011 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce -- an update to the handy guide that helps you avoid the Dirty Dozen, conventional fruits and vegetables that are highest in pesticide residues -- and choose items from the Clean 15 list instead. Eat healthier and save money at the same time!

What's new? The popular apple is now at the top of the Dirty Dozen as the fruit or veggie highest in pesticides. And for the first time, cilantro is also on the list. Testing by federal scientists found 33 unapproved pesticides on 44 percent of the cilantro samples tested -- the highest percentage of unapproved pesticides recorded on any item since EWG started tracking the data in 1995. Mushrooms also make their first appearance on the Shopper's Guide as part of the Clean 15.

What else is new? Click here to see EWG's 2011 Shopper's Guide to Pesticides in Produce!