Full aritcle: http://www.newhaven.edu/news-events/82773.pdf

Excerpt:

 Our results demonstrated that both herbal agents, but not doxycycline, had very significant effects on all forms of B. burgdorferi, especially when used in combination, suggesting that herbal agents could provide an effective therapeutic approach for Lyme disease patient. 

Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/41973641/ns/health-infectious_diseases/

Excerpt:

Wild raspberries lured Jacqueline Moore over the wall of her new garden in Westchester County, New York. It was July 2008, and Moore, her husband and their two small kids had just moved up from Manhattan. She was painting the kitchen, up on a ladder, when she glanced out the window and spotted the flash of red. She was thrilled: This was what they had left the city for. She called the kids, and they hopped over the wall. They picked raspberries every day for two weeks. 

About the time the berries ran out, Moore—who was 34 then, a personal trainer and marathoner—started feeling an achein her neck and shoulder. She thought painting the ceiling was to blame; or maybe it was the borrowed mattress she and her husband were sleeping on. Then she noticed herself getting irritable. Family were visiting to see the new house, and “I was having trouble taking care of the guests,” she recalls. “Every day, I would be twice as tired as I had been the day before.” …..

“It is so new in our area, it has flown under the radar,” says Moore’s physician Gary P. Wormser, M.D., the chief of infectious diseases at Westchester Medical Center and New York Medical College and head of a team researching tick diseases. “A lot of patients haven’t heard of it, and a lot of doctors don’t know about it.”

November 10, 2010 (Atlanta, Georgia) — West Nile virus (WNV) might persist for years after acute infection, resulting in long-term neurological consequences in more people than previously thought, a new study suggests.

Kristy Murray, DVM, PhD, from the University of Texas School of Public Health, in Houston, presented the findings here at the American Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene 59th Annual Meeting.

“West Nile virus is not just an acute disease,” Dr. Murray told Medscape Medical News. “Patients who have the neuroinvasive form of disease will more than likely have long-term symptoms and sequelae,” she said. “This is a major finding, considering that more than 1.7 million Americans have been exposed since this virus first came to the United States in 1999,” she added.

WNV infection is generally asymptomatic, but a neuroinvasive variant that can result in encephalitis, meningitis, and acute flaccid paralysis occurs in approximately 1 in 150 infected individuals, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in Atlanta, Georgia.

Dr. Murray and colleagues initially observed that a larger than expected number of patients who presented with WNV infections were experiencing progressive neurological disease or kidney failure. They subsequently investigated long-term outcome in 151 patients with WNV in Houston beginning in 2002.

Of patients who presented with encephalitis, 77% had abnormal neurological findings, and 23% exhibited renal disease (including 5 deaths from renal failure).

Previously, the researchers found that 5 of 25 subjects tested positive for WNV viral particles in the urine. The current analysis indicated that 34 of 81 subjects (42%) had persistent WNV viral shedding in the urine. Of those patients, 65% had proteinuria and 13% developed renal failure.

Will the San Diego Federal Judge Put Stephen Barrett in Jail?…

 

Monday June 7th, 2010

 

Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen

 

Oh my, the “Barrett Settlement” story, http://bolenreport.com/feature_articles/feature_article091.htm
Will the San Diego Federal Judge Put Stephen Barrett in Jail?.. in San Diego, is getting even better.  It seems that now the Federal judge in the case has assigned a Federal Magistrate Judge, Judge Cathy Ann Bencivengo “to retain jurisdiction for settlement purposes.”

 

Wow – this could could get interesting.  VERY interesting.  I’ll explain.

 

I have a copy, right here on my desk, of the settlement statement wording agreed to, and ORDERED by the Court, and so far, I don’t see that wording on Barrett’s website, nor do I see his minions mouthing those COURT ORDERED words.  Apparently they must all be in shock and cannot bring themselves to comply with the Court Order.

 

And NO, I’m not going to tell you what those COURT ORDERED words are.  http://bolenreport.com/feature_articles/feature_article091.htm
 
I’m going to wait and see what happens.  Frankly, I hope Barrett decides to defy the Federal Magistrate Judge.  Then Negrete can file for an Order of Contempt.  Being called on the carpet in front of a Federal Judge could have serious consequences for Barrett.

 

Contempt, in a Federal court, is taken very seriously.  Below is the official definition:     

 

CONTEMPT OF COURT
Any willful disobedience to, or disregard of, a court order or any misconduct in the presence of a court; action that interferes with a judge’s ability to administer justice or that insults the dignity of the court; punishable by fine or imprisonment or both. There are both civil and criminal contempts; the distinction is often unclear.

 

Contempt Of Court – Civil Or Criminal
A judge who feels someone is improperly challenging or ignoring the court’s authority has the power to declare the defiant person (called the contemnor) in contempt of court. There are two types of contempt, criminal and civil. Criminal contempt occurs when the contemnor actually interferes with the ability of the court to function properly – for example, by yelling at the judge. This is also called direct contempt because it occurs directly in front of the judge. A criminal contemnor may be fined, jailed or both as punishment for his act.

 

Civil contempt occurs when the contemnor willfully disobeys a court order. This is also called indirect contempt because it occurs outside the judge’s immediate realm and evidence must be presented to the judge to prove the contempt. A civil contemnor, too, may be fined, jailed or both. The fine or jailing is meant to coerce the contemnor into obeying the court, not to punish him, and the contemnor will be released from jail just as soon as he complies with the court order. In family law, civil contempt is one way a court enforces alimony, child support, custody and visitation orders which have been violated.

 

However, many courts have realized that, at least regarding various procedural matters such as appointment of counsel, the distinction between civil and criminal contempt is often blurred and uncertain.

Excerpt:

Dr. Robert Lane received a B.A. degree in psychology from the
University of California at Berkeley (UCB), an M.A. degree in
biology at San Francisco State College, and a Ph.D. in entomology
at UCB. While employed as a California State public health
biologist he began his long-standing studies of the biology of
ticks and the ecology and epidemiology of tick-borne disease
agents. In 1984, Dr. Lane joined the faculty of UCB as a medical
entomologist, a position he has held until the present. The
diseases he and his many co-workers have investigated include
Colorado tick fever, human granulocytic anaplasmosis, relapsing
fever, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, tularemia, and particularly
Lyme disease. Findings from these studies have elucidated the
basic transmission cycles of and risk factors for spotted
fever-group rickettsiae and Lyme disease spirochetes in the far
western United States. Bob is a Fellow of both the California
Academy of Sciences and the American Association for the
Advancement of Science, a recipient of a UCB Biology Faculty
Research Award and the C.W.

Excerpt:

We are excited to present information from the forthcoming book by Martin L. Pall, PhD, who shows that all these conditions – and probably many others – involve the same key biochemical response: elevated levels of nitric oxide (NO) and its oxidant product peroxynitrite (ONOO–), which initiate a biochemical vicious cycle. Although the mechanisms underlying this ongoing NO/ONOO– cycle are well-documented, Dr. Pall presents new information about how this cycle interacts to produce patterns of symptoms. The theory elegantly answers many questions, including: If CFS, MCS, FM, PTSD and GWS have a common biochemical link, why is there such a variety of symptoms? Why do symptoms vary among sufferers of the same condition? What roles do infection, chemical exposure, physical trauma, and severe psychological stress play? How do short-term stressors initiate chronic illness? What are the common symptoms and signs? What is an approach that corrects the cause, rather than treating the symptoms? How does the biochemistry of the NO/ONOO– cycle produce chronic illness? What are the principles underlying the NO/ONOO– cycle mechanism? Can the NO/ONOO– cycle explain other previously unexplained properties of these illnesses? How might 14 additional illnesses/diseases also be caused by the NO/ONOO– cycle etiology? And many more… All this is backed up with more than 1,500 references to scientific literature.

Key Points Symptoms are generated by elevated levels of nitric oxide, peroxynitrite and several other consequences of the NO/ONOO– cycle, such as elevated activity of NF-kappa B, superoxide, inflammatory cytokines and activity of two transmitter systems, the vanilloid receptor and the NMDA receptor. Therapy should focus on down-regulating the NO/ONOO– cycle biochemistry. Peroxynitrite is a potent oxidant, and it or its products initiate oxidative chain reactions, causing damage to both proteins and DNA. When its levels are sufficiently elevated, it can cause programmed cell death (apoptosis), an important mechanism in neurodegenerative diseases. Peroxynitrite attacks several of the important proteins in mitochondria, acting along with superoxide and nitric oxide in lower energy metabolism. Such energy metabolism dysfunction lowers the availability of ATP, the energy currency in cells, and is an important part of NO/ONOO– cycle biochemistry. Much of the mechanism of the NO/ONOO– cycle is local, impacting one tissue but not necessarily impacting an adjacent tissue. Different people suffering from these illnesses may have distinct tissues impacted by NO/ONOO– cycle biochemistry, and this variation in tissue distribution leads to an almost infinite variation of symptoms and signs. This is proposed to be responsible for the extraordinary variation in symptoms and signs reported in comparisons of one patient with another. Conditions caused by the NO/ONOO– cycle are best treated by using agents that are expected to down-regulate NO/ONOO– cycle biochemistry. At least 30 therapeutic agents or classes of agents are available today that are expected to down-regulate cycle biochemistry. Of these 30, clinical trial studies have been performed on 12, and all 12 show evidence of efficacy in treatment of these multisystem diseases or closely related illnesses. Clinical observations and/or anecdotal reports suggest that six additional agents or classes of agents are also effective in treatment.

November 13, 2009 (Washington, DC) — The odds that a child living in a Lyme-endemic area of the United States who presents with a joint effusion will be diagnosed as having Lyme arthritis is 29%. The odds are even higher (44%) if the affected joint is the knee. The leukocyte count is useful in distinguishing between septic and Lyme arthritis, researchers announced here.

“There was an increase in the number of cases in the United States by 101% over the past 15 years, possibly due to increased recognition of Lyme disease,” said Aristides I. Cruz Jr., MD, resident in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. During his presentation, he noted that 93% of all Lyme disease cases arise from 10 states, most in the Northeast United States.

“There was an increase in the number of cases in the United States by 101% over the past 15 years, possibly due to increased recognition of Lyme disease,” said Aristides I. Cruz Jr., MD, resident in the Department of Orthopedics and Rehabilitation at Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. During his presentation, he noted that 93% of all Lyme disease cases arise from 10 states, most in the Northeast United States.

“Children are more likely to present with arthritis as initial manifestation of Lyme disease,” Dr. Cruz told the audience.

“Children with Lyme arthritis presenting with a limp and a swollen joint will typically have a lower peripheral white blood cell count,” Dr. Cruz added. “They are less likely to have complete non-weight-bearing on the affected limb, less likely to have a fever, and [arthritis symptoms are] more likely to involve the knee joint compared with children with septic arthritis.”

The findings were reported here at the American Academy of Pediatrics 2009 National Conference & Exhibition.

Basic Diagnostic Tools Help Distinguish Lyme From Septic Arthritis

“In the Northeast, we see a lot of Lyme disease,” said Yi-Meng Yen, MD, PhD, instructor in orthopaedic surgery, Harvard Medical School, Children’s Hospital Boston in Massachusetts. “It is hard to distinguish whether [it] is Lyme disease or whether [it] is septic arthritis,” Dr. Yen agreed.

“Septic arthritis mandates that we take the patient to the operating room and do a surgery, whereas Lyme arthritis theoretically can be treated with antibiotics,” he told Medscape Pediatrics in an interview. For instance, he said, “Our institution has been looking at MRIs [magnetic resonance images] as a way to reliably distinguish between the two, because it takes several days sometimes for the lab tests to come back to definitely tell you whether you have Lyme disease or not. So, in those few days, if you have septic arthritis, that’s a bad thing.”

“To reliably, quickly diagnose what the patient has can help us determine the treatment quickly,” added Dr. Yen, who was not involved in this study.

“If you are clinically susceptible for septic arthritis, it pays to go to the operating room,” Dr. Cruz said in answer to a question from the audience. “In the past, almost all these patients automatically went to the operating room.”

However, if the clinical presentation is consistent with Lyme arthritis, treatment with antibiotics should suffice, he added. “The point of this study was to come up with some clinically useful criteria to arm ourselves with more tools to diagnose the disease.”

Dr. Cruz and his team sought to evaluate clinical parameters that could eventually be used to differentiate Lyme arthritis from septic arthritis in children and help with diagnosis and subsequent treatment.

In this retrospective analysis, the investigators reviewed data from children who underwent lower-extremity joint aspiration at Yale University Medical Center, a tertiary care children’s hospital in a Lyme disease endemic area.

Between August 2002 and August 2008, more than 200 children underwent a total of 212 aspirations for a joint effusion. Cell count, culture, hematologic inflammatory markers, and subsequent surgical intervention were available for 170 of the 212 aspirates.

Dr. Cruz’s team compared findings from 50 children with serologically confirmed Lyme disease with data from 21 patients with culture-positive septic arthritis.

They found statistically significant differences between the 2 cohorts. For instance, the peripheral white blood cell count was 9.5 x 1000/μL (range, 3.0 – 14.9 x 1000/μL) in the aspirates from children with Lyme disease vs 12.5 (range, 5.5 – 30.1) in children with septic arthritis (P = .002).

Other parameters, such as joint fluid cell count, erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and C-reactive protein levels, were not significantly different between the 2 groups and could not be used to differentiate between septic and Lyme arthritis.

Interestingly, said Dr. Cruz, of all the children presenting with a joint effusion at their hospital, 29% were likely to be diagnosed as having Lyme arthritis overall compared with 44% if the aspirate was a knee aspirate.

“Is it worthwhile to develop something that’s very reliable? Absolutely!” said Dr. Yen. “Especially in the Northeast centers. It is a growing healthcare problem and a lot more study should be put into it.”

Dr. Cruz and Dr. Yen have disclosed no relevant financial relationships.

American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2009 National Conference & Exhibition (NCE): Abstract 5806. Presented October 17, 2009.

Journalist

Crina Frincu-Mallos, PhD

Crina Frincu-Mallos is a freelance writer for Medscape Medical News.

• American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) 2009 National Conference and Exhibition

This coverage is not sanctioned by, nor a part of, the American Academy of Pediatrics.

From Medscape Medical New

by Richard A. Van Konynenburg, Ph.D.
9th International IACFS/ME Conference
Reno, Nevada
March 12-15, 2009

Summary

A link has been hypothesized between Lyme disease and chronic
fatigue syndrome (CFS).  This link is based on the Glutathione Depletion-Methylation Cycle Block (GD-MCB)  hypothesis for CFS [6].

The GD-MCB hypothesis proposes that in a person who is genomically predisposed, stressors that place demands on glutathione can cause it to become depleted, and can lead to a partial
block in the methylation cycle. The resulting vicious circle interaction maintains CFS as a chronic condition.

The present paper suggests that Lyme disease is one of the stressors that can produce this
vicious circle interaction in the body of a person who is genomically predisposed. It is suggested that this leads to chronic Lyme disease.

If the Borrelia bacteria are subsequently eliminated by treatment, the patient then has post-Lyme disease syndrome. Post-Lyme disease syndrome is one of the post-infective fatigue syndromes, a category of disorders within chronic fatigue syndrome [25]. A commercial test
panel is available to test this hypothesis [26], and treatment to lift the methylation cycle block and to restore glutathione is available [7] if these are found to be present.

I Love Being Hated by Quackbusters…

Opinion by Consumer Advocate Tim Bolen

Thursday, November 12th, 2009

New Orleans area doctor James Carter MD, PhD, author of the famous book “Racketeering in Medicine,” the blatant 1994 expose of the plot to destroy innovation in US health care, called me up one day, several years back, and asked me if I was coming to a certain health convention where he was going to be.

He had me worried for a minute, for I thought that he might be angry at me for I had recently removed him as the “most hated person in quackbuster land,” and inserted myself into that position.  After all, there is honor, in certain important circles, in being on Stephen Barrett’s website.  The thinking is that the more space you get on Barrett’s sleazy pages the more good you must be doing for humanity.  Barrett was giving me lots of space – more than anyone had ever gotten.  I was worried that Jim Carter might be upset with me for pushing him into second position.

But he wasn’t.  He wanted me to come and speak to a large group of cutting-edge doctors and he wanted to introduce me personally.  Barrett has no idea, to this day, how much of an honor he had bestowed on me.  I spent a weekend with a group of people who lead the nation, if not the world, in innovative health care thinking.  It was, to say the least, stimulating.

Jim Carter, with his immense book, had taken the high road in his expose, even suffering through a lawsuit over the book, from Barrett – which Jim won.  I, on the other hand, took the low road, and called bullyboy Barrett out into the street, so to speak, where I proceeded to slap him around, bloody him up, in front of his own audience.  I took Barrett’s very own tactics and played them right back at him – and rubbed his nose in it.

Barrett, of course, being the arrogant wanna-be tyrant he actually is, couldn’t take it and sued me – or, I should say “sort of sued me,” for, as we all know it has been NINE YEARS since Barrett announced on his sleazy website that he was suing me – and of course, the Court has since thrown out the case (after eight-and-a-half years) of no activity.

There is no question that Barrett, and his band of loser malcontents, hold me, Tim Bolen, out as Public Enemy Number One.

Ahhhh, that feels good…  The only thing I could think of that would be better than that would be a personally signed Christmas Card from the Pope thanking me for my good works on the side of “Good” in the war against “Evil” – something my Mom would, definitely, put on the refrigerator.

So – What’s next?

Is there more coming?  Oh yeah.

Stay tuned…

Tim Bolen – Consumer Advocate