Death plunge of the wealthy woman turned paranoid by a tick bite

Note the lack of detail at the bottom of the article. The "bull's eye" rash often does not occur,  or is on a part of the body where the victim cannot see it. There should be mention of the CDC just increasing the estimated number of annual cases in the US by a factor of 10, from 30,000 to 300,000. Lyme carditis (inflammation of the heart) and heart block (blocking of the signal from the brain to the heart telling it to beat) are also missing, even though there was recent wide-spread press coverage of three young people dying from Lyme carditis in the US within the last 10 months.  If you feel so inclined, please write to the publisher of The Daily Mail and kindly request more in-depth coverage of Lyme in the UK. I have recently been informed by a Lyme patient from the UK that there is essentially zero coverage of Lyme disease treatment by the National Health insurance program.  -Bob

Death plunge of the wealthy woman turned paranoid by a tick bite

From The Daily Mail, "Mail Online"
(c) The Daily Mail, UK
Sunday Feb 2, 2014

A woman plunged to her death from her bedroom window after suffering paranoid delusions caused by a tick bite, an inquest heard.

Jan Linton, 56, was bitten when she stayed on a friend's nine-acre estate in France.

Within six months she was acting "very strangely" and claimed the police were "out to get her", Westminster Coroner's Court was told.

Depression, suicide and inflammation

A rather technical abstract, but an important study about depression and suicidality. As you kay know, a major cause of sickness and aging turns out to be low-grade, systemic inflammation. Lyme disease (among other bacterial and microbial invaders of the body) can cause such low-level inflammation. Here's a brief summary of a scientific study linking inflammation andr suicide.

AnNeuropsychopharmacology. 2013 Apr;38(5):743-52. doi: 10.1038/npp.2012.248. Epub

2012 Dec 3.

 

Connecting inflammation with glutamate agonism in suicidality.

 

Erhardt S, Lim CK, Linderholm KR, Janelidze S, Lindqvist D, Samuelsson M,

Lundberg K, Postolache TT, Träskman-Bendz L, Guillemin GJ, Brundin L.

 

Author information:

Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm,

Sweden.

 

The NMDA-receptor antagonist ketamine has proven efficient in reducing symptoms of suicidality, although the mechanisms explaining this effect have not been detailed in psychiatric patients. Recent evidence points towards a low-grade inflammation in brains of suicide victims. Inflammation leads to production of quinolinic acid (QUIN) and kynurenic acid (KYNA), an agonist and antagonist of the glutamatergic N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, respectively. 

We here measured QUIN and KYNA in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) of 64 medication-free suicide attempters and 36 controls, using gas chromatography mass spectrometry and high-performance liquid chromatography. We assessed the patients clinically using the Suicide Intent Scale and the Montgomery-Asberg Depression Rating Scale (MADRS). We found that QUIN, but not KYNA, was significantly elevated in the CSF of suicide attempters (P<0.001). 

As predicted, the increase in QUIN was associated with higher levels of CSF interleukin-6. Moreover, QUIN levels correlated with the total scores on Suicide Intent Scale. There was a significant decrease of QUIN in patients who came for follow-up lumbar punctures within 6 months after the suicide attempt. In summary, we here present clinical evidence of increased QUIN in the CSF of suicide attempters. An increased QUIN/KYNA quotient speaks in favor of an overall NMDA-receptor stimulation. The correlation between QUIN and the Suicide Intent Scale indicates that changes in glutamatergic neurotransmission could be specifically linked to suicidality. Our findings have important implications for the detection and specific treatment of suicidal patients, and might explain the observed remedial effects of ketamine.

 

PMCID: PMC3671988

PMID: 23299933  [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]

 

Depression and Autoimmunity: The Biological Connection

This is a very interesting article about depression and inflammation. This fits with my experience, that's for sure. When my body has been undergoing inflammation due to infection (for example, a flu, or a Lyme flareup), I get depressed. The tendency is to think I'm doing something wrong, mentally, emotionally. I can become very self-critical about my entire life, choices I've made, etc. I believe that if I just do something different, I will stop my depression. Trained as a psychotherapist, this makes sense, of course. But what if I'm wrong? What if this is just 'the disease talking' ? Well, it looks as though that just might be right. - Bob

Depression and Autoimmunity: The Biological Connection
August 21, 2013

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Comorbid depression is common with chronic inflammatory illnesses such as rheumatoid arthritis and psoriasis. The cycle of symptoms even appears to track simultaneously: For instance, it has been known for some time that depression accompanies psoriasis flares, and resolves when the flares subside.

New research suggests that this depression is no mere reactive consequence of the "frustration and discouragement associated with the illness," as Andrew J. Cutler MD puts it in this recorded interview. It is a "true, underlying biological process" recognizable by measuring mediators of inflammation.

Here Dr. Cutler sheds light on the relationship between neurotransmitters, mediators of inflammation, depression, and chronic disease. He is board certified in internal medicine and psychiatry. Dr. Cutler is on the clinical faculty in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Florida. He is also CEO and Chief Medical Officer of the Florida Clinical Research Center in Bradenton.

Key quotes:

• Depression is not only an illness that is seen by psychiatrists. All physicians need to be aware of this, especially as we learn more about the common underlying biologies and the relationships between some very common illnesses and depression.

• People who have chronic medical conditions such as ... rheumatoid arthritis or autoimmune conditions ... are at risk for depression. What's been under-appreciated is that this is not just a reactive depression ... We now know that the same biologic conditions that are causing the primary condition ... can cause changes in the brain that induce depression.

• The brain is loaded with hormone receptors and also cytokine receptors, and we know that some of these inflammatory cytokines have a negative effect on the brain's ability to make ... the neurotransmitters serotonin, norepinephrine, and dopamine. ... involved with the pathogenesis of depression. We also know that inflammation can prevent neurogenesis and be toxic to nerve cells. 

• Charles Raison ... treated a group of patients with depression with infliximab. ... He found that overall the drug did not beat placebo at treating depression. However, he found that when markers for inflammation were elevated, those patients did respond and the depression got better. This is the first time we have a biologic treatment rather than the standard antidepressants.

Read the rest of the story: http://www.musculoskeletalnetwork.com/rheumatic-diseases/content/article/1145622/2155014?GUID=4DB58E07-09DF-49B8-A2C3-4704E7037D8C&rememberme=1&ts=22082013

REFERENCE:
Raison CL, Rutherford RE, Woolwine BJ et al. A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Tumor Necrosis Factor Antagonist Infliximab for Treatment-Resistant Depression:  The Role of Baseline Inflammatory Biomarkers. JAMA Psychiatry (2013) 70:31-41

My Post to the Katie Couric show

At the end of the Catie Couric show yesterday afternoon (Oct 9, 2013), she invited anyone interested to 'keep the conversation going' by going to her site and telling our stories, etc. Here's what I sent in. So far I can't find it listed among the more than 1200 comments that are rolling in. Perhaps it was too long, so I'll post it here for anyone who's interested in reading it...

Dear Katie,

Thank you so much for covering this difficult topic on your show, and being so genteel yet also bringing both sides of the controversy together so adeptly.  You and your staff chose your guests well.

I want to share with you my story, and a few opinions after dealing with Lyme issues for a decade.

I grew up in eastern Pennsylvania, and often worked and played in the woods. Woods and deer surrounded our house. I worked as a surveyor's apprentice and for a tree surgeon as summer jobs. Thus, it was not uncommon to have ticks on me after a day's work. 

I am now 60 and live in California, where I have been since 1977. At ages 18, 30, and 50 I had major meltdowns. My symptoms were feelings of pressure in the neck and head, insomnia, depression, and anxiety, mostly. Age 50 was the worst. The other two events lasted 1-2 year, and eventually self-corrected.

But at age 50, I did not recover, and I was incredibly ill. My mind went haywire to the point where I had to go to psychotherapy every day for a month, at the outset, just to prevent me from committing suicide.

Is a Tick Bite Causing Your Depression?

The symptoms your doc could be missing

From Prevention magazine
By Leah Zerbe


However you feel about the mild winter we just experienced (Yay for less shoveling! Boo for global warming!), one thing no one’s excited about: The explosion in the tick population it caused. And while most people know that ticks can carry Lyme disease, many of us know very little about the hard-to-pin-down disease. Here’s how to recognize the symptoms and protect yourself from Lyme disease.

What is Lyme disease? There’s a reason experts call it “The Great Imitator.” Lyme disease results from inflammation caused by Lyme bacteria, and the symptoms can mimic everything from rheumatoid arthritis and lupus to anxiety disorders and depression. Most often the result of a tick bite, Lyme disease's range of devastation is daunting: The same Lyme germ causing joint pain in one person could lead to symptoms associated with multiple sclerosis and Lou Gehrig's disease in another.

Read more:

http://www.prevention.com/mind-body/emotional-health/what-you-need-know-about-lyme-disease

Portrait of Bob and his meds

I was digging through my supplies the other day and realized that I wanted to visually document the preposterous amount of supplements, prescription drugs, Chinese medicine, homeopathics, needles, syringes, saline bags, and so on that I have in my Lyme-fighting arsenal. Even I was amazed (and depressed about) how many jars, bottles, vials, tubes, bags, and so forth I have purchased over the years, not to mention that my poor liver and kidneys and other body parts have had to assimilate, break down, and excrete these drugs. All this stuff has cost hundreds of dollars, if not thousands. 

I also thought it would be good for my doctors (and any doctors reading this) to get a sense of what a typical chronic-Lyme disease patient has to deal with over time. 

I decided to organize them outdoors, on top of my defunct hot tub. (A friend Photoshop'ed in the sky, replacing the dead plants and drab redwood wall). Looks kind of goofy, but I did the setup of all the bottles and whatnot there simply because there was good light for a photo, and I don't have another flat surface to put everything on.

It's a full-time job just remembering what to take, and when!

In the lower photo you can see the general layout. The glass vials in the middle are empty Ceftriaxone (AKA Rocephin, an antibiotic) IV bottles, along with tiny ones that were filled with glutathione and phosphatidyl choline, which I take IV to help the liver do its detox job better.  

Rx drugs are on the right, Chinese herbs are just behind the Rocephin bottles and in the little plastic (front, left). Homeopathics are in the dropper bottles behind the Chinese herbs. Just about everything else are supplements (aminos, vitamins, and various herbs, heavy-metal binders, etc). My IV pole with some Rocephin in the bag/line is standing next to me. 

On the back, right are glass vials of seawater from some supposedly-magical source off the coast of France. A homeopath/naturopath sold me those. It's called Quinton water. Supposedly good JuJu in that water, but I didn't notice anything. You have to break off the tip of a glass vial in order to get the Quinton water out. A tad scarey the first couple of times. I was afraid I'd cut myself, not to mention my fear of drinking little glass shards. In the back, middle, are heparin and saline flushes (pre-loaded single-use syringes). You go through a lot of those if you have a PICC or a Port. 

I had forgotten about some of these chapters of my treatment. I'd rather not remember, actually. There have been so many!

A bit more of a close-up to make things more visible.

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

Is A Tick Bite Causing Your Depression?

The symptoms your doc could be missing

By Leah Zerbe

However you feel about the mild winter we just experienced (Yay for less shoveling! Boo for global warming!), one thing no one’s excited about: The explosion in the tick population it caused. And while most people know that ticks can carry Lyme disease, many of us know very little about the hard-to-pin-down disease. Here’s how to recognize the symptoms and protect yourself from Lyme disease.

Read article: http://www.prevention.com/health/emotional-health/what-you-need-know-about-lyme-disease#ixzz1uyFAasqH

\

Thoughts about Depression

Depression and intense anxiety have been my primary symptoms when I have had acute Lyme flareups. The depressions have been sudden, quite scary, and sometimes long-lasting. It is as though my brain and emotions fall into a deep, dark well. The closest description I have found was wriiten by William Styron in his little book called Darkness Visible. Here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/Darkness-Visible-A-Memoir-Madness/dp/0679736395

After reading this and sharing with family members, I felt less alone. I knew that at least a famous writer really understood. I was a struggling author and so his story was one I could relate to. Then I started serious psychotherapy, and even earned a masters degree in psychotherapy, at age 55, to better understand myself and to help others.

When I saw my psychotherapy clients who were experiencing clinical depression I really understood that depression is a truly dark hell-realm. When I was in this depressed place, it was nearly impossible to remember that it was the result of how my brain was working, that it can be temporary, and that there is fun, lightness, and happiness waiting for me at the end of the tunnel. As anyone who has been clinically depressed (not just sad or grieving due to a loss -- these are natural and approrpriate responses to life and loss) knows, it can feel like you are in a nightmare that you just can't wake up from. A dark veil has fallen in front of your eyes, and the whole world looks and feels bleak.

I can now sense when my depressions are physical (organic) vs situational (or both). Two or three days ago, I felt it coming up again. I find mindfulness practice to be very helpful nowadays when depression starts creeping in. I don't panic, I just notice it ("Oh, hi depression, it's you again..."). I remind myself that it is probably temporary, and I try to do something nice for myself. A hot bath, see a friend, take a sauna. I also hit the Omega-3's, and get some exercise and sun. Usually it lifts. I also observe my thinking patterns. Have I been thinking about some mistake or 'failure' I have committed? Am I beating myself up about something? If so, I try to correct the thinking.

Of course, the way a chronic illness affects our lives IS pretty depressing. Losing my health, my job, my money, sex drive, ability to be in a relationship effectively, and my sense of well-being is depressing! It certaiinly isn't a cake walk. So it's actually pretty reasonable for many of us with chronic Lyme, Parkinson's, or other chronic diseases to be prone to depression.

My psychopharmacology professor used to say the best treatment for depression was dancing naked in the sunshine with your lover. That gets you touch, exercise, and Vitamin D. All three will increase seratonin. In lieu of a lover, getting a massage will meet our need for touch (well, sort of).

Last week, as my old friend depression was lurking about, hiding behind imaginary trees and standing in dark corners, I decided to really give him a run for his money. I packed up my car with my musical instruments and accepted an invitation to play a gig with a rock band. It's a group I play in a few times a year. I joined them in Yosemite National Park where they were playing at an annual bash called The Spring Fling, in El Portal. This is a small town just outside of Yosemite.

I had been on the fence about going. Would it tired me out? What about my medical regimen? What if I got sicker? Where would I sleep? Could I even play a keyboard on stage in front of an audience, when with just the smallest bit of anxiety I start to shake like a leaf??

In the end, I had a ball with my musical buddies. I stayed for five days and really enjoyed myself. Music, sunshine, amazing natural beauty, tons of young, vibrant people who work in the Park. Of course, at 59, I feel like a relic in their company, and also I want to tell them all to protect themselves from Lyme-carrying ticks, but I decided not to be the harbinger of bad news, and just to drop it and enjoy myself. Getting out in that beautiful nature, and having a nice drive for five hours each way was just what the doctor ordered!

It was not easy to do (especially because my Parkinsonism makes me shake really badly under pressure, and at times I was barely able to play my keyboard), but I took my PD meds regularly and got through it. A couple of times during the gig I had to stand up from my chair and keyboard and just dance around to shake off the nervousness and tremors. Luckily that looks pretty normal in a rock-band dance hall! (It doesn't go over as well at a classical piano recital.)

I guess what I'm saying is just an echo of what our hero Dr. Joe Burrascano says: People who get better are the ones who don't identify themselves with their disease. They continue to live their lives. They don't structure their lives around their illness. They still enjoy their people and their hobbies. They smell the roses and they cuddle with their pets. (My paraphrase.)

-Bob

Blood test looks promising in diagnosing depression

A preliminary study finds certain biological markers in the blood of teens with depression that are absent in healthy counterparts. It could lead to the first diagnostic testing for depression.

By Melissa Healy, Los Angeles Times

April 17 2012, 6:39 PM PDT

Even among psychiatric disorders, depression is a difficult disease to diagnose. Its causes remain a mystery, its symptoms can't be defined with precision, and treatments are spotty at best.

The complete article can be viewed at:
 http://www.latimes.com/health/la-he-depression-blood-test-20120418,0,6787106.story

Visit latimes.com at http://www.latimes.com