Full article: http://www.bostonherald.com/business/healthcare/view.bg?articleid=1268561&srvc=rss

Excerpt:

A new state law that spells out the rights of physicians to treat chronic Lyme disease patients with long-term antibiotics is being heralded as a victory by advocates of people afflicted by the tick-borne illness, reports the Cape Cod Times.

The law is meant to prevent doctors who treat patients with antibiotics beyond the 30 days recommended by some professionals from billing insurance, said Brenda Boleyn, who chairs the Cape and Islands Lyme Disease Task Force, a community organization comprised of local government, agencies and Lyme disease patients.

While short courses of antibiotics appear to work when Lyme is detected in its early stages, more aggressive and longer treatment seems to be the only solution for seemingly intractable cases of Lyme, Boleyn said.

Full article: http://sci.tech-archive.net/Archive/sci.med.diseases.lyme/2008-06/msg00078.html

Excerpt:

IDSA knows that chronic Lyme exists

The IDSA is aware that chronic Lyme exists. We know this because
members of the 2000 and 2006 Lyme disease guideline panels wrote, in
research articles and patents, that chronic Lyme exists.

Evidence about the existence of chronic Lyme borreliosis has increased
since the 2006 LD guidelines were published.

Scientists in California recently reported that not only can Bb persist
in mice despite treatment with ceftriaxone, but the Borrelia can also
infect other ticks and mice. (1) This study buttresses previous
studies that showed that Borrelia can persist in mice (2, 3), dogs (4,
5, 6), and ponies (7).

Studies have also shown that Bb can persist despite antibiotic
treatment in the following human cells, tissues, organs, and body
fluids:

* Fibroblasts (8; Mark Klempner, an IDSA LD guideline panel member in
2006, is an author of this study)

Probiotics are rapidly becoming essential for life if we want to enjoy optimal health. This may be related to the excessive use of antibiotics in agriculture, but whatever the reasons are, this 16 page attachment may provide you with the science on this soon to be essential nutritional supplement.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Full article: http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/719654?sssdmh=dm1.625756&src=journalnl&uac=81207PR

Excerpt:

Probiotics are rapidly becoming essential for life if we want to enjoy optimal health. This may be related to the excessive use of antibiotics in agriculture, but whatever the reasons are, this 16 page attachment may provide you with the science on this soon to be essential nutritional supplement.

This IS A MUST for any patients with autoimmune or allergy related issues, including acne, autism, asthma, Auto immune disease and even cancer and, of course, all GI related issues. Use probiotics whenever there could be food sensitivities present. We can expect to see better results when we recommend a proven effective and stable probiotic.

However, whether you are using Kyodophilus, which Longevity Plus is carrying, as it is stable without refrigeration, or some other Probiotic, the need to facilitate their benefits by lowering the number of pathogens or unhealthy flora is very important.

I like the PREBIOTIC function of Beyond Fiber because it is not just the perfect combination of soluble with insoluble fiber but because it has stabilized rice bran, one of the most nutrient dense foods and that helps eliminate toxins but it also includes a special artichoke component from Germany that helps sustain friendly flora so well that over 2 months or so, Candida has been shown to significantly regress.

Please when maximizing probiotic benefits also consider the proven benefits of zeolite and silver, as available in what is called Total Body Detox, the two bottle package from Longevity Plus. The silver is needed because in many patients, the overgrowth of unhealthy flora is preventing implantation of friendly flora, so they need to be eliminated. Silver does that while the ACZ (Zeolite) component of Total Body Detox concurrently acts to neutralize many toxins, organic and inorganic. This permits restoration of a healthier gut flora and even improves immune functioning since the gut associated lymphoid tissue is
dramatically benefitted with this combined  probiotics/detox approach.

Are you sick and tired?  My FIGHT4YOURHEALTH program can change your life even if you think LYME is your only problem. Learn more and become vibrantly healthy again.

Garry F. Gordon MD,DO,MD(H)
President, Gordon Research Institute
www.gordonresearch.com

Full article: http://bolenreport.com/feature_articles/feature_article072.htm

Excerpt:

Most people battling chronic Lyme disease think of the illness as an infection caused by a bacterium known commonly as Borrelia Burgdorferi, generally transmitted via the bite of an infected tick.  What many don’t recognize, however, is that recovery from chronic Lyme disease requires a recognition that the disease is truly a much more complex illness.  Recovery often challenges one to consider more than just infection as the single causative agent involved in the disease process.  It is through looking beyond the infectious component of Lyme disease and understanding the equally important aspects of damaging heavy metals and other toxic insults that a more full and lasting recovery may be realized.

Garry F. Gordon MD, DO, MD (H) co-founded the American College for Advancement in Medicine (ACAM) and serves as the President of Gordon Research Institute.  Dr. Gordon graciously spent a couple of hours with me sharing his views on chronic Lyme disease and those factors that are important in recovering from chronic illness. 

Dr. Gordon acknowledges Lyme disease as a serious infection which can lead to a wide-variety of health challenges.  He does not, however, hyperfocus on the specific tick-borne pathogens which cause the disease.  He instead believes that a multitude of infections are prevalent in anyone with chronic ill health.  In addition to these numerous infections, our state of health is closely tied to our total body burden of endogenous and exogenous toxins.  When looking at why illness is present, it is important to look at a number of factors including genetics, chronic infections, and total body burden of heavy metals and other toxins.

Peering into one’s genetic makeup can be quite helpful when establishing the proper course of action and considering what factors may have contributed to one’s state of health.  The more precisely a practitioner can understand the genetic contributors, the more accurately a treatment protocol can be outlined to fit a person’s unique needs.  As an example, a specific gene mutation can suggest an inability of the body to remove toxic heavy metals.  Thus, even tests performed to determine whether or not one is heavy metal toxic can be incorrect if the metals are not being released due to this specific genetic profile.  Where many doctors may miss a heavy metal toxicity issue in these patients, a practitioner incorporating a genetic review into their diagnostic workup is much better equipped to evaluate the potential impact of toxic metals on the overall state of health.

Linda’s comments: Amazing how animals get better research and treatments than humans!!??  God Bless Dr Breitschwerft for his research …… He found “first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.”  What Lida Mattman said all alone.  Then they say ,”At least 26 strains of Bartonella have been named worldwide, and the list is growing.”…..  AGAIN, a VET finds out with his continued research how deadly Bartonella can be.  This statement/quote “ Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.” WHAT, NOW the CDC is admitting that Bartonella exists??  WOW….unbelievable….Perhaps all the pressure the Lymies are putting on research, IDSA and doctors is working….

BY SARAH AVERY - Staff Writer

A bacterial infection typically spread by fleas, lice and biting flies could be more prevalent than many think, and may have been transmitted from a mother to her children at birth, scientists from N.C. State University say.

Dr. Edward Breitschwerdt, an infectious disease veterinarian and one of the world’s leading researchers of bacteria called Bartonella, has for the first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.

Although more studies are needed to back up his findings, Breitschwerdt and colleagues describe the case of a mother and father who began battling chronic aches, fatigues and other symptoms soon after they were married. When their twins were born in 1998, the daughter died after nine days from a heart defect, and the son developed chronic health problems.

Using tissue from the daughter’s autopsy and blood from the surviving family members, Breitschwerdt’s team discovered that the entire family was infected with the same species of Bartonella bacteria, despite having no shared exposures to flea or lice infestations. Bartonella is known to causes such illnesses as trench fever and cat scratch disease, and it is increasingly suspected of triggering a variety of aches and inflammations that doctors have been unable to diagnose.

“I think we have stumbled across something that is of monumental medical importance,” said Breitschwerdt, whose findings were published recently in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Proving the mother-child transmission could be difficult, however. Little funding is available for such research because the bacteria are still not considered a major source of human disease.

Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.

Linda’s comments: Amazing how animals get better research and treatments than humans!!??  God Bless Dr Breitschwerft for his research …… He found “first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.”  What Lida Mattman said all alone.  Then they say ,”At least 26 strains of Bartonella have been named worldwide, and the list is growing.”…..  AGAIN, a VET finds out with his continued research how deadly Bartonella can be.  This statement/quote ” Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.” WHAT, NOW the CDC is admitting that Bartonella exists??  WOW….unbelievable….Perhaps all the pressure the Lymies are putting on research, IDSA and doctors is working….

At any rate, THANK GOD this is coming to the public….there is hope folks…..we just can’t give up the FIGHT….which brings me to the Dr Garry Gordon FIGHT protocol…..I have been on it for 1 1/2 years and IT WORKS….Lyme and the co-infections do NOT have a chance if you are on the FIGHT protocol….getting control and cleaning out the total body burden of pathogens and toxins in our bodies only helps to speed along our wellness journeys….. 

BY SARAH AVERY - Staff Writer

A bacterial infection typically spread by fleas, lice and biting flies could be more prevalent than many think, and may have been transmitted from a mother to her children at birth, scientists from N.C. State University say.

Dr. Edward Breitschwerdt, an infectious disease veterinarian and one of the world’s leading researchers of bacteria called Bartonella, has for the first time documented evidence that the pathogen may have been passed between family members.

Although more studies are needed to back up his findings, Breitschwerdt and colleagues describe the case of a mother and father who began battling chronic aches, fatigues and other symptoms soon after they were married. When their twins were born in 1998, the daughter died after nine days from a heart defect, and the son developed chronic health problems.

Using tissue from the daughter’s autopsy and blood from the surviving family members, Breitschwerdt’s team discovered that the entire family was infected with the same species of Bartonella bacteria, despite having no shared exposures to flea or lice infestations. Bartonella is known to causes such illnesses as trench fever and cat scratch disease, and it is increasingly suspected of triggering a variety of aches and inflammations that doctors have been unable to diagnose.

“I think we have stumbled across something that is of monumental medical importance,” said Breitschwerdt, whose findings were published recently in the Journal of Clinical Microbiology.

Proving the mother-child transmission could be difficult, however. Little funding is available for such research because the bacteria are still not considered a major source of human disease.

Dr. Michael Kosoy, who heads the Bartonella laboratory for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Fort Collins, Colo., said scientists are only beginning to build evidence that Bartonella infections may be more common than previously thought.

“Bartonella are circulated around the world in many animals, but there are different Bartonella species, and the question is how can they be transmitted to humans?” Kosoy said, noting that most known cases have been transmitted from biting insects. He said the NCSU findings about the potential family transmission are compelling but inconclusive.

Dozens of strains

At least 26 strains of Bartonella have been named worldwide, and the list is growing. The most notorious Bartonella infection is cat scratch disease, a fever illness passed to humans from flea-infected cats. Fleas are the primary hosts, and they spread the bacteria in their feces.

Excerpt:

OBJECTIVE: We report an extremely rare case of recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis due to subclinical Lyme borreliosis. METHOD: Case report presenting a 15-year-old girl referred with hoarseness and soft voice. RESULTS: Right-sided recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis was observed using videolaryngoscopy. Imaging was used to exclude intracranial, cervical and intrathoracic embryological lesions, vascular malformations and tumours. Laboratory and electrophysiological investigations were used to exclude inflammatory and paraneoplastic processes, endocrinopathy and metabolic disorders. Serological testing was positive for Lyme disease. Parenteral ceftriaxone therapy was commenced. The patient’s nerve paralysis showed complete recovery on the seventh day of antibiotic treatment; this was confirmed by videolaryngoscopy. CONCLUSION: Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis is an extremely rare complication of neuroborreliosis associated with Lyme disease. In patients with recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis in whom the clinical history is uncertain and the usual diagnostic methods give negative results, screening with anti-borrelia immunoglobulin M is suggested.

Excerpt:

OBJECTIVE: Children often develop arthritis secondary to Lyme
disease; however, optimal treatment of Lyme arthritis in
pediatric patients remains ill-defined.
We sought to characterize the outcomes of a large cohort of
children with Lyme arthritis treated using the approach
recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the
Infectious Diseases Society of America. METHODS: Medical records
of patients with Lyme arthritis seen by rheumatologists at a
tertiary care children’s hospital from 1997 to 2007 were
reviewed. Patients were classified with antibiotic responsive or
refractory arthritis based on absence or presence of persisting
joint involvement 3 months after antibiotic initiation. Treatment
regimens and outcomes in patients with refractory arthritis were
analyzed.

RESULTS: Of 99 children with Lyme arthritis, 76 had arthritis
that responded fully to antibiotics, while 23 developed
refractory arthritis. Most patients with refractory arthritis
were successfully treated with nonsteroidal antiinflammatory
drugs (6 patients), intraarticular steroid injections (4), or
disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARD) (2). Five were lost
to followup. Six patients with refractory arthritis were
initially treated elsewhere and received additional antibiotic
therapy, with no apparent benefit.
Three subsequently required DMARD, while 3 had gradual resolution
of arthritis without further therapy. Antibiotic responsiveness
could not be predicted from our clinical or laboratory data.

CONCLUSION: Lyme arthritis in children has an excellent
prognosis. More than 75% of referred cases resolved with
antibiotic therapy. Of patients with antibiotic refractory
arthritis, none in whom followup data were available developed
chronic arthritis, joint deformities, or recurrence of infection,
supporting current treatment guidelines.

Linda’s comments:  Tick population exploding isn’t just on the East coast, it is US wide.  More and more ER’s are reporting a BIG increase with tick bites.   More importantly, you don’t have to have a tick bite to get Lyme disease.  BEWARE and pay attention when in the great outdoors.

Full article: http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_099222830.html

Excerpt:

NEWBURYPORT — Deer ticks have been appearing in huge numbers throughout the region, raising concerns about Lyme disease.

All along the East Coast, health experts have seen a sudden and dramatic increase in ticks.

“Just in the past week or two, we have seen an explosion in deer ticks,” said Dr. Heidi Bassler, medical director of the Veterinary Center of Greater Newburyport.

The unusually warm weather and record-setting rains have helped bolster the tick population. Hospitals, such as Addison-Gilbert in Gloucester, have experienced a surge in tick bite cases. Normally, the hospital sees one or two cases per day; now it is seeing eight or 10.

There are two different kinds of ticks that are predominant in the region. Dog ticks are about the size of a pencil eraser; deer ticks, the more dangerous species, are closer to the size of a pen point.

With a single bite, deer ticks can transmit Lyme disease, symptoms of which include a debilitating complex of fever, headache, fatigue and depression, and two other illnesses of similar symptoms.

Ticks are mostly found in woods and fields. High grass, including dune grass, is one of their favored habitats.

Linda’s comment:  Misdiagnosing Lyme disease for MS is a very common thing these days,  It isn’t jut happening in Canada, it is happening world-wide. We must bring education and awareness to this serious matter.  When ignored patients are becoming sicker and sicker.  Lyme is best diagnosed clinically, as there are not that many Lyme blood tests that are accurate.  Most doctors now realize, when in doubt treat for Lyme.

Full article: http://www.calgaryherald.com/health/Doctors+misdiagnose+Lyme+disease+researcher/2908675/story.html

Excerpt:

A Manitoba researcher says some patients deemed by doctors to suffer from multiple sclerosis may be misdiagnosed.

In a recent thesis, Winnipeg researcher Kathleen Crang found that some Manitobans diagnosed with MS and other chronic conditions may actually be suffering from the borrelia bacteria, a tick-borne “biological evil genius” that causes Lyme disease.

“If I knew someone with MS, I’d be saying, ‘Let’s look at those questions,’ ” said Crang. “If their MS is coupled with heart problems, or skin rashes, or rheumatological involvement, there might be some question as to why.”

After all, the bug is dubbed “the second great imitator” — syphilis is the first.

Tests for Lyme disease can be unreliable; many of the disease’s 75 known symptoms are shared by a host of neurological conditions. Case studies have even found that Lyme can produce lesions on the brain like those seen in MS.

That in itself isn’t breaking news. Crang’s thesis, titled Knowledge and Perception of Lyme disease in Manitoba: Implications for Risk Assessment, found numerous reports in Europe and the United States of Lyme disease being initially misdiagnosed as everything from MS to ALS and fibromyalgia.

But in Manitoba, where Lyme is thought to be almost non-existent, Crang found that doctors may not be on the lookout for the disease.

Could that lack of concern lead to lasting misdiagnoses?

“There’s a bit of a disconnect there,” said Crang. “It’s an information-flow problem. The fact that individuals are hearing such low numbers of Lyme leads to a perception that Lyme isn’t there.”

In a series of interviews for the thesis, Crang found that many Manitoba public health decision-makers and clinicians didn’t perceive Lyme as a threat to Manitobans, and “did not expect they would see patients with the disease.”

Crang, 44, is living proof that the mistake can be made.

In 1999, doctors told the Fort Richmond Collegiate science teacher that she had MS; an MRI appeared to confirm the diagnosis.