All Posts Tagged With: "Lyme"

Cost analysis of asymmetric sensorineural hearing loss

Excerpt:

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS:: The purpose of this study is to critically evaluate the typical cost of asymmetrical sensorineural hearing loss (ASNHL) work-up, and to compare the positive predictive value from this common presenting symptom. STUDY DESIGN:: Retrospective chart review from two major otolaryngology centers. METHODS:: We reviewed charts from patients presenting to New York Eye and Ear Infirmary between January 1, 2006 and December 31, 2006, and the University of Minnesota between December 1, 2002 and November 30, 2007 with ASNHL. Diagnostic information included magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and serum laboratory values (antinuclear antibodies, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, Lyme, rapid plasma reagin, and thyroid-stimulating hormone). We calculated positive rate according to each item of diagnosis. To estimate cost-benefit, we further calculated the average cost for identifying a patient with a positive result. 

CONCLUSIONS:: A comprehensive ASNHL work-up may not be applicable to all patients. Laboratory serologic tests are highly cost effective in diagnosing treatable causes of ASNHL, such as syphilis and Lyme. Although radiographic imaging with MRI is not as cost effective, its value in detecting for acoustic neuroma is undeniable. Laryngoscope, 2010.

More proof that autoimmune disease patients have chronic infections

More proof that autoimmune disease patients have chronic infections that are not widely recognized; this time we are talking about TB!

This research further supports the need for serious efforts to lower the total body burden of pathogens in all autoimmune diseases since 19% tested positive to TB. Of course they may all well have other concurrent infections with things like Chlamydia and CMV and even LYME too.   No one has the dollars to fully test for every possible infection, and thus affordable non-toxic, out-patient, anti-infective therapies like ACS take a tremendous importance. It is always nice if initially some IV UVB and Ozone can be given to really aggressively lower the burden but always know that long term use of ACS and related
infection control nutrients are crucial, as the organism are usually never completely eradicated, and when they return, exacerbations of the autoimmune condition will follow.

This is the conclusion from this research - 19% test positive for TB.

Overall, 74 (19%) out of 393 subjects were TST-positive and 52 (13%) were QFT-GIT-positive. Concordance between TST and QFT-GIT results was good (87.7%): 13 were QFT-GIT-positive/TST-negative and 35 QFT-GIT-negative/TST-positive.

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

Full article: http://erj.ersjournals.com/cgi/content/abstract/33/3/586

Excerpt:

Screening for active tuberculosis (TB) and latent TB infection (LTBI) is mandatory prior to the initiation of tumour necrosis factor-  inhibitor therapy. However, no agreement exists on the best strategy for detecting LTBI in this population. The aim of the present study was to analyse the performance of the tuberculin skin test (TST) and QuantiFERON®-TB Gold in-tube (QFT-GIT) on LTBI detection in subjects with immunomediated inflammatory diseases (IMID).

The TST and QFT-GIT were prospectively performed in 398 consecutive IMID subjects, 310 (78%) on immunosuppressive therapy and only 16 (4%) had been bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccinated.

Indeterminate results to QFT-GIT were found in five (1.2%) subjects. Overall, 74 (19%) out of 393 subjects were TST-positive and 52 (13%) were QFT-GIT-positive. Concordance between TST and QFT-GIT results was good (87.7%): 13 were QFT-GIT-positive/TST-negative and 35 QFT-GIT-negative/TST-positive. By multivariate analysis both tests were significantly associated with older age. Only the TST was associated with BCG vaccination and radiological lesions of past TB. Use of immunosuppressive drugs differently modulated QFT-GIT or TST scoring.

Follicular Borreliosis

Excerpt:

A 56-year-old woman was referred to our department for an
eruption on the front side of the left thigh present for 6 months,
accompanied more recently by arthralgia and localized subjective
neurological symptoms.
The eruption started a few days after an insect bite by a red papule which secondarily enlarged.
The erythema was of variable intensity. Clinical examination revealed
peripilar red papules of the thigh from the groin to the knee( fig. 1 ).
The patient had no remarkable contralateral keratosis pilaris.

Full article: http://content.karger.com/produktedb/produkte.asp?typ=fulltext&file=000209229

Are you sick and tired? My FIGHT4YOURHEALTH program can change your life!

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.

Tick-Borne Encephalitis Among U.S. Travelers - Europe & Asia

Full article: http://jama.ama-assn.org/cgi/content/full/303/21/2132?etoc

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the most common arbovirus transmitted by ticks in Europe. Approximately 10,000 cases of tick-borne encephalitis (TBE) are reported annually in Europe and Russia.1 Although TBE is endemic in parts of China, information regarding its incidence is limited.1-2 TBEV is closely related to Powassan virus (POWV), another tick-borne flavivirus that is a rare cause of encephalitis in North America and Russia; TBEV and POWV can cross-react in serologic tests.3-4 Before 2000, two cases of TBE in North American travelers to Europe were reported.5-6 State health officials or clinicians send specimens from patients with unexplained encephalitis to CDC as part of routine surveillance and diagnostic testing. CDC recently reviewed all 2000-2009 laboratory records to identifycases of TBE among U.S. travelers; the five cases identified are summarized in this report. All five cases had TBEV or POWV immunoglobulin M (IgM) antibodies in serum and were confirmed as acute TBE cases by plaque-reduction neutralization tests against both viruses. All four patients who had traveled to Europe or Russia had biphasic illnesses (a common feature of TBE) and made nearly complete recoveries. The fifth patient, the first reported case of TBE in a U.S. traveler to China, had a monophasic illness with severe encephalitis and neurologic sequelae. Health-care providers should be aware of TBE, should counsel travelers about measures to reduce exposure to tick bites, and should consider the diagnosis of TBE in travelers returning from TBE-endemic countries with meningitis or encephalitis.

Excerpt:

Role of sand lizards in the ecology of Lyme

Full article: http://www.parasitesandvectors.com/content/3/1/42

Excerpt:

Lizards are considered zooprophylactic for almost all Borrelia burgdorferi species, and act as dilution hosts in parts of North America. Whether European lizards significantly reduce the ability of B. burgdorferi to maintain itself in enzootic cycles, and consequently decrease the infection rate of Ixodes ricinus ticks for B. burgdorferi and other tick-borne pathogens in Western Europe is not clear.

Results

Ticks were collected from sand lizards, their habitat (heath) and from the adjacent forest. DNA of tick-borne pathogens was detected by PCR followed by reverse line blotting. Tick densities were measured at all four locations by blanket dragging. Nymphs and adult ticks collected from lizards had a significantly lower (1.4%) prevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato, compared to questing ticks in heath (24%) or forest (19%). The prevalence of Rickettsia helvetica was significantly higher in ticks from lizards (19%) than those from woodland (10%) whereas neither was significantly different from the prevalence in ticks from heather (15%). The prevalence of Anaplasma and Ehrlichia spp in heather (12%) and forest (14%) were comparable, but significantly lower in ticks from sand lizards (5.4%). The prevalence of Babesia spp in ticks varied between 0 and 5.3 %. Tick load of lizards ranged from 1 - 16. Tick densities were ~ 5-fold lower in the heather areas than in woodlands at all four sites.

Serum IgG and IgM for risk assesment in early Lyme

Excerpt:

The laboratory diagnosis of early disseminated Lyme borreliosis
(LB) rests on IgM and IgG antibodies in serum. The purpose of
this study was to refine the statistical interpretation of IgM
and IgG by combining the diagnostic evidence provided by the two
immunoglobulins and exploiting the whole range of the
quantitative variation in test values. ELISA assays based on
purified flagella antigen were performed on sera from 815 healthy
Danish blood donors as negative controls and 117 consecutive
patients with confirmed neuroborreliosis (NB).

Full article: http://eutils.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/eutils/elink.fcgi?dbfrom=pubmed&id=20402677&retmode=ref&cmd=prlinks

ACS 200 & ACZ Nano

Linda’s comment:  I personally can not live without my ACS200 and ACZnano Zeolite….I go so far as to carry a bottle of each in my purse….
CS basic technology goes to the head of the class of effective antimicrobials for topical applications. Many of you are still not convinced that ACS 200 is the breakthrough technology in colloidal silver chemistry that we have been telling you. Please understand the principals behind ACS 200 did not get EPA approval, as a sterilant easily. This is a multi-billion dollar market making what you do about treating patients who have infections of only passing interest to investors who have put up the money to get this sterilant product approved in a highly competitive environment.

That same knowledge base brought out the Total Body Detox with ACS 200 and ACZ. These are so easy to use that if you begin to believe that your patient’s toxins are part of their health problem, you owe it to them to let them try this convenient easy, gentle, lower dose form of ZEOLITE suitable for every age, including during pregnancy and for all pets.

Remember only when you lower the total body burden of toxins do you really deal with inflammation at the core. Only then can any chelator or Zeolite detox program begin to show its true potential. With the numbers on their website supporting the fact that mercury is really being removed with the easy affordable Total Body Detox Program.

When you have a surface that must remain sterile, whether on board a cruise ship kitchen or an operating room or a dentist office, this will be the sterilant that will set the standard for a long time.  It has additional molecules to enable it to deal with dangerous surfaces like our nation’s capitol after the anthrax exposure.

With this product no building will be needlessly closed for days, weeks or months like the post office where the anthrax was shipped from with a clean-up bill in the millions.

This is vital information for you if you believe there is something to my FIGHT program and you want to eliminate the needless deaths in over 100,000 people each year where no antibiotic would work. ACS alone would have made a huge difference and with my infection program by adding VIT A, D, C, Garlic immune support etc, as clearly described on my website under infection protocols.

We should be able to save over 90% who otherwise will die with the standard drugs being used today. It is never too late to add ACS and ACZ topically and orally, the drugs will not be damaged by adding Silver. And, now we have ANTIFUNGAL ANTIVIRAL and ANTIBIOTIC effects that are real without exception even HIV, Hepatitis and Lyme!!!

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

http://www.resultsrna.com/products/steriplex_health_care_now_epa_approved.php

STERIPLEX Health Care Now EPA Approved
By David Larson, President

Powered by the leading silver technology utilized by Advanced Cellular Silver (ACS) 200®, STERIPLEX® Health Care is now the most powerful Sporicide/ Sterilant ever approved by the EPA.

As germs like MRSA, C. diff. and anthrax become increasingly life-threatening, the war on superbugs continues as biotechnology companies from around the world race to produce products that kill germs effectively, without harming people or the environment. And while consumers become ever more aware of product safety, harsh chemical disinfectants are out; safe and effective is definitely in.

STERIPLEX® Health Care (HC) is a revolutionary new Sterilant/Sporicide, which has recently received Federal EPA Registration. A paradigm shift in infection control STERIPLEX® Health Care sets new standards, killing spores in a tiny fraction of the time of competing products while remaining safe to people and the environment. Independent GLP certified laboratories have verified that STERIPLEX® Health Care destroys the most virulent pathogens including C. sporogenes and B. subtilis spores 10 to 32 times faster than other sterilant brands. With never before seen kill times, these results are truly remarkable as virulent spores are truly some of the toughest germs to kill. A sporicide will typically destroy all other germ species as well.

And just how safe is safe? STERIPLEX® Health Care is completely non-toxic, non-corrosive, non-flammable and 100% biodegradable. STERIPLEX® Health Care can safely be used as a not critical care instrument soak and to disinfect all hard surfaces. Competing sterilants have performance problems and/or serious corrosion and toxic side effects. For example, Glutaraldehyde is a widely used sterilant in medical facilities, but it is highly toxic. Because of its many adverse side effects, Glutaraldehyde was banned in Great Britain several years ago. Chlorine-based products are extremely corrosive and harmful if inhaled or swallowed. Alcohol-based products, which offer only modest antimicrobial performance, disintegrate plastics and are harmful if inhaled or swallowed.

Now consider that the new spore testing benchmarks required by the EPA to achieve sterilant (sporicidal) registration are far more rigorous today than the testing required of previously approved chemical sporicides. The new EPA spore testing protocols required STERIPLEX® Health Care to be tested against spore concentrations of nominally 100 times previous testing levels. Even so, STERIPLEX® Health Care passed all testing in record times. EPA Registration #84545-5 was issued to sBioMed™ November 2, 2009.

STERIPLEX® HEALTH CARE is registered as a broad spectrum Sterilant/Sporicide, Tuberculocide, and Bactericide.

While the current EPA registration of STERIPLEX® HEALTH CARE designates use as a hard surface sterilant, future applications of the safe STERIPLEX® technologies could include uses in state-of-the-art disinfection products for hospitals, schools, food processing, and antimicrobial cleaning products and even topical surgical prep and burn center treatments.
Seven U.S. patents have already been issued to sBioMed® and seven more U.S. patents are being processed for issuance. All patents have been filed globally.

Recurrent laryngeal nerve paralysis

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.

Antibodies against gangliosides in Lyme patients

Excerpt:

RESULTS: Antibodies were detected in all evaluated groups. In
group of neuroborreliosis (lymphocytic meningitis with cranial
nerve invoIvement) there was no essential difference with control
group.
It was stated in group of forestry workers with serological
features of infection B. burgdorferi lasting for years.
CONCLUSIONS: Results of the study do
not support the thesis of participation of IgG autoantibodies
against gangliosides in pathogenesis early disseminated Lyme
borreliosis in form of lymphocytic meningitis with cranial nerves
paresis. Antibodies against endogenous glicosfingolipides in Lyme
borreliosis probably can lead to affecting nervous system
(demielinisation and polineuropathy) but probably require
long-term immunization, what is suggested by results of examined
group of patients with the multi-annual serological features of
infection.