More on the sudden deaths of 3 young people in the Northeast

LYME DISEASE - USA (05): CARDITIS, FATAL

****************************************

A ProMED-mail post

<http://www.promedmail.org>

ProMED-mail is a program of the

International Society for Infectious Diseases

<http://www.isid.org>

Date: Fri 13 Dec 2013

Source: Fox News [edited]

<http://www.foxnews.com/health/2013/12/13/sudden-deaths-3-young-people-attributed-to-lyme-disease-cdc-says/>

The sudden deaths of 3 young people in the Northeast [of the USA] have

been attributed to complications of Lyme disease, Boston.com

reported.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) [1],

each of the fatalities resulted from undetected heart inflammation --

also known as carditis -- caused by the tick-borne illness. About one

percent of Lyme disease sufferers develop carditis, which is typically

treatable with antibiotics or, in some cases, a pacemaker.

According to medical reports, only 4 other deaths can be attributed to

heart inflammation caused by Lyme disease. While the illness is a

growing problem in the Northeast, the CDC says that deaths related to

the disease are still rare, Boston.com reported.

The victims in the CDC's report were not identified, but each of the

deaths occurred between November 2012 and July 2013. The deceased were

between 26 and 38 years old. None of the victims had been diagnosed

with Lyme disease prior to their deaths.

One of the victims died in a car accident after his car veered off the

road. The victim was an organ donor, and the inflammation around his

heart was discovered during a pathology exam. It is believed he went

into cardiac arrest while driving, Boston.com reported. The other 2

victims also died after seemingly unexplainable collapses.

Medical professionals say these deaths should bring new urgency to the

search for a Lyme disease vaccine. "I think it is unconscionable and a

discredit to all parties -- public health, manufacturers, Lyme

activists -- that no Lyme vaccine is available to humans while there

is one for dogs," Stanley Plotkin, emeritus professor of pediatrics at

the University of Pennsylvania and a vaccine expert, told Boston.com

in an email.

--

Communicated by:

ProMED-mail from HealthMap Alerts

<promed@promedmail.org>

[Reference

---------

1. CDC: Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report Weekly. Three Sudden

Cardiac Deaths Associated with Lyme Carditis -- United States,

November 2012-July 2013. MMWR 2013; 62(49): 993-6. Available at

<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm>.

Lyme carditis is a manifestation of early disseminated Lyme disease,

which results in secondary skin lesions and extracutaneous

manifestations that occurs during the initial weeks to months of

infection. Symptoms related to this stage occur in at least 50 percent

of all untreated patients. Carditis has been reported in up to 10

percent of cases of Lyme disease and can cause life-threatening

cardiac conduction abnormalities that can result in sudden death. The

diagnosis is made primarily on clinical grounds and confirmed by

serologic testing. Patients who have severe heart block with

hemodynamic instability frequently need placement of a temporary

cardiac pacemaker. The cardiac conduction block resolves completely

with antibiotic treatment.

The recent CDC publication, which the news release above refers to

(reference 1 above), describes 3 individuals who experienced sudden

cardiac death during November 2012-July 2013 and were found to have

evidence of Lyme carditis on postmortem examination. To quote from

this article (references omitted, available from the original

article):

"_Borrelia burgdorferi_ has been shown to affect all layers of the

heart, but tends to spare the great vessels and heart valves.

Inflammation is characteristically diffuse, perivascular,

lymphohistiocytic, and plasma cell-rich. Spirochetes can be found

within the myocardial cellular infiltrates; IHC [immunohistochemistry]

and PCR [polymerase chain reaction] testing can provide additional

evidence of infection. Although Lyme carditis usually is present in

conjunction with other features of the disease, such as erythema

migrans, arthritis, or neurologic disease, it can be observed

independently. The most common cardiac manifestation is

atrioventricular block, which can fluctuate between 1st, 2nd, and 3rd

degree. 2nd-degree or 3rd-degree atrioventricular block occurs in

approximately 0.8 percent of all Lyme disease cases reported to CDC.

Symptoms of atrioventricular block, including lightheadedness,

palpitations, shortness of breath, chest pain, and syncope can occur 4

days to 7 months after onset of disease, with a median of 21 days.

With appropriate therapy, prognosis is excellent, and signs of cardiac

involvement typically resolve within 1-6 weeks, depending on the

degree of conduction disturbance. Some cases of complete heart block

might require temporary pacing."

For discussions of Lyme disease in the US, see prior ProMED-mail

posts: Lyme disease - USA (04): underreporting 20130822.1894924; Lyme

disease - USA (03): (NY) increased incidence 20130513.1710851; Lyme

disease - USA: (PA, NJ) increased incidence 20120423.1111304; Lyme

disease - USA (03): (WI), human, canine 20110618.1867; Lyme disease -

USA (02): (PA) background 20110606.1727; and Lyme disease - USA: (PA,

WI) increased incidence 20110603.1694.

For pictures of ticks and erythema migrans lesions characteristic of

Lyme disease, see

<http://cid.oxfordjournals.org/content/43/9/1089.full> and

<http://www.cdc.gov/lyme/>. - Mod.ML

A HealthMap/ProMED-mail map can be accessed at:

<http://healthmap.org/r/1hiS>.]

Parkinson’s stem cell project aims for 2014 approval

Parkinson's patient Ed Fitzpatrick speaks
about stem cell research for his disease.
Fitzpatrick talked on a Dec. 7 panel
at the World Stem Cell Summit in
San Diego.

By Bradley J. Fikes 

2:01 P.M.DEC. 8, 2013

 For eight local Parkinson's patients seeking treatment with stem cell technology, 2014 could bring the milestone they've been anticipating.

If all goes well, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will approve an attempt to replace the brain cells destroyed in Parkinson's. The new cells, grown from each patient's own skin cells, are expected to restore normal movement in the patients.

Because the new brain cells are made from the patients' own cells, immunosuppressive drugs shouldn't be needed. Ideally, patients could stop taking their medications and resume normal activities for many years, or even the rest of their lives.

The project, Summit4StemCell.org, is a collaboration between three nonprofits. The Scripps Research Institute handles the science; Scripps Clinic takes care of the medical side; and the Parkinson's Association of San Diego helps to raise money for the self-funded project.

The rest of the story...with lots of videos of the researchers explaining the process and progress. 

http://www.utsandiego.com/news/2013/dec/13/parkinsons-induced-pluripotent-fda/

Three Suddenly Die from Lyme Disease Complication--Carditis & more heart related

Here here is another treatment of the same story but through different news outlet. This is from NBC.

http://www.nbcnews.com/health/three-die-suddenly-rare-lyme-disease-complication-2D11733669

Three die suddenly from rare Lyme disease complication

VICTORIA AROCHO / ASSOCIATED PRESS - A female deer tick. The ticks transmit Lyme disease, which is suspected in the sudden deaths of three people over the past year.

One was found dead in a car that veered off the road. Two others collapsed and died suddenly without warning. All three may have been killed by an infection known for causing long-term misery, but not one usually considered a killer — Lyme disease.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports Thursday on the cases of three people who literally dropped dead from a heart infection known as Lyme carditis. The two men and a woman were young, aged 26 to 38, and had not been treated for Lyme disease.

And no one suspected an infection until an astute pathologist readying heart tissue for a possible transplant noticed something wrong.

The first case was one of those inexplicable deaths, when a young, seemingly healthy person dies suddenly from heart disease.

"In November 2012, a Massachusetts resident was found unresponsive in an automobile after it veered off the road. No evidence of traumatic injury was found," the CDC team and state department of health investigators write in the report. The driver was dead.

In the second case, a New York state resident had chest pain and collapsed and died at home last July. This patient did have an unusual heart condition called Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, but no one suspected something else might have been involved.

The same month, a Connecticut resident died suddenly while on an out-of-town visit. "The patient had complained of episodic shortness of breath and anxiety during the 7–10 days before death. The patient lived on a heavily wooded lot and had frequent tick exposure; there was no known history of cardio­vascular disease," experts wrote in the report, published in the CDC's weekly report on disease and death.

All three were tissue donors. A pathologist at the Cryolife tissue lab in Kennesaw, Ga. noticed something unusual when he was examining the heart valve from one of the victims as it was being prepared for a transplant. "He noticed the histopathology was similar to what he had seen in Lyme carditis," said Dr. Joe Forrester, a CDC epidemiologist in Ft. Collins, Colo. who helped write the report.

The Ft. Collins lab checked the blood; the CDC in Atlanta checked the tissue and found the characteristic Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria. "We began investigating," Forrester said.

The Massachusetts victim may have had symptoms of Lyme disease. "Interviews with next-of-kin revealed that the patient had described a nonspecific illness with malaise and muscle and joint pain during the two weeks preceding death. The patient lived alone with a dog that was reported to have ticks frequently," the report reads.

Forrester said the victim almost certainly did not think anything serious was wrong. "If I had muscle aches and joint pains, I don't know if I would go to the doctor right away," Forrester told NBC news.

Only four other deaths from Lyme disease have ever been reported, CDC says -- two in Europe and two in the United States. "Pathologists and medical examiners should be aware that Lyme carditis can be a cause of sudden cardiac death," the agency advises.

Lyme disease is common, and this deadly complication remains very unusual. "We believe it's rare. We are trying to find out how rare," Forrester said.

CDC says while 30,000 Lyme cases are reported a year, it's probably much more common than that -- perhaps as high as 300,000 cases a year.

It's most common in Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Minnesota and Wisconsin.

It's not clear what the message for the general public might be – people are already cautioned to avoid being bitten by ticks, especially in areas known to have high rates of Lyme disease. Lyme is caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and antibiotics usually clear it up. And Forrester says only 1 percent of people infected with Lyme disease get carditis.

There is not a vaccine against Lyme, so CDC recommends using insect repellants -- those containing DEET are best -- and wearing long sleeves, pants and socks when in wooded areas where ticks might be found.

·     Follow NBCNewsHealth on Facebook and on Twitter 

·     Follow Maggie Fox on Facebook and on Twitter

Three sudden cardiac deaths associated with Lyme carditis

[sci] Three Sudden Cardiac Deaths Associated with Lyme Carditis - Un

Thu Dec 12, 2013 6:04 pm (PST) . Posted by:

"Rick Laferriere" ri_lymeinfo

Three Sudden Cardiac Deaths Associated with Lyme Carditis ��� 
United States, November 2012���July 2013
Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report ( MMWR )
December 13, 2013 / 62(49);993-996

http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm 
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm?s_cid=mm6249a1_w>

Lyme disease is a multisystem illness caused by /Borrelia 
burgdorferi/, a spirochete transmitted by certain species of 
/Ixodes/ ticks. Approximately 30,000 confirmed and probable 
cases of Lyme disease were reported in the United States in 
2012, primarily from high-incidence states in the Northeast 
(Connecticut, Delaware, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, New 
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, 
and Vermont) and upper Midwest (Minnesota and Wisconsin).

Common manifestations include cutaneous, neurologic, and 
rheumatologic signs and symptoms. Symptomatic infection of 
the heart is rare in recognized Lyme disease cases and 
usually resolves promptly with appropriate antibiotic 
therapy. Nonetheless, cardiac involvement occasionally can 
cause life-threatening cardiac conduction abnormalities.

During November 2012 - July 2013, one woman and two men 
(ranging in age from 26 to 38 years) from high-incidence 
Lyme disease states experienced sudden cardiac death and, on 
postmortem examination, were found to have evidence of Lyme 
carditis. The three deaths were investigated by the 
Connecticut Department of Public Health, Massachusetts 
Department of Public Health, New Hampshire Department of 
Public Health, New York State Department of Health, and CDC. 
Donated corneas from two decedents had been transplanted to 
three recipients before the diagnosis of Lyme disease was 
established, but no evidence of disease transmission was found.

Although death from Lyme carditis is rare, it should be 
considered in cases of sudden cardiac death in patients from 
high-incidence Lyme disease regions. Reducing exposure to 
ticks is the best method for preventing Lyme disease and 
other tickborne infections.

Free, full text:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm 
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm6249a1.htm?s_cid=mm6249a1_w>

3 deaths from heart inflammation caused by Lyme, study says

Three young adults in the Northeast who abruptly died in the past 13 months had an undetected heart inflammation caused by Lyme disease, according to a federal study that suggests death from the tick-borne bacteria is more common than previously thought.

The November 2012 death of a Massachusetts man after his car abruptly veered off the road prompted the study, when a tissue bank doctor noticed odd patterns on the man’s heart. He and the other two patients, from New York and Connecticut, were between the ages of 26 and 38, researchers reported Thursday. None was known to have Lyme disease before dying.

 
Direct link to the article:
 
http://www.bostonglobe.com/lifestyle/health-wellness/2013/12/12/three-deaths-reported-from-heart-inflammation-caused-lyme-disease/bRqzfHYfThiRXmQ0kuqr6L/story.html
 

Here's a web page about Lyme and heart inflammation:

http://lymediseaseguide.org/lyme-disease-and-heart-disease-recognizing-lyme-carditis

Eva Sapi and Phyllis Mervine on Fox CT News - Lyme Video

Dr. Eva Sapi, an associate professor of cellular and molecular biology at the University of New Haven, and Phyllis Mervine, founder and president of LymeDisease.org, talk about some new research about the disease and what we can learn from Sapi's work.

LymeDisease.org recently contributed $150,000 to help fund Sapi's research. Almost a third of the money was raised through small donations from an online fundraising website. The money came from many people who either have Lyme disease or have a loved one who does.

LymeDisease.org, based in California, was founded in 1989 and advocates for the rights of lyme disease patients, educates about tick-borne disease and supports research. It maintains a nationwide network of online support and advocacy groups.

See the video: 

http://foxct.com/2013/12/11/new-lyme-disease-research-at-university-of-new-haven/

Read more: 

http://foxct.com/2013/12/11/new-lyme-disease-research-at-university-of-new-haven/#ixzz2nCRYA4TX

Toxo -- The cysts in our brains from cats-can improve our self-control

Do Cats Control My Mind?

New neuroscience research says that Toxo—the cysts in our brains from cats—can improve our self-control. For the 30 percent of people who have this infection, it's about more than promiscuity, schizophrenia, and car crashes.

James Hamblin 

Dec 5 2013, 12:06 PM ET

kevindooley/flickr

"It is definitely not smart to intentionally infect yourself. I've already had people ask."

A third of the world has been infected, though. Tiny cysts nested in one's brain and muscles attest. The parasite Toxoplasmosis gondii comes into us by undercooked meat, well-intentioned placentas, gardening soil, or, most infamously, cats. It is the reason that pregnant women are not supposed to empty litter boxes.

LLMD Richard Horowitz's Book Makes NY Times Bestseller List

On NY Times science bestseller list #10

SCIENCE BEST SELLERS

Science Bookshelf

By THE NEW YORK TIMES

Published: December 9, 2013

10. WHY CAN'T I GET BETTER? by Richard I. Horowitz. St. Martin's. A doctor's investigation of Lyme disease.

See the entire list of best sellers in the science category:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/10/science/science-bookshelf.html?_r=0 

Inflammation may play key role in mental health disorders

USA Today (12/1, Karen Weintraub) reported that studies now "suggest a tighter link than was previously realized between ailments of the mind and body" in that immune system activation, including inflammation, may play a role in both. Researcher Georgia Hodes, of the Icahn Medical Institute at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, stated, "One of the things we need to stop thinking is that mental health is just a disorder of the brain." Just by "adding inflammation to their thinking has helped neuroscientists cast a broader net when searching for causes of and possible treatments for mental illness, mood disorders and neurodevelopmental conditions," according to researchers.

"Last time you had a bad cold, you likely had less energy than usual. You lay around and didn't have any enthusiasm for your usual activities. After it dragged on for a day or two, a sense of helplessness probably set in. It was hard to remember what feeling good felt like or how you could ever bound off the couch again.

In short, for a few days, you probably felt a lot like someone with depression.

And increasingly, scientists think it's no coincidence that a mental illness feels like a physical one.

A growing body of research on conditions from bipolar disorder to schizophrenia to depression is starting to suggest a tighter link than was previously realized between ailments of the mind and body. Activation of the immune system seems to play a crucial role in both."

Full article here:

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/12/01/immune-inflammation-mental-health/3712121/

Is Alzheimer’s Caused by an Infection?

By Michael A. Smith, MD

Research has shown that some common bacteria are consistently detected in the central nervous system of Alzheimer's patients.1

Doctors from the International Alzheimer Research Center in Switzerland published a study indicating a high probability of a causal relationship, not just an association, between spirochete infections and Alzheimer's disease.

What they discovered was pretty amazing. They found spirochetes in about 90% of Alzheimer's patients, while the bacteria were virtually absent in healthy age-matched controls.1

Could Alzheimer's disease be caused by this infection? Let's explore.