protein – F.I.G.H.T for your health! http://lymebook.com/fight Linda Heming describes her Lyme disease healing journey Wed, 06 Nov 2013 05:54:37 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=4.9.25 Cerebrospinal fluid in adults with Lyme http://lymebook.com/fight/cerebrospinal-fluid-in-adults-with-lyme/ http://lymebook.com/fight/cerebrospinal-fluid-in-adults-with-lyme/#respond Wed, 26 Oct 2011 04:42:06 +0000 http://lymebook.com/fight/?p=2761 Excerpt:

In acute LNB, all
patients had elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leukocyte counts. In
contrast to infections by other bacteria, CSF lactate was lower than 3.5
mmol/l in all but 5 patients. The CSF findings did not differ between
polyradiculoneuritis, facial palsy, and meningitis. The CSF in LNB
patients strongly differed from CSF in VM patients with respect to
protein concentration and the CSF/serum albumin quotient.

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Monsanto plans to unleash its latest Frankenfood experiment http://lymebook.com/fight/monsanto-plans-to-unleash-its-latest-frankenfood-experiment/ http://lymebook.com/fight/monsanto-plans-to-unleash-its-latest-frankenfood-experiment/#respond Fri, 12 Feb 2010 00:16:41 +0000 http://lymebook.com/fight/?p=850 Linda’s comments:  THIS is criminal in my book.  Do they think we have stupid stamped on our foreheads?  We can stop this or at least make enough noise that Monsanto will think twice.  The main thing we can do is JUST SAY NO TO GMO and DO NOT PURCHASE THESE DEADLY FOODS.  The consumers are in control and need to take a stand.  We need to put our feet down and stand against these companies that have NO regard for our health and safety.  Cancers and autoimmune diseases are on the rise.  You can bet that GMO foods are part of the problem.  Think of your children and grand-children.  Don’t you want them to lead a healthy life and live to teach their grand-children??  How many more lives have to be lost to these DEADLY foods?  Stop and think about this, when your past presidents would not allow the GMO foods to be served to their families how can they allow Monsanto to continue??  Follow the money!!!

Regards,
Linda or Angel
Excerpt:
In the 2010 growing season Monsanto plans to unleash its latest Frankenfood experiment on the American and Canadian public, a new version of genetically mutated corn with eight abnormal gene traits called Genuity SmartStax corn. It is the culmination of an astonishing scandal that has been steadily building over the past decade. During this time Monsanto’s mutated seeds have grown to 90% of the U.S. soy crop and 85% of the corn crop – and wheat is next on their agenda. Their efforts have been marked by corporate bullying and have drawn the attention of the Justice Department who is conducting an antitrust investigation. All the while they have been spending millions on lobbying to fast track their agenda before the American public even realizes what hit them. Monsanto is making an ominous power play to corner the worldwide market on food and seeds. In the process they are adversely altering the very nature of food itself.

Few people would eat Monsanto’s “food” if they understood what it was or knew that they were eating it. President Obama and his family won’t eat it. Neither did the Bush family. Even a Monsanto employee cafeteria rejects it. This is no laughing matter. Your health and the health of your children and grandchildren are at stake. It seems more like a scene from a horror flick than something happening in modern day America. Imagine your digestive tract turned into a Roundup Ready herbicide factory and other warped genetic signals slowly and progressively rotting away your health. Unlike acute food poisoning from infectious E.coli, it is a slow and insidious poisoning.

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Lyme Encephalopathy http://lymebook.com/fight/lyme-encephalopathy/ http://lymebook.com/fight/lyme-encephalopathy/#respond Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:39:37 +0000 http://lymebook.com/fight/?p=571

Encephalopathy is like fine art: Most people know it when they see it, but there is very little agreement on how to define it. At the 14th International Lyme Disease Conference, Brian A. Fallon, MD,[1] of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, tried to do just that. More importantly, he described the different ways one can define encephalopathy, the strengths and limitations of each approach, and significantly, what other aspects of life can give the impression of encephalopathy where none exists. First, one must evaluate patients with persistent Lyme encephalopathy by asking the following questions:

Is the diagnosis correct?
Are there comorbid psychiatric disorders that could be treated better? Does the patient have a psychogenic medical illness? What was the patient’s response to prior antibiotics?
Was previous treatment adequate? How long was the course, and what was the route of administration? Was there a subsequent relapse

Defining the Problem
The first question can pose a problem for the clinician. There is currently no agreed-upon definition of Lyme encephalopathy, and this has caused a great deal of confusion in the field. Encephalopathy was not included in the CDC’s case definition of Lyme disease, so NIH-funded studies of this condition can be hard to defend without a government- or society-sanctioned definition.
For investigators in this field, there have been numerous and differing definitions of Lyme encephalopathy. One of the earlier attempts at defining the problem was made by Logigian and colleagues in 1990.[2] This group listed the chronic neurologic abnormalities of Lyme encephalopathy as memory loss, depression, sleep disturbance, irritability, and difficulty finding words. However, there is much overlap between these symptoms and those of depression unrelated to Lyme disease.

Some further possibilities for defining the condition include self reporting of cognitive deficits, self reporting plus laboratory signs of CNS involvement, objective evidence of deficits on cognitive testing, or objective deficits plus laboratory signs of central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Signs of CNS involvement have included elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein or pleocytosis, abnormal brain scans or tests (single photon emission computed tomography [SPECT], magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], or electroencephalogram [EEG]), intrathecal antibody production, or a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA or a positive culture. However, objective tests often do not agree with patients’ perceptions. This is especially true for memory in depression

One Deficit, or Many?
One challenge is determining which and how many cognitive deficits to include in the definition and evaluation. For instance, some investigators have looked at a single, representative deficit (ie, single-domain methods) such as memory.[3] Others have looked at numerous deficits in each patient (ie, multiple-domain methods), such as memory, verbal fluency, and attention.[4] The advantage of the single domain method is that it focuses on one main problem and makes for a more homogeneous study sample. However, such a study may exclude patients who are impaired in other cognitive areas. The multiple domain method is particularly well suited for a disease that affects multiple cognitive domains, as one would expect for a global term such as encephalopathy. However, if patients have deficits primarily in one domain, this method becomes less sensitive (by dilution with less affected cognitive areas).
A further complication is how one defines and measures these deficits. One approach is to compare to age-matched norms. A second approach is to compare to actual or estimated premorbid or general ability levels. Comparison to age-matched norms provides simple, clear criteria for measurement and comparison, a cut-off score. But if the deficit being compared is correlated with a general ability (such as memory and general intelligence), then people with higher intelligence but with memory impairment may not be detected by this method. For example, if a subject has a general intelligence IQ of 130 and a memory score of 100, his full-scale IQ is 2 standard deviations above the age-norm, while his memory score is exactly at the age-norm. Compared to age-norms, this subject would not have memory impairment. Compared to his full-scale IQ, his memory score would be 2 standard deviations below expected — which clearly would suggest impairment. One method identifies this subject as normal, the next identifies him as impaired.

In contrast to the age-norm method, comparison to general levels of ability can allow for a more customized approach to assessing cognitive impairment, thus enhancing sensitivity. However, general abilities can be decreased by illness, regardless of a specific effect on that ability. In addition, this approach assumes that the domain of interest is strongly correlated with general ability.

The ideal screening tool for Lyme encephalopathy should have maximal sensitivity and specificity. Premorbid ability should be taken into account, by using norms adjusted for age, sex, and education level, or with balanced premorbid assessment of ability. It is still not clear whether a single- or multiple-domain definition of neurocognitive impairment should be used.

There are many screening tools for assessing premorbid ability, including verbal IQ, verbal comprehension index, vocabulary subtest score, reading subtest score (WRAT-R [Wide range achievement test-Revised]), demographic composite (Barona demographic equation), and national adult reading test (NART). Of course, different investigators have used different methods of assessing premorbid ability, thus further complicating comparisons between studies.

One of the few studies that actively evaluated patients with Lyme encephalopathy was conducted by Logigian and coworkers in 1997.[5] This study reveals some of these diagnostic problems discussed above. In this study, the investigators screened patients for Lyme encephalopathy and then evaluated the change in SPECT scan perfusion after treatment. Starting with clearly defined criteria for “definite Lyme encephalopathy” — subjective complaints of cognitive deficits, along with either a past or present CSF abnormality (intrathecal antibodies or PCR positivity) or objective cognitive deficits (as measured by 2 standard deviations below normal on verbal or visual memory tests, or 1 SD below normal on both tests) — they examined whether brain perfusion improved after treatment. While the brain imaging results were of interest in that all of the patients with definite Lyme encephalopathy showed improved perfusion after treatment, this study also demonstrated that the definition of Lyme encephalopathy, if restricted to cognitive testing, would have been too restrictive using their criteria. In other words, 5 of the 13 patients with “definite Lyme encephalopathy” did not have cognitive impairment using their criteria for impairment. Yet, these very same patients had abnormal SPECT scans that improved after treatment. Their cognitive criteria, which used age-norms for comparison, failed to identify 38% of patients with CNS abnormalities.

Dr. Fallon described an ongoing study of Lyme encephalopathy he is conducting at the NY State Psychiatric Institute. Because previous studies disagree about which is more accurate, single- or multiple-domain evaluation, they will collect data in 6 domains: motor skills, psychomotor skills, attention, memory, working memory, and verbal fluency. Data are preliminary, but so far the most sensitive method for the detection of impairment appears to be one that incorporates testing from multiple cognitive domains. Memory and working memory seem to be the most affected neurocognitive areas. Even so, about one quarter of the control subjects appeared to have neurocognitive deficits, compared to two thirds of the patients with complaints of memory impairment secondary to Lyme disease. Dr. Fallon suggested that the best method for detecting memory impairment in particular might be one that makes use of ethnicity- and education-adjusted norms. The Psychological Corporation is expected to publish such norms within the next year.

Complicating Factors
When determining the presence of encephalopathy in patients with Lyme disease, one must take into account other causes of cognitive complaints (Table 1), including the use of medications that can impair neurocognitive function (Table 2).

[Hysterical dementia is often over diagnosed in patients with Lyme encephalopathy, but it is rare for this to occur alone as a conversion symptom. The label of “hysterical” is often applied when phenomena are outside the clinician’s experience. For instance, females and male homosexuals more often receive this label. Based on studies over the past 50 years, many patients who are initially given the diagnosis of hysterical dementia go on to develop an organic CNS disorder.

Dr. Fallon is conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled study of brain imaging and treatment of persistent Lyme encephalopathy (Columbia University – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [NINDS]). Treatment will involve IV ceftriaxone for 10 weeks, with a 14-week antibiotic-free follow-up period. At the end of the 24-week study, patients who had been randomized to receive placebo will be given 6 weeks of IV ceftriaxone. Evaluations will be conducted at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks. PET and MRI imaging as well as neuropsychiatric tests are being used to evaluate response to treatment. Patients will be recruited for this study over the course of the next 3 years.

An In-depth Study of Neurocognitive and Behavioral Lyme Disease

Patricia K. Coyle, MD,[6] and colleagues from the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine have conducted a prospective, controlled study to characterize the neurologic and neurobehavioral manifestations of Lyme disease in North America. They examined 3 groups: adults with acute disease, adults with chronic disease, and children with disseminated disease (ie, more than 1 erythema migrans [EM] lesion). They attempted to characterize changes to the CSF and identify pathogenetic mechanisms and predictors of outcome. This work builds on a previous study by Coyle and colleagues.[7]
The clinical syndromes studied included cranial (facial) neuropathy, radiculoneuritis, meningitis, and arthritis. The major symptoms (ie, seen in more than two thirds of patients) in adults with acute disease included fatigue, headache, sleep problems, stiff neck, and myalgia. Those with chronic disease had a different constellation of major symptoms, such as concentration difficulties, fatigue, arthralgias, myalgias, mood disturbance, memory loss, sleep problems, word-finding difficulties, knee pain, confusion, and stiff neck. Children with disseminated Lyme disease experienced major symptoms of headache and fatigue. By symptom score, the major initial defining syndrome for the acute adult group was meningitis, followed by multifocal EM, cranial nerve palsy, radiculoneuritis, and single EM; for the chronic adult group, single EM was the most common presenting symptom, followed by arthritis, cranial nerve palsy, and multifocal EM; and for children with disseminated disease, extraneural symptoms.

These investigators concluded that the children with disseminated disease are less symptomatic than adults, but they have more inflammatory CSF changes. Among the adult patients, those with chronic disease were more symptomatic than those with acute disease. They had more cognitive, mood, and joint disturbances; more severe symptoms; and more current depression, anxiety, and adjustment problems. However, it was the acute disease patients who were more likely to show objective cognitive deficits.

Surprisingly, CSF changes were not marked in either group of adult patients. In adults with acute disease, 45% had reactive or borderline CSF serology, 7% had intrathecal antibody production (a common test for CNS infection), 30% had an elevated white blood cell count (WBC), 23% had elevated protein, only 14% had evidence of oligoclonal bands, and only 7% had an elevated IgG index. Similarly, in the adult chronic disease group, 35% had reactive or borderline CSF serology, 6% had intrathecal antibody production, 15% had elevated WBC, 15% had elevated protein, 6% had evidence of oligoclonal band testing, and 3% had an elevated IgG index. Dr. Coyle plans to follow up with each group of patients to measure long-term (18-month) sequelae of the disease

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Lyme Encepalopathy http://lymebook.com/fight/lyme-encepalopathy/ http://lymebook.com/fight/lyme-encepalopathy/#respond Sun, 29 Nov 2009 05:35:42 +0000 http://lymebook.com/fight/lyme-encepalopathy/

Encephalopathy is like fine art: Most people know it when they see it, but there is very little agreement on how to define it. At the 14th International Lyme Disease Conference, Brian A. Fallon, MD,[1] of Columbia University and the New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY, tried to do just that. More importantly, he described the different ways one can define encephalopathy, the strengths and limitations of each approach, and significantly, what other aspects of life can give the impression of encephalopathy where none exists.
First, one must evaluate patients with persistent Lyme encephalopathy by asking the following questions:

Is the diagnosis correct?
Are there comorbid psychiatric disorders that could be treated better? Does the patient have a psychogenic medical illness? What was the patient’s response to prior antibiotics?
Was previous treatment adequate? How long was the course, and what was the route of administration? Was there a subsequent relapse

Defining the Problem
The first question can pose a problem for the clinician. There is currently no agreed-upon definition of Lyme encephalopathy, and this has caused a great deal of confusion in the field. Encephalopathy was not included in the CDC’s case definition of Lyme disease, so NIH-funded studies of this condition can be hard to defend without a government- or society-sanctioned definition.
For investigators in this field, there have been numerous and differing definitions of Lyme encephalopathy. One of the earlier attempts at defining the problem was made by Logigian and colleagues in 1990.[2] This group listed the chronic neurologic abnormalities of Lyme encephalopathy as memory loss, depression, sleep disturbance, irritability, and difficulty finding words. However, there is much overlap between these symptoms and those of depression unrelated to Lyme disease.

Some further possibilities for defining the condition include self reporting of cognitive deficits, self reporting plus laboratory signs of CNS involvement, objective evidence of deficits on cognitive testing, or objective deficits plus laboratory signs of central nervous system (CNS) involvement. Signs of CNS involvement have included elevated cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) protein or pleocytosis, abnormal brain scans or tests (single photon emission computed tomography [SPECT], magnetic resonance imaging [MRI], or electroencephalogram [EEG]), intrathecal antibody production, or a positive polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Borrelia burgdorferi DNA or a positive culture. However, objective tests often do not agree with patients’ perceptions. This is especially true for memory in depression

One Deficit, or Many?
One challenge is determining which and how many cognitive deficits to include in the definition and evaluation. For instance, some investigators have looked at a single, representative deficit (ie, single-domain methods) such as memory.[3] Others have looked at numerous deficits in each patient (ie, multiple-domain methods), such as memory, verbal fluency, and attention.[4] The advantage of the single domain method is that it focuses on one main problem and makes for a more homogeneous study sample. However, such a study may exclude patients who are impaired in other cognitive areas. The multiple domain method is particularly well suited for a disease that affects multiple cognitive domains, as one would expect for a global term such as encephalopathy. However, if patients have deficits primarily in one domain, this method becomes less sensitive (by dilution with less affected cognitive areas).
A further complication is how one defines and measures these deficits. One approach is to compare to age-matched norms. A second approach is to compare to actual or estimated premorbid or general ability levels. Comparison to age-matched norms provides simple, clear criteria for measurement and comparison, a cut-off score. But if the deficit being compared is correlated with a general ability (such as memory and general intelligence), then people with higher intelligence but with memory impairment may not be detected by this method. For example, if a subject has a general intelligence IQ of 130 and a memory score of 100, his full-scale IQ is 2 standard deviations above the age-norm, while his memory score is exactly at the age-norm. Compared to age-norms, this subject would not have memory impairment. Compared to his full-scale IQ, his memory score would be 2 standard deviations below expected — which clearly would suggest impairment. One method identifies this subject as normal, the next identifies him as impaired.

In contrast to the age-norm method, comparison to general levels of ability can allow for a more customized approach to assessing cognitive impairment, thus enhancing sensitivity. However, general abilities can be decreased by illness, regardless of a specific effect on that ability. In addition, this approach assumes that the domain of interest is strongly correlated with general ability.

The ideal screening tool for Lyme encephalopathy should have maximal sensitivity and specificity. Premorbid ability should be taken into account, by using norms adjusted for age, sex, and education level, or with balanced premorbid assessment of ability. It is still not clear whether a single- or multiple-domain definition of neurocognitive impairment should be used.

There are many screening tools for assessing premorbid ability, including verbal IQ, verbal comprehension index, vocabulary subtest score, reading subtest score (WRAT-R [Wide range achievement test-Revised]), demographic composite (Barona demographic equation), and national adult reading test (NART). Of course, different investigators have used different methods of assessing premorbid ability, thus further complicating comparisons between studies.

One of the few studies that actively evaluated patients with Lyme encephalopathy was conducted by Logigian and coworkers in 1997.[5] This study reveals some of these diagnostic problems discussed above. In this study, the investigators screened patients for Lyme encephalopathy and then evaluated the change in SPECT scan perfusion after treatment. Starting with clearly defined criteria for “definite Lyme encephalopathy” — subjective complaints of cognitive deficits, along with either a past or present CSF abnormality (intrathecal antibodies or PCR positivity) or objective cognitive deficits (as measured by 2 standard deviations below normal on verbal or visual memory tests, or 1 SD below normal on both tests) — they examined whether brain perfusion improved after treatment. While the brain imaging results were of interest in that all of the patients with definite Lyme encephalopathy showed improved perfusion after treatment, this study also demonstrated that the definition of Lyme encephalopathy, if restricted to cognitive testing, would have been too restrictive using their criteria. In other words, 5 of the 13 patients with “definite Lyme encephalopathy” did not have cognitive impairment using their criteria for impairment. Yet, these very same patients had abnormal SPECT scans that improved after treatment. Their cognitive criteria, which used age-norms for comparison, failed to identify 38% of patients with CNS abnormalities.

Dr. Fallon described an ongoing study of Lyme encephalopathy he is conducting at the NY State Psychiatric Institute. Because previous studies disagree about which is more accurate, single- or multiple-domain evaluation, they will collect data in 6 domains: motor skills, psychomotor skills, attention, memory, working memory, and verbal fluency. Data are preliminary, but so far the most sensitive method for the detection of impairment appears to be one that incorporates testing from multiple cognitive domains. Memory and working memory seem to be the most affected neurocognitive areas. Even so, about one quarter of the control subjects appeared to have neurocognitive deficits, compared to two thirds of the patients with complaints of memory impairment secondary to Lyme disease. Dr. Fallon suggested that the best method for detecting memory impairment in particular might be one that makes use of ethnicity- and education-adjusted norms. The Psychological Corporation is expected to publish such norms within the next year.

Complicating Factors
When determining the presence of encephalopathy in patients with Lyme disease, one must take into account other causes of cognitive complaints (Table 1), including the use of medications that can impair neurocognitive function (Table 2).

[Hysterical dementia is often over diagnosed in patients with Lyme encephalopathy, but it is rare for this to occur alone as a conversion symptom. The label of “hysterical” is often applied when phenomena are outside the clinician’s experience. For instance, females and male homosexuals more often receive this label. Based on studies over the past 50 years, many patients who are initially given the diagnosis of hysterical dementia go on to develop an organic CNS disorder.

Dr. Fallon is conducting a randomized, placebo-controlled study of brain imaging and treatment of persistent Lyme encephalopathy (Columbia University – National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke [NINDS]). Treatment will involve IV ceftriaxone for 10 weeks, with a 14-week antibiotic-free follow-up period. At the end of the 24-week study, patients who had been randomized to receive placebo will be given 6 weeks of IV ceftriaxone. Evaluations will be conducted at baseline and 12 and 24 weeks. PET and MRI imaging as well as neuropsychiatric tests are being used to evaluate response to treatment. Patients will be recruited for this study over the course of the next 3 years.

An In-depth Study of Neurocognitive and Behavioral Lyme Disease

Patricia K. Coyle, MD,[6] and colleagues from the State University of New York at Stony Brook School of Medicine have conducted a prospective, controlled study to characterize the neurologic and neurobehavioral manifestations of Lyme disease in North America. They examined 3 groups: adults with acute disease, adults with chronic disease, and children with disseminated disease (ie, more than 1 erythema migrans [EM] lesion). They attempted to characterize changes to the CSF and identify pathogenetic mechanisms and predictors of outcome. This work builds on a previous study by Coyle and colleagues.[7]
The clinical syndromes studied included cranial (facial) neuropathy, radiculoneuritis, meningitis, and arthritis. The major symptoms (ie, seen in more than two thirds of patients) in adults with acute disease included fatigue, headache, sleep problems, stiff neck, and myalgia. Those with chronic disease had a different constellation of major symptoms, such as concentration difficulties, fatigue, arthralgias, myalgias, mood disturbance, memory loss, sleep problems, word-finding difficulties, knee pain, confusion, and stiff neck. Children with disseminated Lyme disease experienced major symptoms of headache and fatigue. By symptom score, the major initial defining syndrome for the acute adult group was meningitis, followed by multifocal EM, cranial nerve palsy, radiculoneuritis, and single EM; for the chronic adult group, single EM was the most common presenting symptom, followed by arthritis, cranial nerve palsy, and multifocal EM; and for children with disseminated disease, extraneural symptoms.

These investigators concluded that the children with disseminated disease are less symptomatic than adults, but they have more inflammatory CSF changes. Among the adult patients, those with chronic disease were more symptomatic than those with acute disease. They had more cognitive, mood, and joint disturbances; more severe symptoms; and more current depression, anxiety, and adjustment problems. However, it was the acute disease patients who were more likely to show objective cognitive deficits.

Surprisingly, CSF changes were not marked in either group of adult patients. In adults with acute disease, 45% had reactive or borderline CSF serology, 7% had intrathecal antibody production (a common test for CNS infection), 30% had an elevated white blood cell count (WBC), 23% had elevated protein, only 14% had evidence of oligoclonal bands, and only 7% had an elevated IgG index. Similarly, in the adult chronic disease group, 35% had reactive or borderline CSF serology, 6% had intrathecal antibody production, 15% had elevated WBC, 15% had elevated protein, 6% had evidence of oligoclonal band testing, and 3% had an elevated IgG index. Dr. Coyle plans to follow up with each group of patients to measure long-term (18-month) sequelae of the disease

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Lyme Disease: Arthritis by Infection http://lymebook.com/fight/lyme-disease-arthritis-by-infection/ http://lymebook.com/fight/lyme-disease-arthritis-by-infection/#respond Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:14:04 +0000 http://lymebook.com/fight/?p=517 Linda’s Comment:  It amazes me that in the following publications do we find any suggestions about reducing our total body burden of pathogens and toxins.  It is a MUST that Lymies begin to reduce their total body burden of pathogens and toxins in order to begin addressing Lyme, Lyme Arthritis, Arthritis, and other chronic illness we see with Lyme patients.  Some people choose antibiotics…..I personally never went near antibiotics.  My whole detox and healing program was using anti-microbials, alternative medicine, alternative modalities, NO GMO foods, NO sugars, NO fast foods, NO soda’s, NO caffeine, NO coffee and I ate and still do eat organic foods.  I also have used a PhotonGenie since 2001 and use it daily.  I like it better than Rife, as I don’t have to worry about settings, I just turn it on and go.  I even sleep in mine.  The critters we Lymies fight LOVE heavy metals and especially GMO foods.  
 
There are also some foods that you don’t want to eat if you are having symptoms of Arthritis, however, it is more important to get rid of the GMO, sugars, coffee and soda’s to reduce the inflammation and pain.  The great thing about the fight program is you are dissolving biofilms and reducing inflammation on a daily basis.  So much of our pain comes from inflammation. 
 
I of course use many more things with my lifelong daily detox protocol.  If you can get IV chelation and do weekly colonics you can move things along faster.  However, you can start the program one step at a time and move at your own pace.  This is one protocol that must be done as suggested to get the full benefit of wellness.  The first three months are your toughest, but after that it is a breeze.  Yes, ever so often you have a day or two like you did when you first started, but I tell folks, it is like peeling an onion.  As you reach a new level you will have a couple of days where you keep your bathroom close.  At the end of 60 to 90 days and you begin to feel your life coming back to you, you will be very pleased that you began this journey.  Feel free to ask questions and I will share my journey with you.  Just remember JUST SAY NO TO GMO!!

 
Rheumatoid Disease, consisting of perhaps a 100 differently named medical phenomena, but all related to collagen tissue damage, seems to be a response to many different factors: bacterial, viral, protozoal, yeast/fungal, poor nutrition, allergy, aging (free radicals), and so on.

While it is not unusual for a person to respond to a particular, single treatment, most often what seems to be an incorrigible health problem must be tackled from many different sources at once, say, nutritional, medical, Candidiasis treatment, allergy treatment, chelation therapy, and so on, depending upon the person and the problem.

The unlucky invasion of Borrelia burgdorferi, the spiral-shaped microbe injected by at least one species of tick, Ixodes scapularis, seems to present the unwitting victim with arthritic symptoms that also may require more than one approach for its solution. Thankfully, if diagnosed early enough, antibiotics can easily wipe out the invading population, and bring about swift remission. The antibiotics, of course, should be heavily accompanied with Lactobaccilus acididophilus1, so that while treating the Lyme Disease, we do not also unwittingly bring about a fungal infection of Candidiasis.

There are about 1,200 cases of Lyme Disease reported across the United States each year; there were 1,282 cases reported in 19934.

The disease remains concentrated along the coastal plain of the Northeast and mid-Atlantic region, in the upper Midwest, and along the Pacific coast, although the disease has been reported in 32 states.

In a Science News report, researchers at the University of Connecticut Health Center in Farmington and the Yale-New Haven Hospital examined 70 children diagnosed with Lyme Arthritis Disease and found that only 53% actually harbored the Lyme-causing bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi. The remaining 47% had been misdiagnosed.4

There is some hysteria regarding the incidence of this disease, possibly due to extensive adverse publicity. One thousand two hundred and eighty-two cases out of perhaps several hundred thousand with tick bites is not exactly a national emergency, although for a percentage of those afflicted, the disease can be rather significant and even catastrophic.

Lyme disease has the following symptoms: begins with reddened area that doesn’t itch, resulting from tick bite, but expands over time, measuring several inches across; clearing of bite area begins in center resembling a bull’s-eye; flu-like symptoms: chills, fever, fatigue, joint and muscle pain; may develop a rash which disappears in a few days; may have tingling and numbness; non-symmetrical joint problems; other symptoms may also occur; sometimes sensitivity to light, stiff neck, headache, sleepiness, mood changes and memory loss; swelling and aching joints for months or years at a time; and vague, migrating musculature pains.

The characteristics of Lyme Disease were first laid out in 1975 when two mothers were told that their children had Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis. The name “Juvenile” does not distinguish it’s clinical pattern from that of “Adult” Rheumatoid Arthritis, but merely tells the parent that this horrible, crippling disease occurred in their child, a fact that most parents already know. What is new is the diagnoses of “Rheumatoid Arthritis.”

These two mothers soon learned that many other children and adults in their geographical region were afflicted with the same symptoms, and since Rheumatoid Arthritis does not seem to cluster in a regional geography (with some exceptions), Dr. Stephen E. Malawista of Yale University, among others, began to look for a source of this apparently new disease. Dr. Malawista discovered that many of his patients suffered from a range of symptoms among which might be those that resembled Rheumatoid Arthritis.

The cause of Lyme Disease was determined to be a microbe transmitted by a tick, in this first instance, from the species Ixodes capularis. Since this tick was common in the grasses and woods near Lyme, Connecticut, the cluster of symptoms obtained the name “Lyme Disease.”

As Dr. Willy Burgdorfer, who worked for Rocky Mountain Laboratories in Hamilton, MT, identified the damaging microbe, the bacteria was named Borrelia burgdorferi, which is a spiral-shaped bacterium similar in shape to the spirochete, Treponema pallidum, which causes syphilis.

Since this initial set of discoveries, it’s clear that similar diseases have existed in Australia, Africa, Europe and Asia. It also appears in every one of the states in the United States, but seems to be particularly common in northern California, Minnesota and the northeast.

Infection by Borrelia burgdorferi occurs chiefly in the spring, summer or early fall, because of the life cycle of the Ixodes scapularis tick.

Three Stages of Borrelia burgdorferi

There are three stages to the life cycle of the tick, and at each stage they have a favorite host, although they will attach themselves to a range of animals, including the human species.

The larva from Ixodes scapularis emerges in the summer from eggs deposited in the spring, and attaches itself to a small vertebrate such as a white-footed mouse, where it imbibes its first meal. If this mouse is infected with Borrelia burgdorferi spirochetes, the larva feeding on the mouse’s blood will also become infected.

Later, the larva molts into a nymph, and during the spring and summer (usually mid-May through July) this nymph takes a second meal. If the larva was infected, it may very well pass Borrelia burgdorferi onto its second host. This nymph is now about the size of a small seed, say, a poppy seed, and is responsible for most human infections.

The nymph molts again, and by October is the size of a larger seed, like an apple’s. Again this tick feeds, at least by winter or spring, and they also mate to produce eggs that begin the cycle all over again. Usually ticks do their mating on white-tailed deer, which is why they are referred to as a “deer tick”.

In some regions of the United States, between 15 and 30 percent of the Ixodes scapularis nymph and adult ticks are infected with Borrelia burgdorferi — some 50 percent of adult ticks are infected. The adult ticks are more likely to infect humans because they have had more opportunity, throughout their life-cycle, to do so.

About 1 to 3 percent of adults who are bitten by the infected tick contract Lyme disease, meaning that a high percentage of those infected are able to master the infection.

The tick attaches itself to the skin of its host, where it takes its meal of blood. At this time Borrelia burgdorferi begins to multiply in the gut of the tick, whence it crosses into the tick’s circulation system, migrating to the salivary glands and passing with the tick’s saliva through the host’s skin.

A tick must be attached to its host for 36 to 48 hours before an infectious dose of Borrelia burgdorferi is transmitted. This is fortunate, because most folks who are bitten by a tick will find it prior to the infectious event.

Lyme Disease Symptoms

Those infected by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi usually have a set of characteristic symptoms:

Stage I Symptoms

About 60% will notice a round rash called an erythema chronicum migrans (ECM), as doctors like to have a nice, neat name for everything they observe.
Three days to a month later there will be a redness at or near the site of the tick bite.
The reddened area does not itch or hurt, but it will expand over time until it may measure several inches across.
There is a clearing that begins in the center, as the rash enlarges, resembling a bull-eye. Some may acquire the rash, but fail to see these characteristics because of the bite’s location.
The rash may disappear within weeks or even days.
Days or weeks later, a variety of other early symptoms affecting many areas of the body appears, and these symptoms are thought to be from the spread of the spirochete to many different tissues through the blood stream. The symptoms will include flulike symptoms, such as chills, fever, fatigue, joint and muscle pains, and loss of appetite.
Stage II Symptoms

Weeks to months later, about 10% of those afflicted will experience transient heart dysfunction. There will be varying degrees of heart blockage. Neurologic abnormalities include headaches, profound fatigue, meningitis, cranial nerve problems (neuropathies), including fascia palsies, and sensory and motor nerve problems.

Cardiac problems occur with 5 to 10 percent of those infected, if they have been untreated. Usually this condition is not noticed by the infected person, but can be detected by a physician. The heart irregularities persist for but a week to 10 days and probably will not require the use of a pacemaker.

Early symptoms may also include mild musculoskeletal disturbances, where patients complain of vague, migrating pain without swelling in muscles, tendons or joints. The jaw, the temporomandibular joint, may be affected. These symptoms, too, will decrease in weeks to months.

However, in about a half a year after the initial infection, 50% of those infected (without treatment) will suffer episodes of obvious arthritis, including the symptoms of swelling and discomfort in one or more joints, but often the knee.

Stage III Symptoms

Ten percent of those who reach the “arthritic” point will go on to suffer chronic Lyme Arthritis. These patients will find joints swelling for months at a time, or certain joints will become enlarged and achy for a year or more.

In these latter stages, joints, the central nervous system and the skin may be involved. Arthritis can develop from a few weeks to several years after Stage I. Sixty percent suffer at least one episode of arthritis if untreated. Usually the joint arthritis is but one-sided, and migration of the joint pain may prefer the larger joints, especially the knees.

Attacks may last for weeks or months, although they may also become less frequent over time and eventually disappear, leaving about 10% with damaged joints.

Sometimes neurological problems also appear, in about 20 percent of untreated patients, including Bell’s palsy. Bell’s palsy is one of our listed “Rheumatoid Diseases,” a collagen tissue disease, and so there must be more than one causation for that affliction2.

Other neurological afflictions include meningitis (sensitivity to light, stiff neck, headache), encephalitis (sleepiness, mood changes, memory loss), and radiculoneuropathy, where the roots of nerves that stem from the spinal cord to the periphery of some level of the body becomes irritated. These regions may be painful, tingle, or even go numb.

In traditional Rheumatoid Arthritis, a joint affected on one side of the body will also have a matching joint affected on the other side of the body. This is not true for Lyme Arthritis where only one joint may be affected on one side of the body.

Although the skin, heart, joints and nervous system are usually targeted, as the Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria can invade any system in the body, every organ or system in the body can also produce its own variation of symptoms. This ability to invade all human systems, too, is a similarity to the syphilis spirochete.

Traditional and Untraditional Treatments

Thankfully, if diagnosed early enough, antibiotics can easily wipe out the invading population, and bring about swift remission. (The antibiotics, of course, should be heavily accompanied with Lactobaccilus acididophilus1 so that while treating the Lyme Disease, we do not also unwittingly bring about a fungal infection of candidiasis.)

The key to solving Lyme Arthritis is early diagnoses and antibiotic treatment. Early diagnoses can be difficult, especially when the characteristic rash is not present. Since flulike symptoms can arise from many different sources, as described in Dr. Paul Pybus’ The Herxheimer Effect3, it becomes most difficult for a physician to make an early diagnoses. The patient’s history, especially their recent exposure to woods, ticks, and bites, and especially noting the characteristic bulls-eye lesions on the skin, all are most important for early diagnosis.

Although a definitive test for Borrelia burgodrferi bacteria is possible, the test is presently a low-yield procedure. A direct examination of body fluids and tissues is not recommended because there will be so few organisms found. There are no blood tests that can make an early diagnoses of Lyme Arthritis within the time length required for an early diagnosis, although surely someone, somewhere is working to develop such an early test, probably based on DNA of the microorganism. The study of body serums, serology, using indirect immunofluorescent assay or enzyme-linked immunoabsorbant assay has a slow antibody response and is positive in but 50% of Stage I infections, and should antibiotics be used, the test is often aborted.

Since Lyme Arthritis is potentially disabling, extreme vigilance must be taken by those who traverse woods and grasses, but overall, it may not cause serious problems for more than 10 percent of those who have received Borrelia burgdorferi through a tick bite.

Many who think they have Lyme Arthritis actually suffer from other forms of disease states, but among those who are found among the 10 percent seriously affected, there seems to be no good solution to the problem, because, after the early stage of the disease, antibiotics seem to be ineffective.

The primary problems with traditional treatments consists of the following: (1) Inability to diagnose the disease early without specific noting of the bulls-eye lesions, or having at hand an accurate, clear, case history. This delay affects treatment response by use of antibiotics, and often also causes over-extended usage of antibiotics; (2) Over-extended usage of antibiotics increases overgrowth of organisms-of-opportunity in the intestinal tract, such as Candida albicans, which condition also creates additional disease states, including some that mimic various arthritides forms, and also increases food allergies over time; (3) Many treated cases linger with pain, increasing systemic damage, and lessened vigor over many years, often ending up damaged organs and joints.

There is hope, however.

Alternative Treatments

Anti-Amoebic (Anti-Microbial) Treatment

Gus J. Prosch, M.D., Jr. of Birmingham, Alabama suggests a trial of the Rheumatoid Arthritis or Rheumatoid Disease treatment protocol as recommended by The Arthritis Fund/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation: “I’ve seen Lyme Arthritis Disease clear up after using a course of anti-micro-organism drugs as recommended by Professor Roger Wyburn-Mason for Rheumatoid Diseases.

“Although Lyme Arthritis Disease, and other diseases such as Gout, Carpal Tunnel Syndrome, and Tendinitis are not supposed to be the same kind of diseases as Rheumatoid Arthritis, I’ve seen them all respond one time or another to the same treatment we use for Rheumatoid Arthritis.”19

In the case of Lyme Arthritis Disease, Dr. Prosch will give metronidazole (or one of the other 5-nitroimidazoles described) in heavier doses, for a longer period of time than recommended for Rheumatoid Disease.

Artificial Fever and Herbs

Agatha Thrash, M.D. and Calvin Thrash, M.D. write that “About one-third of patients with chronic infectious arthritis derive substantial benefits from fever treatments, one-third derive only moderate benefits, and one-third little or no help.

“In gonococcal arthritis, swelling and pain is often astonishingly helped. Patients suffering from [Osteoarthritis] receive temporary benefit, and the fever treatments may be used along with general arthritis treatment of diet and physical conditioning.”24

The Case of John Woodworth

Agatha M. Thrash, M.D., Uchee Pines Institute, Seale, Alabama was visited by a 54 year old Caucasian with Lyme Arthritis Disease. John had typical symptoms of pain in the joints, neurologic symptoms and specific rash beginning with a small, raised, red area and spreading concentrically outward with fading in the mid-portion.

Dr. Thrash administered a series of 15 fever treatments in which the mouth temperature was brought up to 1030 Fahrenheit as many times as possible during the 15 treatments, each day. John took five treatments, then skipped 2 days and repeated this schedule 3 times.

Dr. Thrash writes: “Once in a great while a person with Lyme Disease does not clear completely with the first series of 15 treatments and must take a second series. This was the case with John Woodworth. We waited 3 weeks between series to give the body a good chance to reset the immune system. Fever enhances the effectiveness of the immune system, but the body adapts to the fever and the response begins to weaken after about 5 days. For this reason we skip 2 days each week and rest 1 to 3 weeks between series.”

John also was given golden seal and echinacea, the first being anti-bacterial, and the second being a boost to the immune system. “The way to make it is by bringing a quart of water to a gentle simmer, adding 1 tablespoon of golden seal root powder and 1 heaping tablespoon of echinacea (chopped whole plant). It should be simmered for 20 to 25 minutes, cooled, strained, and drunk throughout the day. Make it up fresh every day.

“On the first day in chronic cases, and for 5 to 10 days during the acute phase, the patient should take 2 quarts of the tea daily. The patient should also take Nutri-bioticTM (grapefruit seed extract) obtainable from any health food store. Put 6 to 15 drops in a quart of water or tea and drink 2 quarts a day.”

Dr. Thrash says that “We have had several typical cases of Lyme Disease, complete with the tick bite and rash, which have been treated with a series of artificial fever treatments. None of them, including John Woodworth, has had further illness, as long as 2 years follow-up later.”18

 

Agatha Thrash, M.D., Calvin Thrash, M.D., Home Remedies, Thrash Publications, available from this foundation.

 

Homeopathic Remedy

According to Stephen Tobin, D.V.M.

Stephen Tobin, D.V.M.,31 is a veterinarian in a Lyme Arthritis Disease infested region. He’s treated many cases of Lyme Disease in dogs, cats and horses.

After trying a number of homeopathic remedies, he settled on Ledum (Genus Epidemicus) in a 200 or 1M potency, three times a day for three days. Dr. Tobin says, “Every animal treated this way has shown immediate improvement, whether they were only recently infected or have had the disease for years, treated or not with antibiotics. A number of pet owners, on seeing how well it cured their companions, took it themselves, with equally good results.

“As a preventative, I use the Borrelia burgdorferi nosode 60X, giving one dose daily for one week, then one dose per week for one month, then one dose every six months, the same way I administer all the nosodes I give in place of vaccinations.

“I have had only one failure in almost two hundred animals so treated. This is more effective than the vaccine for Lyme Disease used in dogs, which often has the effect of producing symptoms of Lyme Disease, including lameness, swollen joints, lethargy, inappetance (lack of appetite), kidney failure, and cruciate degeneration (cross-shaped as in the cruciate ligaments of the knee)

“I have seen no side effects from the nosode itself.”

According to Dr. Catherine Russell

Although rare in Mexico, Dr. Catherine Russell,30 Guadalajara, Mexico, successfully treats Lyme Arthritis Disease just as she would any other arthritis. She uses proteolytic enzymes, niacinamide 500 mg 3 X daily, and homeopathic symptomatic medicine according to individual symptoms and modalities. Sometimes she also uses herbs, especially stinging nettle which she picks and prepares herself, especially when a lot of uric acid is involved.

Venus Fly Trap Carnivora Treatment

Carnivora is an extract of the Venus Fly Trap plant (Dionaea muscipula) that was developed by the German oncologist (cancer specialist) Helmut Keller, M.D.

According to medical reporter Morton Walker, D.P.M.,22 “Since 1981, over 2,000 patients have been treated with Carnivora. Among them has been President Ronald Reagan who received the substance postoperatively following his operation for malignant polyps of the colon. The President took Carnivora drops for their healing and preventive powers against cancer recurrence.”

“Actor Yul Brynner also received dosages of Carnivora in injections and/or Carnivora drops.” Yul Brynner’s lung tumor’s were rapidly diminishing in size until he foolishly followed the recommendation of a New York City oncologist and failed to keep up with the remedy.”

“Carnivora has a proven 82 to 87% remission rate for most types of carcinoma when the patient’s immune system has not been compromised by conventional, allopathic chemotherapy or radiation therapy.”22

As Carnivora is a relatively new product, no one knows how many different organisms it can inhibit, or kill. In addition to its immune stimulating properties, the Carnivora extract “has been used successfully for the treatment of chronic diseases including most forms of cancer, neurodermitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn’s disease, multiple sclerosis, all types of herpes infections, primary chronic polyarthritis, and almost any immune deficiency state,” and AIDS.

After it’s use, Harvey Bigelsen, M.D. was so impressed with the reduction of pleomorphic organisms in a patient’s blood that he ordered a supply of Carinvora for his own use.22 Pleomorphic organisms are micro-organisms that change form and function depending upon their surrounding environmental conditions.

Dorothea M. Linley, M.D.

Dorothea M. Linley, M.D. says, “In August 1986, I came down with a flu-like illness: pains in muscles, back, headache, fatigue and even my hair was painful. Fever and migrating arthritis followed by cardiac fibrillation which was controlled by oral magnesium. A blood test for Lyme disease was positive. . . .

“It settled in my knees, the left swelling so severely I needed crutches. I took 1 gram of tetracycline daily for 3 weeks and then 2 grams daily for three more weeks. Then my stomach rebelled and it was stopped.

“I was left with 50% reduced motion in both knees. Three months later I learned that the North (negative, south seeking) magnet would reduce swelling and pain. I applied a North pole magnet to both knees for 30 minutes twice a day5. In one week my knee flexion was doubled. In 6 months flexion was almost normal except for something that didn’t feel right in the middle of the joint.

“Two months later I experimented with germanium sesquioxide6. On a dose of 900 mg daily the right knee returned to normal in 3 days and after reducing the dose to 300 mg daily, the left knee took about 2 months to become normal. . . .

“I was 5 years without any symptoms.

“In May 1992 my left knee started swelling and a blood test was positive for Lyme. Whether this was a new case or a return of the first attack I do not know. What I did know was that I had no desire to take antibiotics again. I had just finished treatment for Candidiasis7.

“In mid-July I learned about Carnivora [Dionaea muscipula, Venus Fly Trap plant extract] from Morton Walker’s article in the Townsend Letter [for Doctors]8. I learned that Carnivora would kill bacteria, yeast, parasites and viruses without harming beneficial intestinal bacteria.

“I believe the Carnivora has killed the Lyme bacteria as well as Candida overgrowth. I lost 10 pounds, my skin is younger looking, my bowels are functioning normally for the first time in my life, my fingernails are hard and growing well, and my digestion is improved, needing fewer digestive aids.

“I hope my story will help those many patients suffering from chronic illness which may be due to Lyme. I was fortunate in that I did not take antibiotics until after a positive blood test. Those who treat symptoms clinically typical of Lyme before developing a positive blood test will never test positive and thus obscure the diagnosis. There are many people out there in this situation.”

Dorothea M. Linley, M.D. can be reached at 220 Banks Rd., Easton, Connecticut 06612.

Neurokinesiological Testing and Herbal Remedies of Louis Marx, M.D.

Louis Marx, M.D. Recommended Treatment

Louis J. Marx, M.D.11 combines neurokinesiology as a research and diagnostic tool with herbal programs.

A simple explanation of kinesiology given by Dr. Marx is that “if you touch a blocked acupuncture point while testing a muscle, that muscle will test weak. . . . Kinesiology is a technique for testing the integrity of the energy supply to an organ, as evidenced by a specific muscle. It uses the concept of organ-muscle linkage. . . . Any muscle can be used.

“Neurokinesiology differs from applied and other forms of kinesiology by not relying on the organ-muscle linkage . . . it tests directly through the nervous system . . . Dr. Calvin Alldredge has developed reflex points for the various known and unknown infections, hormonal system, nutritional status and toxic substance. By testing through the nervous system we are getting responses from the body’s innate intelligence.”

In Dr. Marx’s Neurokinesiological Testing and Herbal Remedies, writing on herbal remedies (tinctures or capsules), he says, ” Most programs last about three weeks. Usually, the patient experiences an improvement from a program within a day or two. However, during the third week after beginning a program, the patient may feel a decline in well-being and may develop new symptoms. It is very important to understand what is happening to avoid discouragement and loss of confidence in the treatment.

 

Insert Here are more books Icon: Louis J. Marx, M.D., Healing Dimensions of Herbal Medicine, available from this foundation; also Neurokinesiological Testing and Herbal Remedies; 3418 Loma Vista Road, Suite 1-A, Ventura, CA 93003

 

“What really happens is that the herbals have just about resolved those problems being treated, and the immune system no longer has to concern itself with those specific disorders. Therefore, the immune system starts attacking another group of infections, etc. This can happen a number of times with some patients. However, each group of new programs brings more energy and well-being than the prior programs. Expect this and explain it to the patient so they will not get discouraged.

“Sometimes a patient may present a specific complaint and testing identifies a specific factor as causing that complaint. However, after taking the program for that problem, the symptom remains. If you retest, you will identify another basis for the symptom which was not identified in your first examination. It is like the problem has layers to it, and as one layer is uncovered, a deeper one surfaces. Occasionally, you may need to treat two or three factors before there is a final resolution of the complaint. Usually the response is rapid enough and dramatic enough to leave little doubt about the benefit of the herbal programs.”

Dr. Marx, using neurokinesiological testing and herbal remedies, has developed a combination of herbal recommendations for almost every disease condition. These include, but are not limited to, viruses (assorted, intestinal, liver, herpes, wart, immune, life force), parasites, bacteria, Mycoplasma, rickettsia, yeast/fungi, onco genes (involved in cancer), and even the will to live.

Dr. Marx says, “Once you learn the system, you can apply it to any remedy. You can test your foods, supplements, drugs, etc.”

The drops can be put in water or juice, or taken directly into the mouth. The amount of alcohol ingested is negligible, and many reformed alcoholics tolerate the tincture well without inducing a craving for alcohol.

The capsules are best taken after meals. The capsules and tinctures do not need to be taken at the same times of day. All the tinctures or extracts can be taken together. If there are six bottles of liquids to be taken, they all can be put in a small amount of juice. Shake and drink followed by some extra juice to chase down the taste. It is actually better to squeeze the dropper top and squirt out one dropper full. It is more accurate than counting out the drops. That’s because some of the liquids are thicker, therefore, have larger drops.

If the extracts or tinctures are too thick, just add a few drops of water to the bottles.

Most herbal programs contain three bottles — one bottle of cut dried herbs in capsules. There are 70 caps to each bottle. The other two are one half ounce bottles of liquid extracts or tinctures. On each of these bottles are letters AO, RVO, VO, JRVO just before the program name. These letters stand for the extractants used in making the formula. A stands for alcohol, O stands for oil, R stands for rice water, V stands for vinegar, and J stands for fruit juice. T stands for tincture, and so (T)-(AO) stands for tincture of oil in an alcohol base. SPIRO- (L) would stand for the Lyme Spirochete.

 

Louis J. Marx, M.D. recommends that herbal remedies be ordered from Monastery of Herbs, PO Box 3123, Granada Hills, CA 91394; (800) 352-4372; (818) 360-4871. There are other good sources, but best one check through a health professional, as many herbs are either not what they are supposed to represent, or have been degraded throughout its cycle.

 

In the case of Lyme Arthritis Disease, Dr. Marx recommends the use of:

(T)-(AO)     SPIRO-(L) @ 30 drops/day for 1/2 Fld. Oz.

(T)-(RVO)     SPIRO-(L) @ 30 drops/day for 1/2 Fld. Oz.

Herbal Blend SPIRO-(L) @ 4 Capsules/day for 50 Caps.

The Case of Pearl Bennette Atkin, R.N., M.A., C.S.

Where Carnivora extract helped one person, it seemed to become a burden for another. Pearl Atkin, RN, MA, CS, Briarcliff Manor, New York, fought against Lyme disease, to win. Healer Atkin10 wrote to Townsend Letter for Doctors for advice in November 1992, saying:

In June of 1984 I attended a professional conference in the wooded town of Armonk, New York. Within a couple of weeks I had flu-like symptoms — aches and pains all over my body, especially a headachy feeling each afternoon, and discomfort in my coccyx area. After the summer cold the aches and pains subsided, but I continued to experience a ‘hypoglycemia-type’ of late afternoon problem, which I took care of with a fruit and nut snack, and sometimes with an ounce or two of vodka.

But even after that, I was still left with an aching coccyx, and at that point I decided my mattress had to be traded for a softer, more luxurious type — such as deep innerspring, or foamy and waterbed types. I had always thought that a waterbed was decadent — until that summer. When I first tried out a waterbed, I was able to get comfortable on it in a second — and my coccyx felt good in any position!

Then, after about six weeks of these unpleasant symptoms, as I was finally sleeping a little more comfortably at night, . . . an official from the conference that I had attended 8 weeks before called to ask how I felt, and asked if I had [any of about 40 symptoms] — and I’d experienced many of them. I had recently turned 50, and felt that [age] was the reason — now I knew differently — I had Lyme [Arthritis] Disease.

I was given the name of a Westchester Lyme [Arthritis Disease] specialist. I called him, then went for a consultation, and told him about my symptoms. Blood was drawn, and I was put on 7-10 days of tetracycline 240 mg 4 times a day. I was informed that, although I had not had the classic bull’s-eye — I had had a rashy welt initially on my forehead that I thought was poison ivy — two weeks later it had spread down to my neck and chin areas — I would know it was ‘Lyme’ if, after taking each tetracycline capsule I would have an exacerbation of the headachy, flu-like symptoms. That’s exactly what happened. I continued taking the capsules until the exacerbation experience stopped — and then for a few more days — which was a total treatment of about 10-12 days. Yet the blood work was negative.

During and for some time after the treatment period, I continued to be troubled, frequently, by the peculiar headaches, though I had hardly ever had headaches before. And these felt different from any I had experienced before. As they were miraculously cured, almost instantaneously, by a shot of vodka, it was my treatment of choice whenever they returned.

That was the summer of 1984. Very gradually, over many months, the headaches became less frequent and less intense. But two years later, in 1986, my headachy symptoms flared again, and I again went on tetracycline 500 mg 4 times a day for 7-10 days. It did the trick this second time also.

Two years later, in 1988, there was a third episode. I had the headachy feeling again, and the doctor gave me a choice of 7 days in the hospital with an intravenous (IV) drip of penicillin (which was the treatment of choice at that moment in time) — or I could try 7-10 days of tetracycline 500 mg again.

I opted for the oral treatment, and took more vodka every afternoon with my snack parties!

The headache receded to a low level that was tolerable and I went on about my life. [During these episodes, the first two measurements for Lyme antibodies (titers) were negative — but I understand that false negatives are common; then a third sample was taken, but that one was lost.]

But now I’m right in the middle of it again — my fourth serious episode. This past summer I went to Eastern Europe on a genealogical tour and when I returned home I had a protracted case of ‘jet lag.’ One day I noticed a rashy welt in my pubic/groin area, and the next day I had 1030 F temperature. I called my gynecologist — but he was on vacation. His ‘covering’ doctor called back, and we ran through the ‘could be’s — and came up with my fourth recurrence of Lyme Disease.

He prescribed 500 mg of tetracyline 4 times a day again for 7-10 days. The temperature and rash were gone immediately! When I called my gynecologist the next week, he said I should continue on the tetracycline for 1 month — that was the protocol for Lyme this year.

By the second week, however, the tetracycline was giving me nausea, queasiness, stomach and abdominal discomfort, and I was having headaches around the clock. So I called a doctor friend (an internist), and he changed me to Amoxicillin (straight penicillin 500 mg 3 times a day), for another 2 weeks.

That treatment gave me back my appetite, and took the worst of the headaches away. But what else is it doing to my poor system? I’ve been taking Lactibaccilus acidophilus1 to counteract the killing of the good intestinal microrganisms.

“. . . I’ve paid no attention to Lyme Disease therapies the last few years, because I’ve had other things to deal with personally and professionally that seemed more important than a ‘hypoglycemic headache’ but now my spotlight [is] on Lyme Disease, . . .”

On December 1993, Pearl Atkin12 described the great help she’d gotten, particularly from Lous Marx, M.D. of California. She wrote:

“I want to let you know how well I’ve been since you published my last ‘Letter [in Townsend Letter for Doctors and Patients] . . . regarding my plea for help with my fourth Lyme Disease attack. Each time I have had a Lyme infection I have been treated with massive doses of antibiotics, but have nevertheless been left with a pattern of recurrent headaches identical to those experienced during the initial acute Lyme episodes. This last time the headaches were so severe that they were disorienting as well as disabling. For several months I could not remember what it was like to have a clear-thinking and pain-free head.”

One of your subscribers, Dr. Dorothea Linley from Connecticut, contacted me with information about treatment that had been successful for her own chronic Lyme infection. She had been working with a nutritionist who advised Carnivora22 (Venus Fly Trap extract) as part of a program that also included many vitamin supplements and glandulars. After I began this program my headaches cleared up about 70%. But each time I opened [and began using] a new bottle of Carnivora I had a recurrence of devastating flu-like symptoms3 — high fever, and head and full body aches for 3 days. After three rounds of this (approximately 3 months) I stopped those treatments, as I decided to accept the 70% remission and live with it!

At this time a physician — Dr. Louis Marx11 — sent a copy of his herbal book to me, having earmarked the page on ‘Spirochetes; Lyme Disease.’ Reading this book, I was impressed with his work of the last 10 years on ‘designer herbals’ (with Dr. Clifford Alldridge), and called him to discuss my situation. He encouraged me to order the Spirochete-Lyme program — but told me to expect that it might not give me 100% relief, and also that I might need to do several more herbal programs, as one layer of disorder after another required attending to. . . .

“Within three days my headachy feeling that I have lived with for years was gone — and my head was clear as a bell! It was unbelievable, and extremely pleasurable.”

 

Pearl Bennette Atkin, RN, MA, CS can be reached at 85 Aspinwall Road, PO Box 950, Briarcliff Manor, New York 10510, telephone (914) 941-8926.

 

Nutritional and Immune Support

The Case of Sarah Statesmyer

Sarah Statesmyer, age 16, came to the office of Robin Ellen Leder, M.D.,29 in Bronx, New York, complaining of severe fatigue and episodes of debilitating joint pain, especially in her knees. Low energy made it extremely difficult for Sarah to do her work at a law firm on her bad days. She felt like she could barely walk. Her symptoms, she reported, had been ongoing since childhood.

Sarah’s parents thought her problem stemmed from a tick bite years earlier, but a blood test was only suggestive of Lyme Arthritis Disease, and was not conclusive, probably because of the time that had passed since Sarah’s first exposure to the Borrellia burdorfi organism. However, because of the described symptoms and probable history of Lyme Arthritis disease, this condition was considered to be the most likely cause of Sarah’s problem.

Dr. Leder discussed traditional, possibly long-term, antibiotic therapy with Sarah, and also the importance of supporting the immune system in chronically symptomatic Lyme Arthritis Disease patients.

Sarah and her family chose to begin treatment using the nutritional approach offered by Dr. Leder.

To help design a diet that would benefit Sarah, Dr. Leder began by having Sarah take a six hour glucose tolerance test and a special blood test for food allergies. She was found to be quite hypoglycemic (tendency to low blood sugar), and also to have sensitivities to a number of foods.

Sarah’s diet was changed and she was required to eat a minimum of five to six times per day, and every meal or snack was to include some form of protein. All foods that Sarah was allergic or sensitive to, according to her blood test, were eliminated from her diet.

Dr. Leder, according to her custom, also asked Sarah to eliminate other common foods that have a history of being allergenic, even though they were not on Sarah’s list, and, in addition, to cut out any other foods that had any remote history suggestive of allergy.

A broad spectrum of nutritional supplements and plenty of water completed Sarah’s program.

“With the help of an exceptionally supportive family, Sarah’s symptoms literally disappeared, her energy was restored to a level normal for a healthy young woman, and, during several months of follow-up, no further flare-ups of her joint pain occurred.”

Universal Oral Vaccination

When former Iowa Congressman Berkley Bedell13 testified before the U.S. Senate Health Appropriations Subcommittee Chaired by Senator Tom Harkin, also of Iowa, on June 24, 1993, he gave witness to a powerful and obviously safe method of solving Lyme Arthritis Disease. (See beginning of this chapter.)

He described a procedure whereby the killed bacteria, Borrelia burgdorferi, was injected above a cow’s udder, above the base of the teat, (where the antigen or allergen is sure to reach the cistern) prior to the birth of her calf. Colostrum — the cow’s first milk after the calf is born — is processed into whey — the liquid left after milk has been coagulated by the aid of a coagulating enzyme called rennet.

Congress Bedell also gave witness to the effects of an over-powerful, suppressive governmental organization that would prevent people from trying every 1-1/2 hours for a few weeks the whey of this milk to learn if their Lyme Arthritis Disease will disappear. He reports that the company that cured him “dares not sell such a medicine, because of FDA regulations.”21

Later the same farmer that cured Congressman Bedell of his Lyme Arthritis Disease prepared a homeopathic remedy which, Bedell reports, had 80-90% success in treating patients for whom conventional treatments had not been effective.

When specific personalities in the U.S. Department of Agriculture were shown in court to have falsified data regarding this patent — apparently as part of governmental suppression (although according to one source there may have been personality conflicts also) — it became only the second patent in U.S. history to receive by vote of U.S. Congress an additional 16 year lifetime protection.

 

On April 2, 1968, a patent number 3,376,198,23 “Method of Producing Antibodies in Milk,” was granted to William E. Petersen, St. Paul, MN and Berry Campbell, Monrovia, California, assigned to Collins Products, Inc., Waukon, Iowa. Other patents for additional discoveries have since been granted to Mary E. Collins and Robert A. Collins (Patent No. 4,402,938; September 6, 1983; Gregory B. Wilson and Gary V. Paddock (March 28, 1989); Robert A. Collins and Philip F. Weighner (Patent No. 4,843,065; June 27, 1989); Robert Collins K (Patent No. 5,102,669; April 7, 1992)

The original work on development of the cows’-milk vaccine was performed at the University of Minnesota, School of Biochemistry under the direction of the patent assignees. (Porter: Biological Abstracts 1953, p. 951, par. 10, 185). In August, 1951, Dr. Porter, then “working on his doctoral thesis, suggested the possibility of manufacturing antibodies in the cow’s udder by infusion of antigen into the udder of a lactating cow.” (Patent No. 3,376,198)

A spokesman for a group that prefers not to be identified, says that the protective element “seems to be a system of peptides that is produced by the cow. . . . Basic research beginning in the late sixties was directed to identify the active products (biological and chemical) in the whey product. This has proven very difficult and especially because the activity is not an antibody per se, but appears to be the action of a low molecular weight material.

“Several important activities can be found in the product that is produced by infusion of specific antigens into the udder (above the udder into the cistern) of a cow after collecting the colostrum and milk for the final product production. These are being researched.

 

Many people have used the product, and it seems not to matter whether the cow’s colostrum is used, made into whey, the cow’s milk is used, or a homeopathic remedy is prepared, whether or not pasteurized, whether or not lypholized, or pasteurized and lypholized — all are effective, although transfer factor, an additional protective substance, as described in one patent seems to be of higher yield in the colostrum.

Reminiscent of what has become the routine human use of dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or antibiotics restricted by law to veterinarians and those practicing husbandry, marked “Not For Human Use,” some dairy farmers purchase products for their animals’ disease protection, but use the products on themselves with success.

Those with access to a cow can purchase standardized antigens (killed) or allergens from biological supply sources which can be inoculated through the cow’s udder or into the base of the udder (into the cistern) at the proper time before calving. A variety or blend of organisms or substances — pollen, cat, dog, or cow hair if one is allergic, or specific antigens against a given disease condition — will result in a milk product that will cure and protect from an equally large and varied number of pathogenic organisms or allergens, respectively.

In homeopathic remedies produced by Beaumont Bio-Med, Waukon, Iowa, conditions aided are Rheumatism, Rheumatoid Arthritis, coughing, respiratory, sore throat, skin conditions, acne blemishes, upset stomach, cold and flu, diarrhea and impetigo.

See Universal Oral Vaccine, Anthony di Fabio, this foundation.

 

A few homeopathic remedies based on the described principles can be obtained from Beaumont Bio-Med, PO Box 6, Waukon, Iowa 52171; (800) 332-2249.

 

As a general principle, this method will vaccinate safely against any allergen or antigen — any substances which when introduced into the body create antibodies such as allergenic pollens, house dust, animal hairs, or micro-organism proteins.

According to Patent Number 3,376,198, antigenic protections can be developed against “bacteria, viruses, proteins, animal tissue, plant tissue, spermatozoa, rickettsia, metazoan parasites, mycotic molds, fungi, pollens, dust and similar substances. . . . exemplary antigens include: bacterial — Salmonella pullorum, Salmonella typhi, Salmonella paratyphi, Staphylococcus aureus, a Streptoccus agalactiae, g Streptococcus agalactiae, Staphylococcus albus, Staphylococcus pyogenes, E. Coli pneumococci, streptococci, and the like; viral — Influenza type A, fowl pox, turkey pox, herpes simplex and the like; protein — egg albumin and the like; tissue — blood and sperm.”

Protected, according to this and a later patent, were mice, cows, goats, chickens and pigs.

For allergy prevention, one can use a mixture of hair (cats, dogs, cattle), making a vaccine. (Many milk-producing farmers become allergic to cow’s hair.) Other allergens, such as pollens, can also be introduced, such that many other allergies can be beneficially affected.

It’s also good for chickenpox, cold sores, genital herpes, Cryptocides sporidium, and for anti-inflammatory conditions, as it is heavy with complement and anti-complement (C3B), substances that assist in the destruction of invasive organisms.

In work supported by the National Institutes of Health and by Philip Morris Cos.,27 “A modified version of a protein extracted from whey blocked the AIDS virus from infecting cells in the test tube,” according to Dr. Robert Neurath, head of the laboratory of Biochemical Virology at the Lindsley F. Kimball Research Institute of the New York Blood Center.

“Scientists modified a whey protein called beta-lactoglobulin to produce a substance called B69, which they discovered latched onto a protein structure called CD4 on the surface of cells.” This prevented AIDS virus from using CDS as an entryway into the cells.

 

Dr. Jeffrey Laurence, an AIDs researcher at Cornell Medical College in New York, cautioned that HIV can infect some cells without using the CD4 gateway.

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According to a source,23 “One North Dakota support group uses this substance for multiple sclerosis with beneficial results.”

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In a 1984 study reported in Medical Microbiology and Immunology32 IgA-rich cow colostrum containing anti-measles lactoglobulin resistant proteases was orally administered to patients with MS. Measles-positive antibody colostrum was orally administered every morning to 15 patients with multiple sclerosis at a daily dosage of 100 ml for 30 days. Similarly, measles-negative antibody control colostrum ( < 8)was orally administered to 5 patients. Of 7 anti-measles colostrum recipients, 5 patients improved and 2 remained unchanged. Of 5 negative (< 8) recipients, 2 patients remained unchanged and 3 worsened. These findings suggested the efficacy of orally administered anti-measles colostrum in improving the condition of MS patients (P < 0.05).

 

The Case of Dorothy Johnson

Dorothy Johnson,28 49 years-of-age, was diagnosed at the Mayo Clinic with multiple sclerosis, a slowly progressive Central Nervous System disease characterized by patches of demyelinated nerve tissue of the brain and spinal cord. Demyelination is the loss of insulative protective tissues that surround nerve tissue.

Dorothy suffered from varied and multiple neurological symptoms and signs, such as shakiness, numbness in legs, difficulty in climbing stairs, tingling in hands and feet, cramping of legs, and other symptoms.

Although multiple sclerosis may go into remission and then recur, often with greater severity, over a period of four years Dorothy became progressively worse, until she met Herb Saunders, a farmer who had been treating people for various conditions by the use of specially prepared colostrum from a cow.

Dorothy took 4 tablespoons of colostrum a day for two years, and gradually improved, until all of her symptoms disappeared.

When some symptoms did reappear after a period of time without the colostrum, her husband obtained three more bottles of specially prepared colostrum, and again the symptoms disappeared. She has continued without symptoms for several years.

The Case of Judith Toliver

Dorothy’s experience was repeated by that of Judith Toliver,28 26 years-of-age, who was wheel-chair bound. Her blood was injected into the cistern of a cow, and the prepared colostrum given to her in the same manner as that described for Dorothy. After one year of treatment, she was able to walk upstairs with a cane.

Other Diseases

Early work using the described principle for Rheumatoid Arthritis involved staphylococcus and streptococcus killed organisms injected as antigens into the cow’s cistern, the successful results thus strongly supporting the infectious nature of Rheumatoid Arthritis. As many forms of Rheumatoid Diseases and related diseases seem to have an infectious and/or allergenic component, such as Ankylosing Spondilitis, candidiasis, Crohn’s disease, Fibrositis, Fibromyalgia, food allergies, rhinitis, and so on, this form of protection may be all-inclusive, inexpensive, and all-important.

According to one spokesperson,23 “The homeopathic remedy derived from this process has been found useful for various forms of arthritis.”

One hundred gallons of milk is taken from an inoculated cow, casein and fat separated by ultra-centrifuge, and pasteurized. It is then lypholized — frozen — that is the water is taken out under cold temperature. The resulting powder can then be used sub-lingually, or made into homeopathic remedies, or any other reasonable means for introducing it into the human or animal body.

 

The suppression of safe, workable treatments continues: The Minnesota diary farmer, Herb Saunders, 66, who cured Congressman Bedell, was prosecuted in St. James, Minnesota by the state prosecuting attorney for practicing medicine without a license. Herb was selling bovine colostrum (“first milk”) as a potential cure for cancer. “Saunders would sell each patient a cow for $2,500, but keep the cow on his farm. He would inject a sample of each patient’s blood into the cow’s udder [cistern], and then sell the colostrum to the cow’s owner for $35 a bottle. Saunders told an undercover state agent who posed as a cancer patient that he would ‘cough out’ his cancer within months if he would take colostrum, [and] refrain from chemotherapy.

“After two weeks of [court] trial — the longest this small community had ever seen — the result was a hung jury. The 6-person jury voted 5-1 to convict, but the last holdout, a part-time social studies teacher, apparently couldn’t decide whether Saunders was practicing medicine without a license or offering an alternative type of care that is not medical practice.”26

Berkley Bedell provided $21,000 for Saunders’ defense.

“The Watonwan County attorney’s office stated that it plans to retry Saunders.” Herb Saunders was indeed tried a second time, resulting in a hung jury more pronounced than the first time.26

To make these kinds of obviously safe treatments available to all, avoiding great costs and suffering under ineffective traditional treatments, each person is advised to write to his/her U.S. Senators and Representatives in support of freedom-of-choice-in-medicine legislation, and also to support similar bills at each state level.

 

Vaccines

There has been considerable interest in developing a vaccine against Borrelia burgdorferi, and so far the research looks quite promising, but there are years of work ahead before such vaccines are to be declared both safe and effective. Rather than inoculate humans with appropriate vaccines, possibly mice in nature can be vaccinated, thus breaking the Lyme Disease cycle9.

To develop any kind of effective vaccine against Lyme Disease, however applied, will surely provide knowledge on how to protect folks from the invasions of the syphilis spirochete.

According to reports in the Journal of Longevity Research, Dr. Henry Jay Heimlich, who developed the Heimlich maneuver, and who also pioneered successful organ replacement using part of a patient’s stomach to construct an esophagus, is investigating (in China) the use of a curable malaria organism as a cure for AIDS and possibly also Lyme disease. Malaria is said to stimulate production of TNC (Tumor Necrosis Factor), Interleukin-1, and other regulators of cellular immunity which has been associated with Lyme Disease14.

Royal Raymond Rife Technology

Superb technology was developed by Royal Raymond Rife under sponsorship of Timken ball-bearing funding. According to 1930’s reports by physicians associated with the University of Southern California, cancer and other diseases were being cured.

After the FDA persecuted and destroyed Rife’s work, his technology languished until James E. Bare, D.C. retraced Rife’s path, using modern technology. Dr. Bare and others have now produced results that seem to match, and in some respects exceed, Rife’s work. As they cannot build or sell these devices without incurring the ire of FDA, they have made circuit diagrams, video tapes and internet data available to those who would like to build the device themselves.

According to internet information, using this newly developed Rife instrument, frequencies 432, 484, 610, 790, and 864 will kill off the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

Information can be obtained from James E. Bare, D.C. (505) 268-4272; fax (505) 268-4064; Email: rifetech@rt66.co m

References

1. See Anthony di Fabio, Friendly Bacteria — Lactobacillus acidophilus & bifido bacterium, The Arthritis Trust of America/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, 7111 Sweetgum Road, Suite A, Fairview, Tn 37062-9384, 1989.

2. Anthony di Fabio, Rheumatoid Diseases Cured at Last, The Arthritis Fund/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, Op.Cit., 1985.

3. Dr. Paul K. Pybs, The Herxheimer Effect, The Arthritis Fund/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, Op.Cit., 1992.

4. “Picking Out the Lymes From the Lemons,” Townsend Letter for Doctors, 911 Tyler St., Port Townsend, WA. 98368-6541, May 1993, p. 408; reprint from Science News.

5. See, William H. Philpott, M.D., Magnetic Resonance Bio-Oxidative Therapy for Rheumatoid and Other Degenerative Diseases, The Arthritis Fund/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, Op.Cit., 1994.

6. See Anthony di Fabio, Germanium, The Arthritis Fund/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, Op.Cit., 1989.

7. See Gus J. Prosch, Jr., M.D., Candidiasis: Scourge of Arthritics, The Arthritis Fund/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, Op.Cit., 1994.

8. See Morton Walker, D.P.M., “The Carnivora Cure for Cancer, AIDS & Other Pathologies — Part II, Townsend Letter for Doctors, May 1992, #106, p. 329.

9. See Fred S. Kantor, “Disarming Lyme Disease,” Scientific American, 415 Madison Avenue, New York, NY 10017-1111, September 1994, p. 34.

10. Pearl Atkin, R.N., M.A., CS, “My Experience With Lyme Disease,” Townsend Letter for Doctors, Op.Cit., November 1992, p. 997.

11. Louis J. Marx, M.D., Healing Dimensions of Herbal Medicine, 3418 Loma Vista Road, Suite 1-A, Ventura, CA 93003, date unknown.

12. Pearl Atkin, R.N., M.A., CS, “Treatment of Lyme Disease,” Townsend Letter for Doctors, Op.Cit., December 1993, p. 1220.

13. Congressman Berkely Bedell, “Bedell Testifies Before U.S., Senate,” Townsend Letter for Doctors, Op.Cit., December 1993, p. 1229.

14. “Malaria Therapy: A Cure for Cancer and Aids?” Journal of Longevity Research, Vol.1/No.2, December 1994, p. 8.

15. Anthony di Fabio, “Lyme Disease: Arthritis by Infection,” The Art of Getting Well, The Arthritis Trust of America/The Rheumatoid Disease Foundation, 7111 Sweetgum Road, Suite A, Fairview, Tn 37062-9384, 1994.

16. Textbook of Internal Medicine, J.B. Lippincott Company, East Washington Square, Philadelphia, PA 19105, 1989.

17. Burton Goldberg Group, Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide, Future Medicine Publishing Co., Inc., 10124 18th St., Court E, Puyallup, WA 98371.

18. Personal communication from Agatha M. Thrash, M.D., November 2, 1995.

19. Personal communication from Gus J. Prosch, Jr., M.D., November 20, 1995.

20. Jwing-Ming Yang, Arthritis — The Chinese Way of Healing and Prevention, YMAA Publication Center, Yang’s Martial Arts Association (YMAA), 38 Hyde Park Avenue, Jamaica Plain, Massachusetts 02130, 1991.

21. Personal letter from Berkley Bedell July 18, 1994.

22. Morton Walker, D.P.M., “The Carnivora Cure for Cancer, AIDS & Other Pathologies — Part I & II, Townsend Letter for Doctors, 911 Tyler St., Port Townsend, WA, 98368-6541, #95, p. 412; #106, p. 324.

23. Personal interview with, and correspondence from a scientist who chooses not to be identified.

24. Agatha Thrash, M.D., Calvin Thrash, M.D., Home Remedies, Thrash Publications, Rt. 1, Box 273, Seale, Alabama 36875.

25. United States Patent 3376198.

26. “Minnesota Milk-Cure Case Ends with Mistrial,” Townsend Letter for Doctors, 911 Tyler St., Port Townsend, Washington, 98368-6541, August/September 1995, p. 81; from Minneapolis Star Tribune, 3/16/95.

27. Malcolm Ritter, “Whey Could Prevent HIV Infection,” Wisconsin State Journal, January 31, 1996, quoting the February Nature Medicine.

28. Personal interview with Dorothy Johnson.

29. Personal communication from Robin Ellen Leder, M.D.

30. Personal interview with Dr. Catherine Russell.

31. Stephen Tobin, D.V.M., “Lyme Disease,” Townsend Letter for Doctors, 911 Tyler St., Port Townsend, WA, 98368-6541, January 1993, p. 63.

32. T. Ebina, et. al., Med Microbiol Immunol, Springer-Verlag, 173:87-93, 1984.

Supplement to The Art of Getting Well
http://www.garynull.com/articles/whichArticle.php?article=209
 
responsible editor/writer Anthony di Fabio
 
contributed by:
The Arthritis Trust of America,
7111 Sweetgum Road, Suite A
Fairview, TN 37062-9384
www.arthritistrust.org
Sources are given in references.
Authors of contributions\quotations are alphabetically arranged; major author, if any, is underlined.
Dr. Clifford Aldridge, Pearl Bennette Atkin, RN, MA, CS, Congressman Berkley Bedell, Dr. Willy Burgdorfer, Dr. Dorothea M. Linley, M.D., Stephen E. Malawista

Copyright ©1994
All rights reserved by The Roger Wyburn-Mason and Jack M. Blount Foundation for the Eradication of Rheumatoid Disease AKA The Arthritis Trust of America

Discovery of Lyme Disease

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On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease http://lymebook.com/fight/on-the-trail-of-a-vaccine-for-lyme-disease/ http://lymebook.com/fight/on-the-trail-of-a-vaccine-for-lyme-disease/#respond Sun, 22 Nov 2009 07:12:42 +0000 http://lymebook.com/fight/?p=515 On the Trail of a Vaccine for Lyme Disease: Yale Researchers Target Tick Saliva
Published: November 18, 2009

New Haven, Conn. — A protein found in the saliva of ticks helps protect mice from developing Lyme disease, Yale researchers have discovered. The findings, published in the November 19 issue of Cell Host & Microbe, may spur development of a new vaccine against infection from Lyme disease, which is spread through tick bites.

Traditionally, vaccines have directly targeted specific pathogens. This is the first time that antibodies against a protein in the saliva of a pathogen’s transmitting agent (in this case, the tick) has been shown to confer immunity when administered protectively as a vaccine.

The Lyme bacterium known as Borrelia burgdorferi is transmitted by ticks. When it moves through the tick, it is coated with a tick salivary protein known as Salp15. The Yale team injected Salp15 into healthy mice and found that it significantly protected them from getting Lyme disease. When combined with outer surface proteins of B. burgdorferi, the protection was even greater.

Lead author Erol Fikrig, M.D. of Yale School of Medicine and Howard Hughes Medical Institute said, “The interaction between the Lyme disease agent and ticks is very complex, and the bacteria uses a tick salivary protein to facilitate infection of the mammalian host. By interfering with this important interaction, we can influence infection by the Lyme disease agent.”

Several years ago there was a Lyme vaccine on the market that utilized just the outer surface proteins of the bacteria. It was taken off the market in 2002, and to date no other antigen has been tested in phase III clinical trials.

The authors believe this new strategy of targeting the saliva – the “vector molecule” that a microbe requires to infect a host – may be applicable not just to Lyme disease but to other insect-borne pathogens that also cause human illness.

“We believe that it is likely that many arthropod-borne infection agents of medical importance use vector proteins as they move to the mammalian host,” Fikrig explained. “If so, then this paradigm, described with the Lyme disease agent, is likely to be applicable to these illnesses. Currently, we are working to determine if this strategy is likely to be important for West Nile virus infection, dengue fever, and malaria, among other diseases.”

Other researchers were Jianfeng Dai, Penghua Wang, Sarojini Adusumilli, Carmen J. Booth and Sukanya Narasimhan of Yale School of Medicine, and Juan Anguita of the University of Massachusetts. This work was support by grants from the National Institutes of Health.

 http://opa.yale.edu/news/article.aspx?id=7083
 
FOUND IN: Health & Medicine

PRESS CONTACT: Helen Dodson 203-436-3984

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