Category: NEWS

BORRELIA’S IMMUNE EVASION STRATEGY

Ixodes scapularis ticks are known to carry and transmit Borrelia Burgdorferi, resulting a multi-system illness affecting humans and animals as well.

How does a bacteria trick an innate immune system? It uses a mechanism to fight the hosts’ immune response.

Researchers from the University of Maryland (UMD) have discovered how Borrelia Burgdorferi can survive for months within the human body.

Dr. Utpal Pal and his team have done research on Lyme and Borrelia for over a decade at UMD. One of his latest studies revealed that Borrelia has an incredible ability  of creating a protein that dissolves the host’s body immune response to the infection.

Dr. Pal’s theory says that the disease itself is caused by the host’s body reaction to Borrelia. According to him, Borrelia  has a layered defence strategy and it can live within the human body for long periods of time.

Dr. Pal explains that Borrelia is actually producing a protein which has the ability to disable the host’s  body immune response to the infection with the pathogen.

Borrelia is special because unlike other pathogens, it can re-appear weeks or even months after treatment.

In one of his previous studies, Dr. Pal produced the protein marker used to identify this bacterial infection in the body. In his latest research, Dr. Pal was able to isolate the protein created by Borrelia enabling it to put down the host’s first immune response. His study revealed that even in the absence of the protein, the bacteria was capable of surviving the treatment.

The findings of his study will have major implications on the treatment for chronic Lyme disease.

If you’d like to have a more in depth knowledge on this topic, read here.

 

TICK BORN DISEASE WORKING GROUP MEETING BRINGS HOPE TO LYME PATIENTS

 

The lack of scientific progress regarding Lyme disease has created a lot of frustration within the Lyme community. Lyme patients are tired of being patronized, discounted and dismissed.

Thanks to the Tick Born Disease Working Group changes are going to be made. Within the two-day meeting  of the HHS Federal Tick Borne Disease Working Group held on December 11th and 12th, on Washington D.C., vital questions were addressed.

 

Here’s a bullet point summary of the meeting:

 

DEVELOP ACCURATE DIAGNOSTIC TESTS

  • Develop tests capable of recognizing all stages of the infection and the co-infections
  • Discard the two tier testing approach
  • Educate the patient regarding the test’s reliability (false negativity)
  • Fund new research 
  • Examine together medical anecdote, control studies, empirical observations
  • Leave aside egos, pride, intellectual rights, come together for a better cause.

 

FIND WAYS TO IMPROVE THE LIFE OF LYME PATIENTS

  • Forget the CDC definition of diagnosis
  • Recognize, treat Lyme and co-infections
  • Create a national education course for medical providers
  • Provide support to the doctors treating Lyme patients (no more penalties, disciplinary procedures, license suspension or other repercussions)
  • Allow physicians to treat the patients and their symptoms.

 

METHODS OF PREVENTION

  • Mass media prevention campaign
  • Tick awareness and prevention curriculum  should be developped and implemented in all forms of schooling
  • Develop a safe and effective vaccine against all Borelia strains and co-infections
  • Create proper screening technique to avoid transmitting Babesia to the national blood supply for the public’s safety.

 

 

For a more in depth information regarding the agenda, the public and federal members, stakeholders please watch the videos below:

Tickborne Disease Working Group NatCap Lyme Presentation

TickBorne Disease Working Group – Jenna Luche-Thayer

Tickborne Disease Working Group – Nicole Malachowski

Tickborne Disease Working Group – Susan Green

Tickborne Disease Working Group – Olivia (LivLyme Foundation) – Public Comment

 

PASSING LYME DISEASE TO YOUR KIDS

Today I read an article that brought tears to my eyes: four out of five members of Victoria (Minnesota) family struggle with Lyme. Their story made me look at my Lyme from a different perspective.

Getting diagnosed with Lyme  can be  a long and frustrating process. Living with Lyme is a tough challenge. This illness turns your life upside down, drains your bank account and messes up with your mind.

Once the chronic fatigue settles in, you can’t afford to waste time debating if you have or no Lyme or if it is real. All you know is that you are not yourself anymore. You need help. You would do anything to feel better, not to mention about getting your life back.

But having your kids sick, that is just heartbreaking. As an adult, you can struggle and do your best to win this battle against Lyme disease. You can take millions of pills, follow strict diets, try new alternative treatments or therapies. It’s not an easy task.

When nothing seems to work, you tell yourself that at least you had a good life before getting Lyme. Not that would make you feel better, but it helps you accept your chronic illness and focus on ways to live with it, instead of curing it.

Though what do you do when your child gets diagnosed with Lyme? I can’t even imagine how terrible that must feel, when you have to see your child going through the same things as you.

How can you inspire hope? How would you be able to reassure him that he will get well? How can you stop feeling responsible for their sickness? The mere thought of passing Lyme to your on kid, is horrifying.

I can’t imagine the struggle of a parent who has only hope left for his sick children. In moments like this, I realize how blessed I am that my child never presented any Lyme related symptoms.

Keep up the fight dear Lymies!

 

 

CLASS-ACTION LAWSUIT AGAINST MAJOR INSURERS DENYING LYME COVERAGE

An article posted by courthousenews.com revealed that the major insurance companies are conspiring to deny Lyme disease coverage. Surprised? I guess not!

 

At the beginning of November, in Texarkana, Texas, twenty-eight people, Lyme sufferers, filed a class -action lawsuit against multiple insurance companies and several medical doctors.

 

The plaintiffs claim that the health insurers used “bogus”guidelines established by their paid consultants, IDSA in order to deny them coverage.  They blame their lack of health insurance on IDSA as well.

 

IDSA stands for Infectious Diseases Society of America, the medical association responsible for developing the clinical practice guidelines. IDSA says Lyme can be cured with only 28 days of antibiotic treatment.

 

According to the lead plaintiff, Lisa Torrey, back in 1990 the major health insurance companies agreed to pay IDSA (affiliate doctors) to establish arbitrary guidelines. Long story short, the researchers produced in 2000,  new guidelines saying twenty eight days of antibiotic treatment could cure Lyme disease.

To read the full article, click here

 

Looking forward to see something like this happening in Canada! Would you get involved? Drop me a comment if you would!

 

 

 

CAN LYME DISEASE CAUSE PROFOUND HEARING LOSS?

According to an article that appeared recently in Huffington Post, Tracy Murphy, AuD, an audiologist based in Illinois, USA, member of the American Academy of Audiology Board of Directors stated during an interview that “Many Lyme patients lose their hearing from the disease.”

Murphy affirmed there is connection between the hearing loss and Lyme, that the latter may be the culprit. She also emphasized on the importance of drawing  more non-hearing-related symptoms from a patient before the making a diagnosis.

I wish that at least one of the specialists I have seen, would have had the same mindset as Murphy. It would have saved me time and money.

I wonder how long it will take to hear more specialists acknowledging the connections between Lyme and their specialties?

 

 

 

 

THE TRUTH ABOUT LYME DISEASE

Years back I developed a daily habit of a looking online for news regarding Lyme Disease. Today I stumbled upon a video uploaded on Youtube by the King Institute, The Truth About Lyme Disease They Don’t Want You To Know.

I was pleasantly surprised to see that they said out in the open that Lyme is number #1 infectious disease within USA.

The lecture offers a lot of information about Lyme and the co-infections. It is worth watching it!