Lyme in the News

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.neurology.org:80/ papbyrecent.shtml

[blimeyitslymie]

Maybe the title should read "Chronic" Lyme Disease in a Patient with
Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Mimics Leukemic Meningeosis. In yet
another instance of Lyme masquerading as something else, this time
it's Lyme disease masquerading as a chronic illness!

Lyme Disease in a Patient with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Mimics
Leukemic Meningeosis.
C.D. Schweighofer; G. Fätkenheuer; P. Staib; M. Hallek; M. Reiser

Department of Internal Medicine I, University of Cologne, Germany

Onkologie 2007; Vol. 30, No. 11
Published online first (Issue-in-Progress)

Onkologie:
The International Journal for Cancer Research and Treatment

http://content.karger.com/ProdukteDB/produkte.asp?Aktion=ShowAbstract&ArtikelNr=108920&Ausgabe=233843&ProduktNr=224106
or
http://tinyurl.com/2klsph

Clinical Case · Kasuistik

Summary

Involvement of the central nervous system (CNS) is a rare
complication of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and seems to be
more frequent in patients with Richter's syndrome or prolymphocytic
transformation. Cases with leptomeningeal involvement reported in the
literature mostly do not discuss the definition of CLL-associated
meningeosis and the exclusion of neuroborreliosis.

Patient and Methods: We present the case of a 75-year-old male patient
who was admitted to a rural hospital with ataxia, disorientation, and
signs of progressive CLL disease. He was diagnosed of suspicious
meningeosis leukemica, and treatment was started with dexamethasone
for leukemic CNS involvement.

Results: When referred to our center, careful immunophenotyping of the
CNS lymphocytes as well as assessment for infectious causes of
lymphocytic meningitis led to the diagnosis of Lyme
disease/neuroborreliosis. An antibiotic regimen with ceftriaxone for 3
weeks resulted in complete remission of all symptoms. There was no
need for CLL treatment.

Conclusion: In conclusion, this case report should alert clinicians
that lymphocytic meningeal involvement in CLL patients accounts for
the rare leukemic meningeosis only if cerebrospinal fluid cells show a
predominating immunophenotype of typical BCLL cells, i.e. by flow
cytometry, and if any infectious cause including Lyme disease has been
ruled out.

Copyright © 2007 S. Karger GmbH, Freiburg

[blimeyitslymie]

The Children of Lyme Disease
*********X,MD
Pediatrician, Private Practice, New Haven, CT

Current research indicates that the Lyme disease bacteria, Borrelia
burgdorferi, can be transmitted within hours after an infected tick
attachment. Failure of parents
and teachers to recognize Lyme disease early in its course can result
in a child developing a chronic difficult to treat infection in the
brain, eyes, joints,heart and elsewhere in the body.

In my experience treating 6,000+ children birth to 18 with Lyme
disease,50% have no tick attachment history, 10% or less have an
erythema migrans (bullseye rash) history, but all have a history of
living in or having visited a Lyme endemic area and have a decline in
the way they play and perform in school.

They are tired, wilt easily, have dark circles under their eyes and
are sick. Lyme disease has a profound negative impact on a child's
life, cognitive function and ability to perform maximally in school.
Severe fatigue unrelieved by rest results in decreased stamina and a
decreased ability to play and to do school work. Insomnia, headaches,
nausea, abdominal pain,impaired concentration, poor short-term
memory, an inability to sustain attention, confusion,
uncharacteristic behavior outbursts and mood swings, fevers/chills,
joint pain, dizziness, noise and light sensitivity, and difficulty
thinking, expressing thoughts,reading, writing, and making decisions
as well as a feeling of being overwhelmed by schoolwork plague a
child with Lyme disease. Pain and impaired cognitive function make it
difficult to sustain attention and to learn and recall new material.

Although Lyme is usually transmitted by Ixodes scapularis (deer) and
Amblyomma americanum (lone star) ticks,it can also be transmitted in
utero and through breast milk. These children, frequently floppy with
poor muscle tone,are irritable and ill early in their lives with
frequent fevers,increased incidence of ear and throat infections,
pneumonia,joint and body pain. They have gastroesophageal
reflux,small windpipes (tracheomalacia) , cataracts and other eye
problems, developmental delay,learning disabilities, and psychiatric
problems.

All respond to months or years of continuous antibiotic therapy.When
Lyme disease is a possible diagnosis,the children should be evaluated
by a Lyme knowledgeable physician
who will continue antibiotic therapy until all Lyme symptoms resolve.

In most circumstances, Ixodes scapularis tick attachment
should be treated with one month of antibiotic therapy.

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.canlyme. com/blumenthal_ responds_ to_forbes_ magazine. html

AG Blumenthal responds to Forbes (magazine)
Ticked Off

" Lyme Inc." (in Mar. 12/07 edition) unfairly linked my investigation
into the Infectious Diseases Society of America's (IDSA) Lyme disease
guidelines to disciplinary proceedings against a small group of Lyme
disease specialists. These cases played no role in my decision to
launch this investigation. Your implication that the true purpose of
my investigation is to shield doctors from sanction was untrue and
irresponsible.

My investigation seeks to assure that all scientific and medical
facts were and are considered in their formulation. My office
launched the investigation after receiving complaints from medical
experts and patients alleging that the IDSA excluded or ignored
certain information, resulting in flawed guidelines. I have a legal
obligation to investigate these serious allegations, including
possible antitrust violations that would arise if insurers or others
improperly influenced the process by excluding competing views and
information for their economic benefit. Lyme disease is a persistent
and prevalent medical problem in Connecticut. My office has a duty to
ensure that the thousands of state residents stricken with this
sometimes crippling disease receive the most medically effective
treatment.

Richard Blumenthal
Connecticut Attorney General
Hartford, Conn.

[blimeyitslymie]

Now we have Borrelia burgdorferi frequently detected in tissue
sections of patients with localized scleroderma...



- -

CLINICAL AND LABORATORY INVESTIGATIONS
Morphoea: a manifestation of infection with Borrelia species?

British Journal of Dermatology

OnlineEarly Articles

To cite this article: K. Eisendle*, T. Grabner, B. Zelger
Morphoea: a manifestation of infection with Borrelia species?
British Journal of Dermatology (OnlineEarly Articles).
doi:10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08235.x

* Department of Dermatology and Venereology, Innsbruck Medical
University, Anichstraße 35, 6020 Innsbruck, Austria
E-mail: klaus.eisendle@uki.ac.at

Conflicts of interest
None declared.

Published article online:
18 Oct 2007

Accepted for publication 28 July 2007

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2133.2007.08235.x
or
http://tinyurl.com/yovbt9

Summary

Background

Morphoea or localized scleroderma is a cutaneous inflammatory disease
with still unknown aetiology. Borrelia burgdorferi as causative agent
has been discussed controversially.

Objectives

To assess the evidence for infection with B. burgdorferi in patients
with morphoea by focus-floating microscopy (FFM).

Methods

Using standard histological equipment, tissue sections stained with a
polyclonal B. burgdorferi antibody were simultaneously scanned through
in two planes: horizontally as in routine cytology, and vertically by
focusing through the thickness of the section, i.e. FFM. Part of the
material was also investigated with a Borrelia-specific polymerase
chain reaction (PCR).

Results

One hundred and twenty-two cases of morphoea and 68 controls (58
negative and 10 positive by PCR) were investigated for the presence of
Borrelia within tissue specimens. Using FFM Borrelia was detected in
84 cases (68·9%) of morphoea and in all positive controls, but was
absent in all negative controls. Borrelia was significantly more
frequent in early inflammatory-rich (75%) than late inflammatory-poor
(53%) cases (P = 0·018). What seemed to be vital microorganisms were
mostly found close to the active border, while degenerated forms were
more common in fibrosclerotic parts. The presence of B lymphocytes
determined by CD20 staining proved to be a good positive predictor of
the microorganism (correlation 0·85, P < 0·001). Borrelia-specific DNA
was detected in only one of 30 cases of morphoea analysed by PCR.

Conclusions

FFM is a reliable and highly sensitive method to detect Borrelia in
tissue sections. The frequent detection of this microorganism in
morphoea points to a specific involvement of B. burgdorferi or other
similar strains in the development of or as a trigger of this disease.

http://tinyurl.com/yovbt9

Copyright © 2007, Published on behalf of the British Association of
Dermatologists.

[blimeyitslymie]

Former Minnesota Vikings linebacker Wally Hilgenberg is told by the
world famous Mayo Clinic that he has ALS with three years to live.
Uncertain as to how many opinions later, and he learns he may have
Lyme's disease. (Not my typo, they called it Lyme's disease. Not the
first time I've heard it used, but by a news organization?)

More detail on this story is to air on "Minnesota Bound", Sunday
evening October 28th, 2007 at 10:35pm, Channel 11, KARE-TV NBC-TV in
Minneappolis - St. Paul, Minnesota.

No word if they will mention anything about his treatment or any
details regarding a possible recovery.

Perhaps more online video will be available afterwards.


- -

A former Viking's battle off the field

By Ron Schara, Minnesota Bound
KARE-TV NBC-TV in Minneappolis - St. Paul, Minnesota
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=268131

Last Updated: 10/25/2007 1:05:10 PM

Remember Minnesota Vikings linebacker Wally Hilgenberg? He played for
the Vikes during the 1970s.

"My age? 27, no, that's not right. I guess 64," laughs Hilgenberg.

Sixty-four? Can't be? Football heroes aren't supposed to age.

Wally Hilgenberg was a tough linebacker, a beloved Minnesota Viking
for 12 seasons. Today Wally Hilgenberg is playing a different kind of
high-stakes game, the game of life.

Accompanying video can be accessed from the website.
http://www.kare11.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=268131

Perhaps someone at Channel 11 needs to know about the two standards of
care when it comes to Lyme disease.
http://www.kare11.com/company/faq/contact.aspx

Ron Schara's email: rschara@kare11.com

What is the phone number for KARE 11?
Switchboard: (763) 546-1111
Tipline: (763) 593-1111

How do I submit a story idea or a news tip?
You may call our news tipline at 763-593-1111.
You can also email us at news@kare11.com

Ron Schara's Minnesota Bound, which "delivers the heart and spirit of
the outdoors":
http://www.mnbound.com/
"Catch Minnesota Bound at 10:30 p.m. Sunday nights and 6:30 p.m.
Saturday nights on KARE-11, Twin Cities. Minnesota Bound also airs in
Duluth, Rochester and Fargo. See local listings for details."

[blimeyitslymie]

County Health Officer Dr. Dean "Kelatia adds that if treatment is
delayed, Lyme Disease is harder to treat and recovery may be longer."

- -

Calaveras Health Officials Warn About Lyme Disease
Friday, October 19, 2007 - 02:10 PM
Written by BJ Hansen
bjhansen@mlode.com
MML News Reporter

MyMotherLode.com News
Serving Tuolumne, Calaveras and Amador Counties, California

http://www.mymotherlode.com/News/article/kvml/1192828499

San Andreas, Ca -- The Calaveras County Health Department has had four
residents report cases of Lyme Disease this year, prompting it to ask
residents to take steps to protect against tick bites.

Three of the four cases were from adult residents of West Point, and
the other was from an adult in Railroad Flat.

Full Text here:
http://www.mymotherlode.com/News/article/kvml/1192828499
The website put up their own Lyme disease webpage:
http://www.mymotherlode.com/Health/mlmc_news_2.html#lyme

[blimeyitslymie]

Questions author on Lyme disease
News-Times.com Danbury, Connecticut
Article Last Updated: 10/23/2007 04:21:08 AM EDT

http://www.newstimes.com/ci_7255671?source=most_emailed

The News-Times addressed the Lyme disease debate in an Oct. 4 article
by reporting on a review published in the New England Journal of Medicine.

I would like to point out the author of the article, Dr. Henry Feder
Jr., wrote that "the focus of the review would be the imprecisely
defined condition referred to as 'chronic Lyme disease.'"

He continued by saying Lyme was a complex infection, however, he did
not want to focus on the objective manifestations of the illness.

Complete text:
http://www.newstimes.com/ci_7255671?source=most_emailed

Letters:
Art Cummings Editor (203) 731-3351 acummings@newstimes.com
Mary Connolly Editorial Page Editor (203) 731-3362
mconnolly@newstimes.com

or snail mail to:

The News-Times
333 Main Street
Danbury, CT 06810

[blimeyitslymie]

CLARIFIED AS OF:
October 16, 2007*

Columbia University Medical Center Researchers Lead Placebo-
Controlled
Study of Cognitive Impairment Among Patients
With Previously Treated Lyme Disease

NEW YORK – Researchers at Columbia University Medical Center have
added to the body of literature on Lyme disease with the publication
of a study entitled, "A Randomized, Placebo-Controlled Trial of
Repeated IV Antibiotic Therapy for Lyme Encephalopathy, " in the Oct.
10 online edition of Neurology.

The study, led by principal investigator Brian Fallon, M.D., M.P.H.,
director of the recently established Lyme and Tick-borne Disease
Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center, involved
screening 3,368 patients for potential inclusion. Strict selection
criteria included memory impairment and a positive IgG Western blot
for Lyme disease at study entry, as well as previous antibiotic
treatment for Lyme disease completed at least 4 months before study
entry. The research was funded by the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Dr. Fallon and his research team identified patients with cognitive
problems that developed after diagnosis with Lyme disease and that
persisted or relapsed despite prior treatment. The goal was to
determine whether patients who have already received the "standard"
course of antibiotic treatment (three weeks of IV antibiotic
therapy), would benefit from an additional 10 weeks of antibiotic
therapy. They also set out to determine whether patients would
relapse when taken off antibiotics or whether the alleviation of
symptoms is sustained or enhanced with time.

After elimination of potential study subjects who did not meet
inclusion criteria, only 57 study participants remained (37 patients
with a history of Lyme disease and 20 healthy controls). They were
divided into three subject groups: patients with a history of treated
Lyme disease were randomized to IV treatment with an antibiotic
called ceftriaxone for 10 weeks; patients with a history of treated
Lyme disease were randomized to IV placebo for 10 weeks; and, healthy
controls were tested at the same time points as the patients to help
to control for the practice effect on neuropsychological testing.

"We set out in this study to learn if a repeated course of
antibiotics relieves certain symptoms associated with post-treatment
chronic Lyme encephalopathy and to assess whether such symptom relief
is sustained after patients are taken off antibiotics, " said Dr.
Fallon. "The sample group of 23 patients who received 10 weeks of IV
ceftriaxone therapy initially showed moderate improvements in
cognition when evaluated at the primary outcome assessment point of
12 weeks; however, the improvement in cognition was not sustained in
the 6 month (24 week) assessment."

According to the paper, patients with greater severity of pain,
fatigue or physical dysfunction at the start of the study who were
randomized to ceftriaxone treatment reported improvement in these
symptoms at week 12, as compared to those patients who were given IV
placebo. For a subset of patients who received IV ceftriaxone who
started the study with higher levels of pain or physical functioning
impairments, the improvement in pain and physical functioning was
sustained to week 24. Whether reported improvement was due to a
direct antimicrobial effect of the antibiotic or effects on
neurotransmitters is unclear. Of concern in this study is that IV
ceftriaxone treatment was associated with serious side effects in
about one-quarter of the patients.

The paper concludes, "...considering both the limited duration of
cognitive improvement and the risks, 10 weeks of IV ceftriaxone and
then 14 weeks of no antibiotic is not an effective strategy for
sustained cognitive improvement. "

- ### -

Columbia University Medical Center provides international leadership
in basic, pre-clinical and clinical research, in medical and health
sciences education, and in patient care. The medical center trains
future leaders and includes the dedicated work of many physicians,
public health professionals, dentists, nurses, and scientists at the
College of Physicians & Surgeons, the Mailman School of Public
Health, the College of Dental Medicine, the School of Nursing, the
biomedical departments of the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,
and allied research centers and institutions.

PATIENT QUERIES:
- To schedule a research evaluation for possible participation in a
research study, please call the Lyme and Tick-borne Disease Research
Center at 212-543-6510.
- Please note: As of June 4, 2007, the center is not currently
conducting any active treatment trials.

* The press release distributed on 10/10/07 regarding the publication
of this study has been clarified above to reflect the conclusions
noted in the Neurology paper. Members of the media may reqeust a copy
of the full study by contacting Angela Babb, media and public
relations program manager, American Academy of Neurology, at
ababb@aan.com or 651-695-2789.

[blimeyitslymie]

Hitting The Bull's Eye

Letter to the Editor, published On Line:
www.Lancet.com (Rapid response)
This Story On Lancet.com
By Virginia T. Sherr, MD
11-22-05
(Word Count 498, including references)

Phillips, Harris, Horowitz, et al hit the target squarely. Their
concern is the overriding significance of an invisiblized but
nonetheless serious infection caused by an extraordinarily complex
neurotropic spirochete. Its pandemic is approaching severity that was
experienced throughout the world in the Spanish Flu of 1918. The
causative spirochete is, of course, less immediately fatal than was
the virus of that epidemic, but it is deadly, nonetheless, to the
human brain. (1)

The fact that the causative spirochete, B. burgdorferi, is being
studied as an agent of biowarfare in the USA(2) adds impetus to a
need for quick education of most of the world's academic physicians
as to what has been sensed at the clinical level for a long time: we
are dealing here with a formidable "smart stealth" type of bacteria
that is hard to eradicate--one that does extreme damage to psyche and
soma if not treated aggressively over the long term when missed in
the first days following inoculation by the vector. (Announced
recently: "UTSA Opens New Bioterrorism Lab--A new research lab for
bioterrorism opened Monday at the University of Texas at San Antonio.
[San Antonio AP]. The $10.6 million M. B. Tobin Laboratory Building
will provide a 22,000-square- foot facility to study such diseases as
anthrax, tularemia, cholera, Lyme disease, desert valley fever and
other parasitic and fungal diseases. The Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention identified these diseases as potential bioterrorism
agents.")(3)

An excerpt from a patent application related to biowarfare research
reads: "We plan to use Borrelia burgdorferi, the arthropod-borne
etiologic agent of Lyme disease and Yersinia pestis, the etiologic
agent of plague, as our principle test agents to work through the
systems. We will begin with B. burgdorferi since although it has a
complicated life-cycle involving both arthropod and animal
intermediates, it is easy to grow and we have extensive experience in
working with it in different complex environments including ticks,
rodents and human samples." (4)

Medicine worldwide has not been successful in dealing with persistent
Lyme by maintaining its concept of it as a geographically localized
nuisance disease caused by a simple spirochete previously described
as "Easy to diagnose (Bull's Eye rash, swollen major joint, Bell's
palsy, etc.) and easy to treat (One day to 3 weeks of an
antibiotic). " Organized Medicine has mostly ignored or deserted the
field of neuro-Lyme's currently immense proportions, internationally.
The diagnosis and treatment of human Lyme as led by the "diagnose-and-
treat-by-the- old-Guidelines" types of powerful but passé medical
thinking, the clinging to outdated medical dogma about tick-borne
diseases, is no longer tolerable.

References

Barbour, Alan G: http://www.ucihs. uci.edu/microbio /
http://www.niaid. nih.gov/factshee ts/detrick_ qa.htm
http://www.msnbc. msn.com/id/ 10039154/
Biowar-related grant proposal (includes Lyme as test agent for its
rapid identification program). Abstract. Institution: Brookhaven
Science Assoc-Brookhaven Lab, Brookhaven National Lab, Upton, NY, USA
11973, Fiscal Year: 2003, Project Start: 15-Sep-2003, Project End: 29-
Feb-2008, ICD: National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases.
IRG: Zai1. Grant Number: 1U01AI056480- 01

[blimeyitslymie]

"According to the paper, patients with greater severity of pain,
fatigue or physical dysfunction at the start of the study who were
randomized to ceftriaxone treatment reported improvement in these
symptoms at week 12, as compared to those patients who were given IV
placebo."

- -

Columbia University Medical Center Researchers Lead Placebo-Controlled
Study of Cognitive Impairment Among Patients With Previously Treated
Lyme Disease

by Columbia University Medical Center
ImmuneSupport.com

http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/8445

10-26-2007

NEW YORK, Released Oct 10, 2007 – Researchers at Columbia University
Medical Center have added to the body of literature on Lyme disease
with the publication of a study entitled, "A Randomized,
Placebo-Controlled Trial of Repeated IV Antibiotic Therapy for Lyme
Encephalopathy," in the October 10 online edition of Neurology.

The study, led by principal investigator Brian Fallon, MD, MPH,
director of the recently established Lyme and Tick-borne Disease
Research Center at Columbia University Medical Center, involved
screening 3,368 patients for potential inclusion. Strict selection
criteria included memory impairment and a positive IgG Western blot
for Lyme disease at study entry, as well as previous antibiotic
treatment for Lyme disease completed at least 4 months before study
entry. The research was funded by the National Institute of
Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Complete story:
http://www.immunesupport.com/library/showarticle.cfm/ID/8445

[blimeyitslymie]

Karen Metzger and others from Ohio testified Thursday October 25,
2007 before members of the Ohio House State Government and Elections
Committee on behalf of designating May as "Ohio Lyme Disease Awareness
Month."

- -

Metzger hopes state puts focus on Lyme disease
Friday, October 26, 2007
By PAUL E. KOSTYU
GateHouse COLUMBUS BUREAU CHIEF
The Repository, Canton, Ohio

http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?ID=383247&Category=13&subCategoryID=
or
http://tinyurl.com/2l6snp

COLUMBUS, OHIO - In the halls of the Statehouse, it's pretty common to
see legislation that names a month after one cause or another. Gov.
Ted Strickland signed a bill into law Thursday designating October as
German Heritage Month. With 12 of them in a year, months share a lot
of designations.

Some designations can seem pretty silly; getting one is routine, and
journalists don't pay much attention.

Karen Metzger hopes her cause sparks some interest.

Complete story here:
http://tinyurl.com/2l6snp

Reach GateHouse Columbus Bureau Chief Paul E. Kostyu at (614) 222-8901
or e-mail: paul.kostyu@cantonrep.com

Letters:
E-mail us at letters@cantonrep.com or call (330) 580-8544.
Alternatively, you can use the form found here:
http://www.cantonrep.com/index.php?external=forms/letter_editor.php

[blimeyitslymie]

"Jim Wilson, president and founder of the Canadian Lyme Disease
Foundation, said many people turn to laboratories in the United States
after negative Lyme tests in Canada after facing the same struggles as
McKenzie."

- -

Living with Lyme disease

Anjanette McKenzie knows all about it

by JOHANNA WEIDNER jweidner@therecord.com
The Record, Kitchener, Ontario, Canada

http://www.therecord.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=record/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1193382948477&call_pageid=1024322086066&col=1024322199686
or
http://tinyurl.com/2ktlmb

Anjanette McKenzie was so happy to find out she had lyme disease, she
threw a party.

After two years of suffering severe and unexplained symptoms, McKenzie
finally knew what was wrong with her. Even better, treatment and
recovery could begin.

"It just felt like finally we have an answer," she said.

Complete story and photos here:
http://tinyurl.com/2ktlmb

Letters: letters@therecord.com

Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation:
http://canlyme.com/

[blimeyitslymie]

"Other cities, such as Burnsville, Minn., have enacted bans on deer
feeding, and Rochester would be well-advised to follow suit."

- -

Opinion
Editorial: Feeding deer is bad for them, bad for us
10/26/2007 10:23:22 AM
Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minnesota

http://www.postbulletin.com/newsmanager/templates/localnews_story.asp?z=12&a=313047
or
http://tinyurl.com/29bpfb

A photo with a story in Monday's Post-Bulletin showed three deer in
the yard of a Baihly Heights residence. It's a pretty picture, and is
increasingly common in Rochester. Deer, turkeys, foxes -- and geese,
of course -- are quite at home in the city, and they add a much-needed
touch of wildness to urban life.

The complete editorial:
http://tinyurl.com/29bpfb

Letters:
Editorial Page
Post-Bulletin
18 First Ave. S.E.
Rochester, MN 55903-6118

[blimeyitslymie]

http://id50. blogspot.com:80/2007/10/blumenthal-he-doesnt-know-when-to-
quit.html

October 26, 2007
Blumenthal: He doesn't know when to quit
Neurology Today [an excerpt]

Volume 7(20), 16 October 2007, pp 1,12–13

Guidelines on Trial: AAN Subpoenaed as Part of Investigation into
Treatment Parameters for Lyme Disease.

by Lisa Philips

The AAN is not a target of the investigation. Rather, the Connecticut
Attorney General subpoenaed the Academy for information on how its
guidelines for Lyme disease were developed and its relationship, if
any, with the IDSA, said AAN General Counsel Murray G. Sagveen.

The investigation specifically seeks to determine whether the effect
of the IDSA guidelines is "constraining choices by patients or
doctors in a way that could be anticompetitive, " Attorney General
Blumenthal told Neurology Today.

"If the effect of the guidelines is to deny medical coverage for
other kinds of treatment, there might be a violation of antitrust
law."

The investigation, launched last November, is also looking into
possible conflicts of interest among the members of the panel that
developed the IDSA guidelines, Blumenthal said.

Blumenthal launched the investigation at the request of Lyme disease
patients and physicians who believe in the efficacy of long-term use
of intravenous antibiotics for the treatment of PLS.

The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) has
its own treatment guidelines, which recommend extended antibiotic use
for chronic Lyme disease.

A RESTRAINT OF TRADE

AAN General Counsel Sagsveen said he has submitted the requested
information about the AAN guidelines. But, he added, he is baffled by
the idea that the IDSA guidelines restrain physicians from making
their own choices — and that the IDSA guidelines are the target of an
antitrust investigation.

"If the IDSA guidelines are a restraint of trade, then by logical
extension isn't any set of medical guidelines a restraint of trade?"
he asked.

Henry Allen, a Holland & Knight partner who teaches law at
Northwestern University and serves as counsel for the AAN on the
Blumenthal investigation, said that the antitrust laws prohibit
restraints of trade that are unreasonable in the sense they injure
consumers.

He noted that "non-coercive clinical guidelines do not even amount to
a restraint, much less one that might be deemed unreasonable. "

Moreover, both the Federal Trade Commission and the Supreme Court
have recognized that guidelines for clinical patient care are
reasonable because they have major consumer advantages, Allen said.

"The biggest advantage is that providing information to consumers
saves physicians, on behalf of patients, the trouble of doing their
own investigation, " Allen said. "Insurance companies, being consumers
too, are also advantaged."

At the same time, he added, "those who are opposed to these voluntary
guidelines have an opportunity to express their ideas as well. The
remedy for any mistake is, as one antitrust tribunal put it, not
antitrust litigation but more speech — the marketplace of ideas."

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.newstimes.com:80/ci_7255671? source=most_ emailed

Questions author on Lyme disease
News-Times Staff
Article Last Updated: 10/23/2007 04:21:08 AM EDT

The News-Times addressed the Lyme disease debate in an Oct. 4 article
by reporting on a review published in the New England Journal of
Medicine.

I would like to point out the author of the article, Dr. Henry Feder
Jr., wrote that "the focus of the review would be the imprecisely
defined condition referred to as 'chronic Lyme disease.'"

He continued by saying Lyme was a complex infection, however, he did
not want to focus on the objective manifestations of the illness.

He went on to say, "despite resolution of the objective
manifestations of infection after antibiotic treatment, a minority of
patients have fatigue, musculoskeletal pain, difficulties with
concentration or short-term memory, or all of these symptoms," and
referred to "these usually mild and self-limiting subjective symptoms
as 'post-Lyme disease symptoms,' and if they last longer than six
months," called "them 'post-Lyme disease syndrome.'"

This is the rub, he is willing to call chronic Lyme disease "post-
Lyme disease syndrome," he minimizes the effects of "post-Lyme
disease syndrome" by saying they are mild and self-limiting, he does
not address the number of people affected, and does not want to talk
about treatment protocols.

If the focus of the review was to talk about the imprecisely defined
condition referred to as chronic Lyme disease, why does the author go
on to conclude that the use of prolonged antibiotic treatment is not
warranted when his focus was suppose to be on a definition of a
condition?

Maybe the scientists have to come up with another name to describe
this "complex infection" which will agree with what doctors are
seeing in their offices.

Frances Ryan

DANBURY

[blimeyitslymie]

New Tick Testing Seeks New Answers

By Nancy K. Crevier
The Newton Bee, Newtown, Connecticut
Copyright © 1999-2007 Bee Publishing Company

http://www.newtownbee.com/Health.asp?s=Health-2007-10-23-13-00-38p1.htm
or
http://tinyurl.com/ytl6xg

Newtown Health District Director Donna Culbert said the District
received $750 in early September to participate in a yearlong,
countywide deer tick study to be performed under the direction of Dr
Eva Sapi of the University of New Haven. The study will involve the
collection and testing of ticks from several different sites in town.

It is hoped that the study will more accurately assess the infection
rates of ticks and determining with what ticks are infected. While
most Connecticut residents are aware of Lyme disease carried by ticks,
it is becoming apparent that other tick-borne infections responsible
for illnesses that equally overlooked or underdiagnosed.

Complete text, including photo of Kim Harrison and her son Adam:
http://tinyurl.com/ytl6xg

Letters, use the form here:
http://www.newtownbee.com/SendContent.asp

[blimeyitslymie]

"Dr. Daniel Cameron succeeds Dr. Ray Stricker as President of the
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS). ILADS
point of view on the nature and treatment of Lyme disease is in direct
conflict with the point of view of the Infection Disease Society of
America (IDSA) and the current treatment guidelines promoted by the
Center for Disease Control (CDC)."

- -

International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society Names New President
Board of Directors Elects Dr. Daniel Cameron, Epidemiology Pioneer

Press Release

http://www.emediawire.com/releases/2007/10/emw565028.htm

Bethesda, MD (PRWEB) October 30, 2007 -- The International Lyme and
Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) announced today that it has
elected Dr. Daniel Cameron to serve as the new President of the Board
for the next two years. The appointment was announced during the
annual ILADS conference that drew more than 300 attendees that
included medical practitioners and researchers who specialize in Lyme
Disease and representatives from patient advocacy groups.

Dr. Cameron is the chief author of the ILADS evidence-based medicine
practice guidelines. The ILADS treatment guidelines are based on
evidence that Lyme is a complex disease, with symptoms that can vary
significantly in patients. The ILADS guidelines are in direct conflict
with the current accepted guidelines which support a view of Lyme as a
simple disease that requires short doses of antibiotics as treatment.

"Lyme disease has become a major epidemic in this country," said Dr.
Cameron. "It is a complex and debilitating disease for many people. As
president of the board, I hope to help bring researchers and
practicing physicians together to identify better ways to diagnose and
treat Lyme."

Cameron is an attending physician at the Northern Westchester Hospital
and has served as an ILADS board member for the last six years.
Cameron has made many contributions to clinical research on Lyme
disease. He has pioneered the field of clinical epidemiology in Lyme
disease as an author of practice guidelines, analytic reviews, and
clinical trials. He continues to devote much of his research time to
improving the outcomes of Lyme disease patients.

Cameron succeeds Dr. Raphael Stricker, who has served as ILADS
president for the last two years. During his tenure, Stricker has
successfully led ILADS to a prominent position in the fight against
tick-borne diseases, passionately promoting the ILADS standard of care
for Lyme. Stricker authored the article that appeared in the July 15
issue of Clinical Infectious Diseases, one of the most prestigious
journals in the field of infectious disease and microbiology. The
article represented the first time that evidence supporting the ILADS
point of view has been published by a leading American infectious
disease journal.

Controversy Over Treatment Guidelines
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, reported
cases of Lyme disease have more than doubled in the last 15 years.
Latest statistics indicate more than 20,000 cases are reported to the
government each year. However, many experts believe the actual number
of cases is closer to 200,000.

For those patients who demonstrate classic symptoms of the disease
soon after recognizing a tick bite, such as a "bull's eye" rash and
joint pain, a short dose of antibiotics often eradicates the disease
from the body. But only 50% of Lyme patients actually recall a tick
bite. And the classic symptoms are typically experienced by only a
fraction of patients diagnosed with the disease.

ILADS treatment guidelines are based on the belief that Lyme disease
is a complex illness that is often difficult to diagnose and requires
specialized treatment based on patient symptoms and physician
judgment. Guideline highlights include:

-- Given lack of a definitive diagnostic test for Lyme disease,
laboratory results should not be used to exclude a patient from treatment.

-- Lyme disease is a clinical diagnosis and tests should be used to
support rather than supersede the physician's judgment.

-- Early use of antibiotics can prevent persistent, recurrent, and
refractory Lyme disease.

-- Duration of antibiotic therapy should be guided by the patient's
response to treatment, rather than by an arbitrary (ie, 30 day)
treatment course.

-- The practice of stopping antibiotics to allow for delayed
recovery is not recommended for persistent Lyme disease. In these
cases, it is reasonable to continue treatment for several months after
clinical and laboratory abnormalities have begun to resolve and
symptoms have disappeared.

About ILADS:
ILADS is a nonprofit, international, multidisciplinary medical
society, dedicated to the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of Lyme
and its associated diseases. ILADS promotes understanding of
tick-borne diseases through research and education and strongly
supports physicians and other health care professionals dedicated to
advancing the standard of care for Lyme and its associated diseases.

For More Information, contact:
Pam Kahl
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society
http://www.ilads.org/
503 284-1534
Email us Here:
http://www.emediawire.com/emailmember.php?prid=565028

[blimeyitslymie]

The Neighborhood: You have what?
Pineandlakes.com - Brainerd Lakes Area of Minnesota
Wednesday, October 31, 2007

http://www.pineandlakes.com/stories/103107/opinion_20071031088.shtml

By Mary Bruemmer
Columnist

It was a sickly time in the neighborhood...

Why do diseases have to have such strange names? Do you ever talk to
someone who either has a disease or knows someone who does? I'm always
impressed when they can roll those gigantic words off their tongue
like it is everyday English. The disease itself has a name as long as
your arm, then the medications involved are just as bad.

I bring this up because my husband was recently diagnosed with Lyme
disease and ehrlichiosis. Of course, those of you in the know realize
that the second disease I mentioned has recently been renamed human
anaplasmosis.

Complete column here:
http://www.pineandlakes.com/stories/103107/opinion_20071031088.shtml

Writer Mary Bruemmer, email her: mary.bruemmer@pineriverjournal.com

Letters to the Publisher, Pete Mohs:
pete.mohs@pequotlakesecho.com

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.ack.net/ticks062107.html

Island Lyme disease cases still near top in state

By Peter A. Sutters Jr.
I&M Staff Writer

According to the state, Martha's Vineyard surpassed Nantucket in the
number of reported cases of Lyme disease in 2005, the most recent
year for which data is available.

According to Nantucket Doctor Tim Lepore, you shouldn't believe
everything the state tells you.

"A number of cases don't get reported," said Lepore. "Reporting can
be fairly tiresome. You have to submit a form, then the state sends
you another form to fill out and you have to send that in. Not
everyone has the time."

Lepore said he expects this tick season to be bad, if not record-
setting, because of a wet spring and the number of cases rising year
after year.

"It's going to be a banner year," said Lepore, who could not mention
Lyme disease without stating his desire to bring back the winter deer
hunt aimed at thinning the heard and the disease-carrying the deer.
There are approximately 50 deer per square mile on the island right
now, compared to the statewide average of 10-15 deer per square mile,
he said.

According to the state Department of Public Health, in 2005 there
were only 29 confirmed cases of Lyme disease on Nantucket, compared
to 90 on the Martha's Vineyard.

Extrapolating those numbers for cases per 100,000 Nantucket would
have reported 285 cases compared to the Vineyard's 577 cases. The
state average was 36 cases per 100,000, according to the Department
of Public Health records.

Lepore said his office has already had two cases this year, which he
said was early in the season, with cases normally being reported deep
into July and August.

According to the DPH, Lyme disease, named after the Connecticut town
where it was discovered, is a bacterial infection transmitted to
humans through the bite of a deer tick. Symptoms include a rash at
the site of the bite, flu-like symptoms and sore joints. The disease
is treatable with a regimen of antibiotics, but some have issues for
years following exposure to the bacteria.

Lyme disease is not the only disease carried by the ticks. Others
include ehrlichiosis, which is potentially paralytic and fatal. It
begins with a minor paralysis and gets worse.

Babesiosis is malaria-like in its manifestation and can cause a very
high fever. The disease can create an enlarged liver and spleen and
an extremely low red blood cell count.
Cases of people contracting Lyme disease have risen nearly every year
in the last 15 years. According to the DPH, in the early 1990s, cases
reported in all of Massachusetts hovered around 200 until shooting up
in the late 1990s from 400 in 1996 to almost 1,200 in 2000. In 2001
the number was slightly above the year before, elevating to almost
2,000 in 2002, dropping slightly the next two years, only to rise
again in 2005 to 2,200 reported cases.

Another reason Lepore said many cases of Lyme disease do not get
reported on Nantucket is the transient tourist population that is
here in the summer, when most if not all people contract the
bacterial disease. Lepore said people often get bitten here while on
vacation and return home before symptoms set in.

"I get calls all the time from places like British Columbia, France,
Switzerland, " said Lepore. "Tick-borne diseases have an incubation
period. People come here for a week, get bitten and return home and
then feel sick."

Deer ticks are usually no bigger than a poppy seed or a small freckle
on the body. If a deer tick bites a person and is engorged for more
than 24 hours, chances are at least 40 percent for contracting Lyme
disease. A person can obtain one, two or all three tick-borne
diseases with one bite.

Deer ticks are most abundant along the edges of wooded areas and also
feed off birds, dogs, cats and occasionally humans. The deer tick
prefers the fringes of shrubby woodlands where deer are plentiful,
whether near marshes, on sand dunes or in upland fields.

[blimeyitslymie]

Source: Journal
of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome, Vol 3 #4, 2007
by Samuel Shor, MD, FACP

10-10-2007 Objective: Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) by definition
represents a diagnosis of exclusion. Late stage or "Chronic Lyme"
infection with or without "co-infections" is a difficult diagnosis to
establish. The symptom complex of both conditions can be very similar.
This case study represents an attempt to support serious consideration
for a subpopulation of patients otherwise diagnosed with "CFS," as
actually representing chronic Lyme disease.

Conclusion: Acceptance and awareness of the possibility that Lyme
disease can present as CFS has important therapeutic and prognostic
implications.

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE AT:
http://www.immunesu pport.com/library/showarti cle.cfm/ID/8398

[blimeyitslymie]

Masquerade fundraiser to help fight Lyme disease
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, New Jersey

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071101/NEWS02/711010311/1070
or
http://tinyurl.com/ythnu5
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 11/1/07

BY TRISTAN J. SCHWEIGER
STAFF WRITER

REGION — Dr. John Drulle knew first-hand how difficult it can be
recognize and treat Lyme disease.

Drulle, who opened a Jackson practice with his wife, Dr. Emilia Eiras,
in the late 1980s, focused much of his professional life on raising
awareness about the tick-born bacterial infection and helping patients
who suffered from it. He also suffered from Lyme disease and
ultimately died of complications from it in 2003 at 59.

But Eiras and others are continuing the fight against the disease.
Eiras, a 54-year-old Jackson resident, is president of the John Drulle
M.D. Memorial Lyme Fund Inc., a nonprofit named in honor of her late
husband.

From 1 to 6 p.m. on Sunday, at Jenkinson's Pavilion in Point Pleasant
Beach, the organization will hold its second annual Great Imitator
Masquerade fundraiser.

Complete story here:
http://tinyurl.com/ythnu5

Website of the John Drulle M.D. Memorial Lyme Fund Inc.:
http://www.johndrullelymefund.org/

Letters
By e-mail: yourviews@app.com
or, snail mail:
Your Views, Asbury Park Press,
3601 Highway 66, Box 1550, Neptune, NJ 07754-1551

[blimeyitslymie]

"Clinical social worker Sandy Berenbaum will focus on the challenges
facing patients with chronic, debilitating and misunderstood illness."

- -
November 4, 2007

Lyme disease group to hear social worker

The Ridgefield Press
Ridgefield, Connecticut
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/24834.shtml

"Finding Inner Strength and Developing Advocacy Skills" is the topic
for the Thursday, Nov. 8th 2007, lunchtime meeting of the Ridgefield
Lyme, Chronic Fatigue and Fibromyalgia Support Group.

Clinical social worker Sandy Berenbaum will focus on the challenges
facing patients with chronic, debilitating and misunderstood illness.

Ms. Berenbaum has been working with families with chronic Lyme disease
for the past 16 years and understands the ways in which ongoing
illness affects patients and their families.

The group meets from noon to 1:30 on the second floor of the VNA
offices at 90 East Ridge Road.

For additional information, call Jennifer Reid at 431-0462.

For directions, go to the VNA Web site at
http://www.ridgefieldvna.org/ and click the "About Us" tab.

Letters to the Ridgefield Press may be submitted as e-mails to
newsroom@acorn-online.com or they may be posted (typed and
double-spaced or very neatly hand-printed), to Box 1019, Ridgefield CT
06877.

[blimeyitslymie]

It's especially high in Santa Cruz," noted Dr. Christine Green, a
Palo Alto physician who specializes in treating Lyme disease.

"That's not from a study," she added. "That's from sitting behind my
desk."

- -

Lyme disease real danger in Bay Area
Encounters with ticks heighten in fall, winter
By Suzanne Bohan sbohan@angnewspapers.com or (650)348-4324
STAFF WRITER
San Mateo Times, San Mateo, California

Article Last Updated: 11/08/2007 02:37:41 AM PST

http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_7403257

If you spend time outdoors during the next few months, take extra
precautions against ticks that carry Lyme disease and other tick-borne
illnesses, warned the state's Department of Public Health this week.

The agency annually reminds state residents to maintain extra
diligence when fall begins, as adult ticks carrying the bacteria
causing Lyme disease become a greater threat.

"Although most people associate ticks with summer activities, adult
western black-legged ticks are more likely to be encountered in late
fall and winter," explained Mark Horton, director of the public health
agency.

Of the 48 tick species found in California, only the western
black-legged tick is thought to transmit Lyme disease.

But on average, 1 to 2 percent of the adult western black-legged ticks
carry the bacteria causing the disease, although in some California
counties the rate is higher, according to research from the University
of California, Berkeley.

While the percentages are small, the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention lists Northern California as among the nation's more active
areas for human Lyme disease infections, including a number of cases
in the Bay Area. Dr. Christine Green, a Palo Alto physician who
specializes in treating Lyme disease, sees it firsthand. She has a
caseload of more than 200 patients with Lyme disease, many contracted
locally in San Mateo, Alameda, Santa Clara and Santa Cruz counties.

Complete Story:
http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_7403257

Letters: smctletters@sanmateocountytimes.com (no attachments, please).
Regular mail: Letters to the Editor, San Mateo County Times, 477 Ninth
Ave., San Mateo 94402.

[blimeyitslymie]

"Adult ticks climb to the tips of vegetation, often alongside trails
or paths, and wait for a host to brush against them. They attach to
animals and humans and feed by sticking their mouthparts into the skin
and sucking blood for up to several days."

- -

Public health chief issues warning: Beware of ticks this fall
Tahoe Daily Tribune, South Lake Tahoe, California

Staff report
November 5, 2007

http://www.tahoedailytribune.com/article/20071105/NEWS/71105008/-1/NEWS
or
http://tinyurl.com/389zfk

California's director of public health issued an alert today reminding
those who venture outdoors that ticks are abundant this season and may
be carriers of Lyme disease and other parasite-borne illnesses.

"Although most people associate ticks with summer outdoor activities,
adult western black-legged ticks are more likely to be encountered in
late fall and winter," Dr. Mark Horton, chief of the California
Department of Public Health. "With California's temperate climate,
adult ticks are abundant throughout the cooler months between late
October and March."

Complete article:
http://tinyurl.com/389zfk
Thanks to http://tinyurl.com/

Letters use the form found here:
http://apps.tahoedailytribune.com/forms/letter/index.php

[blimeyitslymie]

"She hasn't picked up a racket since flying home in September from the
U.S. Open. That following morning, she was taken to the emergency room
after suffering from intense headaches."

The author's doubles partner, Samantha Stosur, was "half of the No. 1
doubles team in the world" until Lyme disease left her sleeping ten
hours a night and challenged by simple trips to the grocery store.

Apparently it was a diagnosis of viral meningitis before doctors
diagnosed her with Lyme disease.


- -

Starting from scratch
An ex-champ is missing from Madrid, but on the mend
by Lisa Raymond "Doubles Take"
Five-time women's doubles Grand Slam winner Lisa Raymond writes for
SI.com on alternate Fridays.

Posted: Friday November 2, 2007 11:50AM;

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/lisa_raymond/11/02/stosur/index.html
or
http://tinyurl.com/2qmsgb

"A year ago this week, my doubles partner, Samantha Stosur, was half
of the No. 1 doubles team in the world. We had just won our ninth
tournament of the year, heading into Madrid as the defending
champions. We would go on defend our title, ending what would be an
impressive year that included the French Open title and the Doubles
Team of the Year award.

One year later, Sam sits in her apartment in Tampa, Fla., her home
away from home during the long tennis season, amazed at how things can
change on a dime. She hasn't seen a gym in almost a month, sleeps 10
hours a night and gets winded walking around the grocery store."

The complete story is here:
http://tinyurl.com/2qmsgb

You can also visit the official website of Samantha Stosur here:
http://www.samstosur.com/
Tennis fans and well wishers can find a forum to send her a note of
encouragement (registration required).

[blimeyitslymie]

Effectiveness of Spayvac€ ¦® for Reducing White-tailed Deer Fertility

Journal of Wildlife Diseases, 43(4), 2007, pp. 726-730
€ ¦© Wildlife Disease Association 2007
http://www.jwildlifedis.org/

SHORT COMMUNICATION
Shawn L. Locke1,(5), Matthew W. Cook(1), Louis A. Harveson(2), Donald
S. Davis(3), Roel R. Lopez1, Nova J. Silvy1 and Mark A. Fraker(4)

1) Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Sciences, Texas A&M University,
College Station, Texas 77843, USA;
2) Department of Natural Resource Management, Sul Ross State
University, Alpine, Texas 78930, USA;
3) Department of Pathobiology, Texas A&M University, College Station,
Texas 77843, USA;
4) TerraMar Environmental Research Ltd., 8617 Lochside Drive, Sidney,
British Columbia V8L 1M8, Canada
5) Corresponding author (email: sloc@tamu.edu)

ABSTRACT:
Overabundant white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) populations
have been reported in many urban and suburban communities across the
United States.

Large populations of deer can potentially increase the risk of
human-wildlife conflicts, such as deer-vehicle collisions,
transmission of disease to humans, and vegetation damage.

In 2003, efforts to control white-tailed deer numbers were initiated
at the National Aeronautical and Space Agency's (NASA) Lyndon B.
Johnson Space Center (JSC) in Houston, Texas, using the long-lasting,
single-dose contraceptive SpayVac€ ¦®.

Our objectives were to evaluate the effectiveness of SpayVac€ ¦® for
reducing white-tailed deer fertility and determine the partial cost
for treatment.

Between 2003 and 2004, we monitored 45 adult female deer (34 treated
with SpayVac€ ¦®, 11 controls treated with a placebo). Fawning rate over
2 yr for deer treated with SpayVac€ ¦® >30 days prior to the rut was 0%
(n=31), whereas the fawning rate for control deer was 78% (n=11).

Inoculation 1 mo prior to the breeding season was sufficient time to
achieve fertility control. We conclude that SpayVac€ ¦® can effectively
reduce the fertility of urban white-tailed deer.

[blimeyitslymie]

A second news anchor steps forward and reports on Lyme disease from
the perspective of someone who is living through it. Excellent story
using footage from "Under Our Skin", the upcoming documentary from
Open Eye Pictures.
http://www.openeyepictures.com/


The Lyme Controversy - Part 1
WSET-TV ABC Channel 13, Lynchburg, Virginia

Tuesday November 06, 2007 8:11pm

Reporter: Noreen Turyn Posted By: Webteam

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/1107/470355.html

Lynchburg, VA - Right now, there are thousands with the same symptoms
-- unexplained aches and pains, low grade fever, fatigue, who don't
know what's wrong with them. Their doctors don't know either. It may
be one of the most misdiagnosed medical problems today and if left
untreated, it can attack your joints, heart, nervous system. Yet what
we're talking about is not some mystery illness. Would you be
surprised to know it's Lyme Disease?

ABC 13 News Anchor Noreen Turyn knows. She's done the research,
because she is living through it. She begins an in-depth look into
The Lyme Controversy.

http://www.wset.com/news/stories/1107/470355.html

Read Noreen Turyn's bio here:
http://www.wset.com/news/talent.hrb?i=75

To comment on the story, you must register first via a form, at the
bottom of the link given above.

If you have a story about Lyme to contribute, you can email the
station here: lyme@wset.com

[blimeyitslymie]

"This year, they seem to have crossed the threshold, at least in the
areas I go. It went from being, 'There's a deer tick' to, 'Man, look
at them all.'"

- -

A banner fall for deer ticks in northern Minnesota
By Brad Dokken, bdokken@gfherald.com (800) 477-6572, ext. 148;
Herald Staff Writer

GrandForksHerald.com, Grand Forks, North Dakota

http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=56260&section=News

Published Tuesday, November 06, 2007

It might be November, but hunters and other outdoors enthusiasts in
some parts of northern Minnesota aren't out of the woods yet, so to
speak, for the risk of encountering disease-causing deer ticks.

The tiny ticks, about the size of a sesame seed, can carry Lyme
disease and have become more common in northern Minnesota in recent
years. By some accounts, they have been especially troublesome this fall.

Complete story:
http://www.grandforksherald.com/articles/index.cfm?id=56260&section=News

Letters:
e-mail to: tdennis@gfherald.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Following up
is part two of the Lyme Controversy,
featuring ABC 13 News Anchor Noreen Turyn explaining how her sister
kept her from traveling too far down that long road to discovery.

- -

The Lyme Controversy - Part 2

Wednesday November 07, 2007 7:06pm
Reporter: Noreen Turyn Posted By: Webteam

WSET-TV ABC Channel 13, Lynchburg, Virginia
http://new.wset.com/news/stories/1107/470683.html

Lynchburg, VA - "It's a disease that's so distressing and often
misunderstood, thousands are willing to travel great distances for
help. Even right here at home, people are driving hours, even flying
to get diagnosed and treated. Usually after spending years searching
for answers. They're finding them in what are being called Lyme
Literate Medical Doctors, or LLMDs."

Extra footage found here:
http://www.wset.com/external.hrb?p=lyme

includes an approximately fourteen minute interview of Noreen Turyn
providing deeper insight into her experience navigating her attempt to
regain her health.

Post your thanks to Noreen Turyn at her bio page,
http://www.wset.com/news/talent.hrb?i=75

[blimeyitslymie]

The role of bba64 locus of Borrelia burgdorferi in early stages of
infectivity in the murine model of Lyme disease

Infection and Immunity
IAI Accepts, published online ahead of print on 5 November 2007
Infect. Immun. doi:10.1128/IAI.01118-07

http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/IAI.01118-07v1

Mahulena Maruskova, M. Dolores Esteve-Gassent, Valerie L. Sexton, and
J. Seshu*

South Texas Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases and Department of
Biology, The University of Texas at San Antonio, San Antonio, TX-78249

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: j.seshu@utsa.edu.

Abstract

Borrelia burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, undergoes
rapid adaptive gene expression in response to environmental signals
encountered during different stages of its life cycle in the arthropod
vector or the mammalian host.

Among all the plasmid-encoded genes of B. burgdorferi, several linear
plasmid 54 (lp54)-encoded open reading frames (ORFs) exhibit the
greatest differential expression in response to mammalian
host-specific temperature, pH and other uncharacterized signals. These
ORFs include members of the paralogous gene family 54 (pgf 54), such
as bba64, bba65 and bba66 present on lp54.

In an attempt to correlate transcriptional up-regulation of these pgf
54 members to their role in infectivity, we inactivated bba64 and
characterized the phenotype of this mutant both in vitro and in vivo.

There were no major differences in the protein profile between bba64
mutant and the control strains while immunoblot analysis indicated
that inactivation of bba64 resulted in increased levels of BBA65.

Moreover, there was no significant difference in the ability of the
bba64 mutant to infect C3H/HeN mice compared to its parental or
complemented control strains as determined by culturing of viable
spirochetes from infected tissues.

However, enumeration of spirochetes using quantitative real-time PCR
revealed tissue-specific differences suggesting a minimal role for
bba64 in the survival of B. burgdorferi in select tissues.

Infectivity analysis of the bba64 mutant suggests that B. burgdorferi
may utilize multiple determinants to establish infection in mammalian
hosts.

http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/IAI.01118-07v1

Copyright (c) 2007, American Society for Microbiology and/or the
Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

[blimeyitslymie]

"One doctor says uncovering this war is more important than the whole
Watergate scandal because we're dealing with people's lives."

- -

The Lyme Controversy - Part 3
Thursday November 08, 2007 11:24pm
Reporter: Noreen Turyn Posted By: Webteam
WSET-TV ABC Channel 13, Lynchburg, Virginia

http://new.wset.com/news/stories/1107/471065.html

"Lynchburg, VA - We've told you about how hard it is to diagnose, and
how many patients have spent years searching for answers. Yet within
the medical community, there's a battle raging over how to treat Lyme
Disease. It is indeed known as the Lyme Controversy.

The main players at battle: The International Lyme and Associated
Diseases Society, or ILADS, and The infectious Diseases Society of
America -- IDSA. One doctor says uncovering this war is more
important than the whole Watergate scandal because we're dealing with
people's lives."

Link to the video is here:
http://new.wset.com/news/stories/1107/471065.html

[blimeyitslymie]

"The corporate media often portrays this war as one between equally
powerful sides posing equally valid arguments, but that is far from the case. It has never really been a fair fight, nor has it ever really been about making sure the best science wins."

A blog posting from a community driven blog based in Connecticut written by Steven Gottschalk tries to summarize what is dubbed in various circles as the Lyme Wars, the Lyme Controversy and the Great Lyme Debate.

- -

http://www.myleftnutmeg.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8493

Attack of the Chronic Lyme Denialists
by Steven Gottschalk
November 12, 2007

For more than a decade, a battle royale has been waged over the
diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. An excellent overview of the
controversy is provided by Dr. Raphael Stricker, President of the
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), and his
associate, Lorraine Johnson in an article published by the medical
journal, Expert Review of Anti-infective Therapy:

Lyme disease is one of the most controversial illnesses in the
history of medicine [1,2]. Over the past decade, two opposing camps
have emerged in the controversy over this tick-borne illness. One
camp is represented by the Infectious Diseases Society of America
(IDSA), which maintains that Lyme disease is a rare illness
localized to well-defined areas of the world. According to the IDSA,
the disease is ‘hard to catch and easy to cure’ because the
infection is rarely encountered, easily diagnosed in its early stage
by means of accurate commercial laboratory tests and effectively
treated with a short course of antibiotics over 2–4 weeks. Chronic
infection with the Lyme spirochete, Borrelia burgdorferi, is rare or
nonexistent [3].

The opposing camp is represented by the International Lyme and
Associated Diseases Society (ILADS), which argues that Lyme disease
is not rare and, because its spread is facilitated by rodents, deer
and birds, it can be found in an unpredictable distribution around
the world accompanied by other tick-borne coinfections that may
complicate the clinical picture. According to the ILADS, tick bites
often go unnoticed and commercial laboratory testing for Lyme
disease is inaccurate [1,4]. Consequently, the disease is often not
recognized and may persist in a large number of patients, requiring
prolonged antibiotic therapy to eradicate persistent infection with
the evasive Lyme spirochete [1,4].

The battle over chronic Lyme disease has taken some unprecedented
turns. As of 2007, more than 19,000 scientific articles about
tick-borne diseases have been published, and the dichotomy between
basic science studies and clinical research articles is striking:
while basic science studies continue to highlight the invasiveness
and elusiveness of B. burgdorferi in culture systems and animal
models, clinical research articles adhere to the dogma that B.
burgdorferi produces a limited infection that is eradicated easily
[5,6]. Patients with persistent symptoms are labeled as having
‘post-Lyme syndrome’, hypothesized to be an autoimmune response to
the previously eradicated infection. To date, attempts to elucidate
the autoimmune mechanism of post-Lyme syndrome have been
unsuccessful [7,8].

While IDSA followers have embraced the post-Lyme syndrome concept
and foresworn long-term antibiotic treatment, followers of the ILADS
have continued to use antibiotics to treat persistently symptomatic
Lyme patients for chronic infection with B. burgdorferi and
coinfecting tick-borne agents. They cite animal studies that
demonstrate persistent infection by a complex organism, as well as
numerous clinical reports that document failure of the standard 2–4
weeks of antibiotic therapy recommended by the IDSA [1,9–12].

An Uneven Playing Field

The corporate media often portrays this war as one between equally
powerful sides posing equally valid arguments, but that is far from the
case. It has never really been a fair fight, nor has it ever really been
about making sure the best science wins.

The academics on the IDSA side of the battle, who I will refer to as
"chronic Lyme denialists", have chosen to forego the rigors of
scientific debate, opting instead to dominate the marketplace through
the use of sheer political force. They have accomplished this by seeking
out positions of influence both inside and outside of government, and
using those powerful positions to further their particular ideology to
the exclusion of all others. In so doing, they have established control
over every aspect of Lyme disease -- research, testing methods,
diagnostic standards, treatment standards, insurance reimbursement and
even over the livelihoods of those doctors who dare to treat outside the
denialists' protocols.

Through their connections at NIH and CDC, they have gobbled up most of
the public grant money available for Lyme disease research, and expended
far too much of it on poorly conceived studies designed to substantiate
their long-held beliefs that long-term antibiotic therapy is unwarranted
and that chronic Lyme disease is a myth. Their sphere of influence
extends to America's most prestigious medical journals, where they are
able to impact which studies get published, which studies don't, and how
quickly such decisions are made. Invariably, studies whose conclusions
contradict those of the chronic Lyme denialists have a harder time
passing through the journals' peer review process.

They have similarly used their powerful connections to encourage and
support investigations by state medical boards against doctors who treat
chronic Lyme disease in order to drive the "competition" out of
business. And they have used their consulting relationships with
insurance companies to deprive patients of access to extended antibiotic
therapy and/or insurance reimbursement, even when that therapy has been
shown to improve the patients' health.

The rest of the post can be found here with footnotes and links:

http://www.myleftnutmeg.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=8493

[blimeyitslymie]

A proposal to change the way rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed.
Rheumatologists understand the importance of early diagnosis
and so they want to make rheumatoid arthritis easier to diagnose.

Where you read RA (for rhematoid arthritis), you could substitute LD
(for Lyme disease) and you would wish this was the news for Lyme patients.

When will the approach to treating all tick-borne disease shift to
treating patients earlier in the course of their disease before systemic
damage and disability has begun?

- -

Press Release from the American College of Rheumatology
highlights the research being presented at the 2007 American College of Rheumatology Annual Scientific Meeting, which was held November 6 ? 11, 2007 at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center.

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/534861/?sc=sphn

Released: Tue 30-Oct-2007, 13:00 ET
Embargo expired: Wed 07-Nov-2007, 17:30 ET

"Changing the way in which rheumatoid arthritis is diagnosed by
including one new assessment and excluding two current assessments may
allow for the identification and inclusion of a larger number of
patients with early disease in clinical studies, according to research
presented this week at the American College of Rheumatology Annual
Scientific Meeting in Boston.

The current classification criteria for RA are quite sensitive for
patients with established disease. These criteria are primarily used for
determining whether a patient qualifies to be included in a study of RA
but are often used by clinicians for diagnostic purposes. Some of the
current clinical and radiological findings in the RA criteria may not
appear until the disease has been present for some time, and thus may
not be as useful to classify or diagnose early RA. As the approach to
managing rheumatoid arthritis shifts to treating patients earlier in the
course of their disease, before joint damage and disability has begun,
it is important to correctly identify patients with early disease, so
that they can be included in assessments of new therapies."

...

Presentation Number: 2150

Anti-CCP-Modified Criteria for the Classification of Early Rheumatoid
Arthritis

Katherine P. Liao, Kerri L. Batra, Lori Chibnik, Anne H. Fossel, Peter
H. Schur, Karen H. Costenbader. Brigham and Women's Hospital, Boston, MA

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of including antibodies to cyclic
citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) on the performance characteristics of
the current ACR criteria (Arnett F, Arthritis Rheum, 1988) for
classifying RA.

METHODS: We identified all outpatients seen in the Arthritis Center of
our academic medical center with both rheumatoid factor (RF) and
anti-CCP tested on the same day between January 1, 2004 and June 1,
2004. We reviewed their electronic medical records for ACR criteria,
treating rheumatologist diagnoses in follow-up, and results of RF and
anti-CCP testing. We revised the existing ACR criteria in two ways: (1)
by adding the results of anti-CCP testing, and (2) by removing
rheumatoid nodules and radiographic changes (erosions) (Table 1). We
compared the sensitivity and specificity of the ACR criteria to our two
sets of modified criteria and compared these to the rheumatologists?
diagnoses at the most recent follow-up visit.

RESULTS: 391 subjects were identified and their electronic medical
records were reviewed. 99 subjects were excluded, 20 with juvenile RA
and 79 with no follow-up visit. Thus, 292 subjects were included in this
analysis. Mean age of subjects was 52.3; 83% were women, and the mean
duration of symptoms was 4.1 years. 17% of patients were RF+ and 14%
were anti-CCP+ at initial testing. 78 (27%) had definite RA per their
rheumatologists at the most recent follow-up.

For all subjects, the Anti-CCP Revised Criteria increased sensitivity
for the classification of RA from 51% to 55%. This was also true for
subjects with symptoms < 6 months (n=79), for whom the sensitivity
increased from 25% to 49%. For subjects with symptoms < 6 months, using
the Early RA Revised Criteria increased sensitivity from 25% to 63% with
an acceptable decrease in specificity to 65% (Table 2).

CONCLUSION: Current clinical trials aim to include subjects with early
RA to test whether disease progression can be halted in its early
stages. Including anti-CCP and excluding rheumatoid nodules and
radiographic changes increases the sensitivity of the ACR criteria,
particularly for patients with symptoms < 6 months, and would allow for
identification and inclusion of a larger number of patients with early
RA in clinical studies.

Complete press release here:
http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/534861/?sc=sphn

[blimeyitslymie]

Anaplasma phagocytophilum-Borrelia burgdorferi Coinfection Enhances
Chemokine, Cytokine, and Matrix Metalloprotease Expression by Human
Brain Microvascular Endothelial Cells

http://cvi.asm.org/cgi/content/short/14/11/1420

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, November 2007, p. 1420-1424, Vol. 14,
No. 11
doi:10.1128/CVI.00308-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

Dennis J. Grab,1*
Elvis Nyarko,1#
Nicole C. Barat,2
Olga V. Nikolskaia,1
and J. Stephen Dumler,2

(1) Department of Pediatrics, Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21287
(2) Department of Pathology, Johns Hopkins University School of
Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland 21205

Received 26 July 2007/ Returned for modification 12 September 2007/
Accepted 19 September 2007
Published ahead of print on 26 September 2007.

Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma phagocytophilum coinfect and are
transmitted by Ixodes species ticks. Clinical indicators suggest that A.
phagocytophilum coinfection contributes to the severity, dissemination,
and, possibly, sequelae of Lyme disease.

Previous in vitro studies showed that spirochete penetration through
human brain microvascular endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier
is facilitated by endothelial cell-derived matrix metalloproteases (MMPs).

A. phagocytophilum-infected neutrophils continuously release MMPs and
other vasoactive biomediators.

We examined B. burgdorferi infection of brain microvascular barriers
during A. phagocytophilum coinfection and showed that coinfection
enhanced reductions in transendothelial electrical resistance and
enhanced or synergistically increased production of MMPs (MMP-1, -3, -7,
-8, and -9), cytokines (interleukin 6 [IL-6], IL-10, and tumor necrosis
factor alpha), and chemokines (IL-8 and macrophage inflammatory protein
1{alpha}) known to affect vascular permeability and inflammatory responses.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Pediatrics, Johns
Hopkins University School of Medicine, 200 North Wolfe Street, Room
3147, Baltimore, MD 21287. Phone: (410) 614-3917. Fax: (410) 614-1491.
E-mail: dgrab@jhmi.edu

# Present address: Department of Oceanography and Fisheries, University
of Ghana, Legon, Accra, Ghana.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology, November 2007, p. 1420-1424, Vol. 14,
No. 11
doi:10.1128/CVI.00308-07
Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology. All Rights Reserved.

[blimeyitslymie]

"We report the case of a 39-year old white male with a 17-year history
of chronic HCV infection, who eradicated HCV (Hepatitis C Virus)
following a serious illness due to co-infection with Babesia
(babesiosis), Borriela Borgdorferi (Lyme disease) and Ehrlichia (human
granulocytic ehrlichiosis)."

- -

Byrnes V, Chopra S, Koziel MJ. Resolution of chronic hepatitis C
following parasitosis. World J Gastroenterol 2007; 13(31): 4268-4269

http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/13/4268.asp

Valerie Byrnes, Sanjiv Chopra, Divisions of Gastroenterology, Beth
Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA
02215, United States

Margaret J Koziel, Divisions of Infectious Diseases, Beth Israel
Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215,
United States

Correspondence to: Margaret J Koziel, Divisions of Infectious
Diseases, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical
School, Boston, MA 02215, United States. vbyrnes@bidmc.harvard.edu

Telephone: +1-617-6321070

Received: 2006-03-15 Accepted: 2006-03-27

Abstract

An inefficient cellular immune response likely leads to chronic
hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. Resolution of chronic HCV infection
in the absence of treatment is a rare occurrence.

We report the case of a 39-year old white male with a 17-year history
of chronic HCV infection, who eradicated HCV following a serious
illness due to co-infection with Babesia (babesiosis), Borriela
Borgdorferi (Lyme disease) and Ehrlichia (human granulocytic
ehrlichiosis).

We hypothesize that the cellular immune response mounted by this
patient in response to his infection with all three agents but in
particular Babesia was sufficient to eradicate HCV.

© 2007 WJG. All rights reserved.

http://www.wjgnet.com/1007-9327/13/4268.asp

[blimeyitslymie]

"North Carolina is the leading state in number of deaths caused by
Rocky Mountain spotted fever."

The author of this essay, Marcia E. Herman-Giddens, is an adjunct
professor at the University of North Carolina School of Public Health
and president of the Tick-borne Infections Council of North Carolina
http://www.tic-nc.org/

- -

Point of View:
Tick-borne ills - we're not out of the woods
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columns/story/770500.html
The News & Observer, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina

Published: Nov 13, 2007 12:30 AM
Modified: Nov 13, 2007 02:42 AM

Marcia E. Herman-Giddens
(Marcia E. Herman-Giddens is an adjunct professor at the UNC School of
Public Health and president of the Tick-borne Infections Council of N.C.)

PITTSBORO - After a couple of recent news stories, some citizens are
breathing a sigh of relief about Rocky Mountain spotted fever, feeling
they no longer need to be so concerned.

Actually, medical providers and residents need to be more vigilant
about Rocky Mountain spotted fever and related infections, not less.

North Carolina is the leading state in number of deaths caused by
Rocky Mountain spotted fever. From 1979 through 2004, an average of
3.5 people per year died from the illness here. And the Centers for
Disease Control estimates that these are only one-third of the actual
deaths. Nor do the 842 non-fatal cases reported here last year
represent the true number.

The complete story here:
http://www.newsobserver.com/opinion/columns/story/770500.html

[blimeyitslymie]

"The goal of my research is to map the distribution of scapularis in
the state and then determine whether these ticks are carrying Lyme
disease and the risk they are posing humans," Rosen said. "And a way
to do this is to opportunistically collect ticks from hunter-harvested
deer."

- -

Study calls for help of local hunters
Merri Shaffer - Staff Writer
The Daily Beacon Online, the editorially independent student newspaper
of the University of Tennessee, Knoxville

Friday, November 16, 2007 issue
http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/showarticle.php?articleid=52415

A UT graduate student and her colleagues are calling for hunters'
assistance in a study of ticks that could help determine the risks of
Lyme disease in Tennessee.

Michelle Rosen, graduate student in forestry, wildlife and fisheries,
began her thesis on the subject in August 2007 and has been organizing
the process of collecting ticks from deer as they are brought to
designated check stations in East Tennessee.

This project will help clarify regional differences in the risks to
humans of various tick-borne diseases, such as Lyme disease, Rosen said.

Complete article:
http://dailybeacon.utk.edu/showarticle.php?articleid=52415

[blimeyitslymie]

A full 850 reasons to worry about ticks
November 15, 2007 6:00 AM

http://www.seacoastonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071115/SPORTS/711150334/-1/NEWS14&sfad=1
or
http://tinyurl.com/2372rg

SeacoastOnline.com Portsmouth, New Hampshire

My dog was enjoying a good scratch and massage from me when I noticed
a small protrusion on his neck. A tick was imbedded there and I
immediately pulled it off.

With Maine's winters starting later and ending earlier, our tick
season is extending to 12 months and New Englanders should be checking
daily for ticks on themselves and their pets. Pets should be treated
year-round for prevention of tick borne disease.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/2372rg
Thanks to http://tinyurl.com

Letters:
opinion@seacoastonline.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Number of tick-borne diseases doubles across Missouri
The possible explanations for the increase in diseases spread by ticks
vary by scientist.

By CAITLIN GARING

November 16, 2007 | 2:00 p.m. CST
The Columbia Missourian, Columbia, Missouri
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/stories/2007/11/16/number-tick-borne-diseases-doubles-across-missouri/
or
http://tinyurl.com/28km4y

COLUMBIA — The weather has cooled, and the arrival of fall means an
end to a tick season that saw the number of tick-borne illnesses
double statewide from the previous year.

According to preliminary statistics collected by the Missouri
Department of Health and Senior Services, the two diseases that
increased the most from 2006 to 2007 were Rocky Mountain spotted
fever, with 354 cases across Missouri, and ehrlichiosis, with 199
cases. A similar trend was also seen in Boone County, where the number
of reported ehrlichiosis cases went from eight in 2006 to 14 in 2007.
The number of cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever reported in Boone
County went from four in 2006 to 18 in 2007.

Ehrlichiosis was cited in the August death of a 15-year-old Centralia
girl.

There was also a significant increase in diagnosed cases of the two
other tick-borne diseases across Missouri: tularemia and Lyme-like
diseases.

Complete story, plus a graphic illustration of tick-borne illness in
Missouri and Boone County found here:
http://tinyurl.com/28km4y

Letters:
http://www.columbiamissourian.com/contact/
and choose "I'm writing a letter to the editor" from the dynamic menu
of choices which starts with "I'd like to pitch a story."

[blimeyitslymie]

They want people to take their health into their own hands, ask
questions, and most of all want all doctors to be on the same page
when treating Lyme disease. Miki says, "I would say the not knowing is
for sure the worst part, not having a clear parameters and clear
treatment protocol on how to treat it."

- -

Living With Lyme Disease
Reporter: Michelle Riell mriell@nbc15.com
WMTV - NBC Channel 15 - Madison, Wisconsin

http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/11319651.html

November 14, 2007

A lot of research is still being done on Lyme disease, which continues
to be a big problem in the state. We spoke with one family that's been
dealing with this disease for years. The Smith family of Sauk Prairie
used to enjoy camping. But after a trip to Sheboygan in 2002, their
son contracted Lyme disease from a deer tick and five years later is
still fighting the sometimes debilitating disease. Now, they're hoping
their story will shed more light on diagnosing and treating the disease.

Miki Smith says, "We took him in, he had the classic bulls-eye rash."
Eddie, who was 5 years old at the time, tested positive for Lyme
disease. Miki says, "He was treated with 14 days of amoxicillen and
she said that we should be OK." And he was, but a year later he
started getting sick again. Eddie Smith says, "I kept curling up in a
ball and getting these really bad fevers."

Complete story and video here:
http://www.nbc15.com/home/headlines/11319651.html

Viewer feedback:
http://www.nbc15.com/feedback/misc/8489122.html

[blimeyitslymie]

Game mourns death of great after Mike Gregory loses his battle
From Times Online
Times Newspapers Ltd. London, England
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/rugby/rugby_league/article2903763.ece
or
http://tinyurl.com/2hrdoz
Christopher Irvine

November 20, 2007

Mike Gregory, the former Great Britain captain and Wigan Warriors
coach, died yesterday after a prolonged battle with a neurological
condition that had rendered him wheelchair-bound for the past year. He
was 43 and leaves a wife and two young sons.

"Anyone who played with him, against him, or watched him play would
have respected Mike for his courage," Joe Lydon, his former Britain
teammate and best man at his wedding, said. "He brought that same
courage to his fight against an appalling illness."

Gregory's wife, Erica, a biochemist, traced his condition –
progressive muscular atrophy, a form of motor neuron disease – to a
tic bite suffered while coaching the Britain academy squad in
Australia in 2003 and the subsequent contraction of an infection known
as borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme Disease. His illness forced
him to give up the Wigan job after he had steered them to the 2004
Challenge Cup final and Grand Final the previous season.

Complete story here:
http://tinyurl.com/2hrdoz

Related story:
http://tinyurl.com/27wqnb

[blimeyitslymie]

"If everyone was diagnosed right away and treated properly, this would
not be such a big problem, and you would not have people that are sick
for years on end," said John F. Coughlin, president of the
Massachusetts Lyme Disease Awareness Association, an advocacy group
based in Mashpee.

- -

Lyme Disease For Chronic Sufferers, Treatment Debate Continues
Posted in: Front Page Stories
http://capecodnow.net/artman/publish/front_page_stories/Lyme_Disease_For_Chronic_Sufferers_Treatment_Debat e_Continues.shtml
or
http://tinyurl.com/3cmgoo

The Enterprise - Upper Cape Cod News and Information
Falmouth, Massachusetts

By BRIAN H. KEHRL
Nov 16, 2007 - 10:09:39 AM

Some notice the rash, see a doctor, receive treatment, and recover
quickly. But many do not. Those who found the rash may have cursed it
at the time. But, in reality, they are the lucky ones.

Three months after prime deer tick season came to its annual end
on Cape Cod, Lyme disease is still here and affecting many people. At
this point in the year, for those unlucky ones who did not have or
notice the notorious bull's-eye rash commonly associated with the
disease, the infection is invisible to the naked eye and, in many
cases, to laboratory tests as well. After months have passed, swollen
joints, body aches, or a dispiriting lack of energy are more likely to
be clues than any more distinctive sign.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/3cmgoo

Send Letters:
bhough@capenews.net

[blimeyitslymie]

"...advocates and lawmakers once again are talking about how to reform
the [NY] state Health Department's [OPMC] Office of Professional
Medical Conduct..."

Background on the OPMC and Lyme disease in New York can be found at
the website of the Foundation for the Advancement of Innovative Medicine:
http://faim.org/lyme.htm

This posting includes 2 complementary news stories from
http://www.newsday.com/
Long Island, New York

- -

Investigations of doctors kept secret

BY RIDGELY OCHS | ridgely.ochs@newsday.com
November 26, 2007

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/ny-lidocs1126,0,1233493.story?page=1
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2hugaq

When it comes to investigating physicians like Dr. Harvey Finkelstein,
New York State has a system that occurs largely behind closed doors.

It is among a handful of states that conducts the entire probe in
private and withholds a doctor's name unless the complaint is upheld.
And even after an investigation is concluded, doctors are not required
to notify patients if they are practicing under sanction. What
information is available is found on a state Web site that critics
argue few people know about.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/2hugaq

Letters:
Newsday welcomes letters of 200 words or fewer. Include name, address,
day and night telephone numbers, and relevant political or other
interests.

Send e-mail to letters@newsday.com, fax to 631-843-2986 or mail to
Letters, Newsday, 235 Pinelawn Rd., Melville, NY 11747.

Letters will be edited, become property of Newsday and may be
republished in any format.

- -

New interest in reforming oversight of physicians

BY JENNIFER MALONEY | jennifer.maloney@newsday.com
11:44 PM EST, November 25, 2007

http://www.newsday.com/news/local/longisland/ny-lilaw1126,0,3513793.story?coll=ny_home_head_1
or:
http://tinyurl.com/25j4kj

For years, legislators have been trying to reform the state's system
of investigating and disciplining doctors.

Patients' groups said it overlooked bad doctors. Doctors' groups said
it unfairly penalized good ones. But attempts to correct these
problems through legislation have failed, bogged down in politics and
lacking a consensus among advocates on both sides.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/25j4kj

[blimeyitslymie]

Only the first 150 words of this feature story were freely available
earlier this month. A very small number of words of an opinion piece
which deserved to be aired out in full. Unfortunately, that policy
remains in place due to copyright protections set forth by the British
Medical Journal.

Be that as it is, there are replies to the "Lyme Wars" feature which
are available online and make for compelling reading.

The British Medical Journal calls this their "Rapid Response" feature.

- -

Here are the 150 words of the free abstract/extract:

British Medical Journal
BMJ 2007;335:910-912 (3 November, 2007),
doi:10.1136/bmj.39363.530961.AD

Feature: Lyme wars

Alison Tonks, associate editor

BMJ, London WC1H 9JR

atonks@bmj.com

Patients with long term symptoms, lack of a scientific explanation,
and insurance companies' reluctance to pay for treatment have created
a perfect breeding ground for dissent, Alison Tonks reports.

150 words start here:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/content/extract/335/7626/910

"Lyme disease is a simple bacterial infection spread by ticks. There
is a fairly characteristic rash, a well documented pattern of
symptoms, and a safe effective treatment. But in the US, Lyme disease
is at the centre of a long running and bitter controversy. It is no
longer a disease but a legal and political battleground. At the core
of the disagreement is the possibility that the Lyme bacterium could
survive initial treatment, evade detection, and cause disabling
symptoms for months or even years. A growing and vociferous patient
lobby thinks it can. Mainstream medical opinion thinks it can't. Why
does it matter? Because those who believe in chronic infection also
believe in long term treatments, including repeated or prolonged
courses of antibiotics that doctors are reluctant to prescribe and
insurance companies are reluctant to pay for."

- -

Rapid Responses (14 as of today, November 23, 2007), starting with:
Lyme Wars: Tackling the Testing.
Raphael B. Stricker, Lorraine Johnson (5 November 2007)
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/335/7626/910#179020

To the Editor:

The generally balanced report by Alison Tonks about the "Lyme Wars" (3
November) fails to provide a balanced view of one issue: while the
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) warn practitioners
about "various unvalidated tests", they fail to warn us about the Food
and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved commercial tests for Lyme disease.

Read the rest of this response and several more here:
http://www.bmj.com/cgi/eletters/335/7626/910#179020

[blimeyitslymie]

"A new study challenges the widely held view that mice are the main
animal reservoir for Lyme disease in the United States."

- -

Lyme Disease's Unusual Suspects

By Martin Enserink
e-mail: menserin@aaas.org
ScienceNOW Daily News
"ScienceNOW daily news briefs, delivered fresh every weekday from
Science Magazine's award-winning team of journalists"

http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/1121/2
21 November 2007

A new study challenges the widely held view that mice are the main
animal reservoir for Lyme disease in the United States. The paper,
published online this week in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B,
shows that two shrew species are just as important and that chipmunks
play a supporting role. Unless those species are taken into account,
say researchers, efforts to control Lyme disease are doomed to fail.

Complete story, photos and related links here:
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2007/1121/2

[blimeyitslymie]

"This will be the first systematic study of ticks across Fairfield
County, which for many years has had the highest number of cases of
Lyme in Connecticut."

A link of interest mentioned in this story is for the organization,
Connecticut Coalition to Eradicate Lyme Disease,
http://eradicatelymedisease.org/

- -

HEALTH
Deer tick study planned in Fairfield County
November 27, 2007
The Ridgefield Press, Ridgefield, Connecticut

By Kent Haydock, Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance

http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/25710.shtml

A study is being coordinated by the Fairfield County Municipal Deer
Management Alliance to examine deer tick populations in 14 Fairfield
County towns.

Dr. Eva Sapi, assistant professor of biology and environmental science
at the University of New Haven, will analyze both the number of ticks
found in each of the participating towns and the proportion of those
ticks that carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease.

Complete story here:
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/25710.shtml

Letters:
newsroom@acorn-online.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Woe to those with chronic Lyme disease
Legislation needed to protect doctors who treat stricken patients

Nov 21, 2007 - 10:04:11 CST.

Press Publications, White Bear Lake, Minnesota
by Debra Neutkens Staff Writer

http://www.presspubs.com/articles/2007/11/27/forest_lake_press/news/doc474455f6427a6900896267.txt
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2oay7p

FOREST LAKE — An insidious, chronic disease is creeping into the
Forest Lake area and those suffering its debilitating effects are
hard-pressed to find treatment.

A "fear factor" exists among doctors who prescribe long-term treatment
for patients with Lyme disease. They worry the state medical board
(the official name is the Minnesota Board of Medical Practice) will
pull their license or slap sanctions against them if antibiotics are
given longer than usual.

So sufferers of the bacterium-infected tick bite are rallying support
to fight what the president of the Lyme Disease Association calls "a
social injustice."

Advocate Pat Smith is a national expert on tick-borne disease. She
spoke to politicians and community members recently on behalf of the
Minnesota Lyme Action Group, a small, but determined local support
group founded by Forest Lake resident Ann Myre.

Complete story here:

http://tinyurl.com/2oay7p

[blimeyitslymie]

"The commonly accepted view of deer as friendly, graceful and peaceful
animals is being challenged this week. The reason: Lyme disease."

Of course, there are other valid reasons for reducing the size of the
deer herd, but this article doesn't address them.

- -

Legislators urged to extend deer-hunting season

Nicolas Niarchos, Contributing Reporter
Yale Daily News, New Haven, Connecticut

Published Wednesday, November 28, 2007
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/22568

In an effort to control the risk of Lyme disease — the tick-borne
infectious agent that is increasingly being transmitted by
Connecticut's deer population — Georgina Scholl, research chair of the
Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance, is lobbying the
state to ease regulations on deer hunting. Scholl's proposal, which
was presented to Gov. M. Jodi Rell this week, urges legislators to
lengthen the hunting season beyond mid-September, to the end of
December, and to increase bag sizes — the number of deer that hunters
can shoot in a season.

Complete story here:
http://www.yaledailynews.com/articles/view/22568

Letters:
editor@yaledailynews.com

[blimeyitslymie]

From another group...

"Neurologic Manifestations In Chronic Lyme"
Nerve Pain & Numbness

Hello from Dr. Burrascano,

I wanted to alert all of you to a new Lyme Disease research project
involving neuro-Lyme.

As many of you know, neurologic manifestations in chronic Lyme are
often the most disabling and least amenable to treatment. Dr. David
Younger, the NYC neurologist I have referred many people to, and who
is affiliated with The Neurology Research Foundation, has developed
a unique method of diagnosing small nerve fiber disruption as seen
in Lyme. This is what causes the terrible pains and numbness, and is
NEVER picked up on EMGs and NCVs. The method involves simple skin
biopsies in which special stains are used to highlight these nerve
fibers.

He actually presented a paper on finding this disruption in Lyme
vaccine recipients- after he made this diagnosis, he was able to
treat them and demonstrate after treatment, on repeat testing, that
the nerve fiber disruption healed, in concert with an improvement in
patient symptoms.

Many of you also may know of him as the maven on autonomic
neuropathy in Lyme, because he has developed a comprehensive testing
program using high-tech equipment and has helped many a Lyme
patient.

Anyway, the big news is that he is now beginning a study to look
for nerve fiber disruption and autonomic disturbances in all chronic
Lyme patients, not just vaccine recipients. The study is officially
titled "Lyme neuroborreliosis: Peripheral nervous system and
autonomic manifestations: Natural history and response to
immunomodulatory therapy".

If anyone is interested in seeing him, I suggest you give him a
call. Although I have several phone numbers for him, I think the
best way at this time to contact him is through his office at 1-212-
535-4314 (Dr. Younger is the Chief of Neuromuscular Diseases, NYU
Medical Center, and St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center, NY, and
sees patients at these hospitals as well as in his office).

Results will definitely be published - probably several papers will
result. I find this exciting, because not only does this represent a
new and useful tool for diagnosis and treatment, it also documents
nerve damage that has until now been suspected (and felt by
patients!!!) but has been invisible on standard tests. I can foresee
this method not only validating real complaints (you are not crazy
or just a drug addict after all), but it is also the kind of
objective, measurable and photographable proof of pathology that can
help in demonstrating the realities of neuro-Lyme to all who doubt
its existence, including the insurers.

I encourage all who have the need and ability to check this out.

Best wishes, from

Dr Burrascano

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme disease
Surveillance, education are focus of program

Dec 2, 2007
The Redding Pilot, Georgetown, Connecticut
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/redding/25862.shtml

Gov. M. Jodi Rell announced recently that the state has launched a
three-part Lyme disease surveillance and education program.

"Thousands of patients with Lyme disease visit Connecticut doctors
every year," Ms. Rell said. "We aim to increase community awareness
about Lyme, but we also are pushing forward in our efforts to track
Lyme disease cases electronically."

The goal, she said, is to bring about "an efficient, accurate method
of recording Lyme disease cases so that we can make informed long-term
policy and planning decisions. We want to truly understand the risk of
the disease and its economic impact."

The governor said in her release that the state Department of Public
Health (DPH) is now partnering with the state's largest provider of
medical testing, Quest Diagnostics, to obtain positive Lyme disease
test results. The state will work with Quest until a state-run
electronic laboratory system is implemented.

Complete story here:
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/redding/25862.shtml

Letters: Susan Wolf, Editor pilot@thereddingpilot.com
The Redding Pilot
P.O. Box 389
Georgetown, CT 06829

[blimeyitslymie]

Infection and Immunity, November 2007, p. 5272-5281, Vol. 75, No. 11

Delineation of Species-Specific Binding Properties of the CspZ Protein
(BBH06) of Lyme Disease Spirochetes: Evidence for New Contributions to
the Pathogenesis of Borrelia spp.

Elizabeth A. Rogers(1) and Richard T. Marconi(1,2)*

http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/short/75/11/5272

Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Medical College of Virginia
at Virginia Commonwealth University,1 Center for the Study of
Biological Complexity, Richmond, Virginia 23298-06782

Received 20 June 2007
Returned for modification 26 July 2007
Accepted 30 August 2007

Borrelia burgdorferi CspZ (TIGR open reading frame designation, BBH06)
is part of a functionally related group of proteins that bind one or
more members of the factor H (FH) protein family.

In this report we assess the conservation, distribution, properties,
and ligand binding abilities of CspZ from the three main Borrelia
species associated with Lyme disease infections in humans.

CspZ (also referred to as BbCRASP-2 in the literature) was found to be
highly conserved at the intraspecies level but divergent at the
interspecies level. All CspZ orthologs that originated from B.
burgdorferi isolates bound FH from a diverse group of mammals.

In contrast, CspZ derived from B. garinii and B. afzelii did not.
Regardless of the Borrelia species of origin, all CspZ proteins tested
bound to unknown ~60-kDa serum proteins produced by different mammals.
To further define the molecular basis for the differential binding of
CspZ orthologs to host proteins, DNA sequence, truncation, and
site-directed mutagenesis analyses were performed.

DNA sequence analyses revealed that B. garinii and B. afzelii CspZ
orthologs possess a 64-amino-acid N-terminal domain that is absent
from B. burgdorferi CspZ. However, binding analyses of recombinant
proteins revealed that this domain does not in and of itself influence
ligand binding properties.

Truncation and mutagenesis analyses further revealed that the key
determinants required for ligand binding are discontinuous and that
the presentation of the ligand binding pocket is dependent on alpha
helices with high coiled-coil formation probability.

The data presented here provide insight into the molecular basis of
CspZ-ligand interactions and suggest that CspZ orthologs from diverse
Borrelia species can contribute to the host-pathogen interaction
through their interaction with serum proteins.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Department of Microbiology
and Immunology, Medical College of Virginia at Virginia Commonwealth
University, McGuire Hall Room 101, 1112 E. Clay St., Richmond, VA
23298-0678. Phone: (804) 828-3779. Fax: (804) 828-9946. E-mail:
rmarconi@hsc.vcu.edu

Published ahead of print on 10 September 2007.

http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/short/75/11/5272

Editor: W. A. Petri, Jr.

Copyright © 2007, American Society for Microbiology.
All Rights Reserved.

[blimeyitslymie]

One of the most interesting articles reagrding Lyme and animals.
Scary that the dogs have a better standard of care for Lyme than the
IDSA gives us. ( I am glad for the dog though...)


http://blackgsd.googlepages.com/lymedisease

Lyme disease, named after the town of Lyme, CT, is carried by the
black-legged deer tick (Ixodes scapularis) in the East and in the West by Ixodes pacificus or Ixodes neotomae. Larvae of the deer tick feed on mice, nymphs on mice and small mammals and the adult prefers to feed on
deer, so those are the primary hosts at each stage of the tick's
life. Lyme is endemic in the Northeast and has a foothold in the Midwest and in California.

The South has largely escaped Lyme disease, according to Dr. R. K. Straubinger in Lyme Borelliosis in Dogs (IVIS), because I. scapularis larvae and nymphs prefer to feed on lizards in this region and lizards don't maintain infection with B. burgdorferi. Infection in the South as of 2000 was low, often less than 1%.

Borrelia burgdorferi, the organism that causes Lyme, belongs to the
order Spirochaetales so you will see them referred to as spirochetes. (Pronounced something like SPY-ruh-KEETS) .

Transmission of these bacteria occurs in the same way as it does with
other tick-borne disease organisms but once inside the dog, B. burgdorferi spirochetes multiply very slowly, taking up to 12 hours to double in number, unlike most other bacteria which are speed demons by contrast. This is not, however, advantageous for us in fighting the disease.

B. burgdorferi proved to have an unusual survival mechanism: the ability to escape or or overcome unfavorable conditions, conditions like those found in the tick's digestive system, for instance, by transforming into cysts (small
sacs enclosing a dormant organism) then changing back again to normal
when conditions become favorable Dr. Willy Burgdorfer, for whom the

At any rate, Dr. Straubinger says that a "moderate" antibody titer may be expected to last for years even after extended treatment ( 3 to 4 weeks is the time he mentions), especially when that treatment was long delayed. In my opinion, his conclusion would seem to support using the aggressive dosage of doxy we recommend on Tick List and the longer, 8 week,
administration of the antibiotic. Hit these spirochetes hard and don't give them a chance to encyst, recover or hang around for years if at all possible.

Symptoms

Unlike dogs with ehrlichiosis, or humans infected with Lyme disease, dogs don't go through three clear stages. There is no rash. Dogs generally present
with signs of arthritis in the joints closest to the tick bites. Two to five months after being bitten, the lameness that is the primary indicator of possible Lyme disease can come on suddenly and severely; other times it comes on more gradually. You may see shifting lameness where the dog favors one leg, then another. Lameness may come and go, sometimes for weeks at a time. The dog may go off his food. Neurological damage is possible. Seizures and changes in temperament, from dullness and disinterest to the opposite extreme of aggression, have been reported in dogs with
Lyme.

Depression, swollen lymph nodes, moving stiffly or being reluctant to move at all, and joints that are swollen and warm to the touch may also be signs of Lyme disease.

Normally, Lyme is crippling but it doesn't kill. Unfortunately, some dogs develop glomerulonephritis or Lyme nephritis, a condition in which the
glomeruli in the kidneys which filter the blood are inflamed and destroyed. It is incurable, though treatment and palliative measures may keep the dog more comfortable and extend the time he has left, sometimes for much longer than predicted.

What if there are no symptoms?
You'll often see it noted that there are many dogs who are positive for Lyme but are showing no symptoms. Studies on pets in endemic areas would seem to bear out the conclusion that not many dogs will suffer from Lyme as only about 5% showed active disease. However, under experimental conditions, 75% of infected dogs developed clinically apparent signs of Lyme 2 to 5 months after being bitten by infected ticks.

According to Dr. Tom Beckett, who has treated many, many dogs with
TBD, "The problem is that freedom from symptoms does not equal freedom from hidden ongoing cumulative damage to systems and organs. One of the most prominant of these insidious mechanisms involves formation of
immune complexes composed of bound~together Borrelia antigen and
dog~produced antibody. Deposition of these complexes in joints is primarily responsible for the lameness that has traditionally been thought of as a hallmark symptom of canine Lyme disease. More recently veterinarians are recognizing that some dogs are developing a particularly nasty form of
nephritis from deposition of these complexes in the glomeruli of the
kidney. Less commonly, similar processes are responsible for serious pathology in the CNS (central nervous system), heart, and other organs."

IDEXX agrees. "While a variety of signs may appear, the most common
signs of Lyme disease are hidden."

After Treatment

Dr. Beckett suggests monitoring a dog being treated for Lyme Disease with a CBC (complete blood count), serum chemistry and urinalysis about every 7 to 10 days while the dog is on treatment, then a little less frequently. Six months after treatment is finished, you would do a recheck of the Quantitative C6 test initially done to establish a baseline number for the
unique antibodies which give us a way to detect Lyme most reliably.
With any luck, the repeat test will show the 50% drop in these C6 antibodies that means the treatment worked.

"The Lyme C6 antibody is unique among TBD antibodies in the rapidity
with which it declines in event of successful treatment." Cross infection with other tick-borne diseases is common.

Vaccinating a Lyme positive dog

"In a nutshell, any symptom induced by lyme, seems to be able to be induced by the vaccine. My girl has more of a neuromuscular problem -- it affects her
muscles -- they hurt, they swell, they have problems maintaining tone, her back and neck are affected, she has an eye that doesn't like to open all the way, she has severe digestive problems. Her last lyme vaccine was 7
years ago. She had made a partial recovery when some vet convinced me
how dangerous it would be not to give her her "annual vaccination" , so 6 years ago she had a 6-way combination vax and completely crashed. We have been battling it ever since.

"She ultimately was diagnosed through a Cornell Western Blot about 5
years ago, though I have known this for the last 7 years."

Lisa T.

At 100 pounds, Kelly was big for a greyhound and always a presence
with his size, his calm, commanding temperament and his root beer eyes.
He was vaccinated for several years but when Frontline came out Ellie
thought a topical tick Preventive would be preferable to using the Lyme vaccine and she stopped giving it. It wasn't too long afterward that Kelly was not acting like himself and Ellie took him to the vet. The diagnosis was neurological Lyme. His breeder, an FDA scientist, offered the only conclusion that made sense to Ellie: the vaccine had been keeping a low-grade infection in check but once she stopped vaccinating the spirochetes mutated, crossed the blood brain barrier and attacked his brain. Kelly was on doxycycline when he suddenly went blind in one eye. His veterinary opthalmologist said that he had Lyme uveitis but the cause of the uveitis was in the optic nerve behind the eye. A day or two later, Kelly crashed so dramatically that Ellie
went on a frantic search for something to help.

"We started on a Sunday night at the home of my vet who had gotten
Rocephin from a nearby people hospital & called Tufts for dosage. By the following Tuesday, Kelly's sight was back. I dripped Rocephin twice daily for a month. The expense of the Rocephin ruled out the possibility of a brain scan so his breeder's conclusion never was confirmed.

"We took him off doxycycline in case it wasn't working and put him on
amoxicillin; later, Kelly alternated between the two. "Ceftin came after the IV Rocephin but Kelly was left with residuals that required I put him on
steroids. That was 5 years ago. I never could wean him off, so now
the steroids are taking their toll but he's still alive and almost 10 years old.

"The vaccine scares me now. Just don't stop giving it once you've started."

Ellie G.

Kelly never quite made it to 10.

Pam Barbe's Casey had Lyme disease. At any rate, it was supposed to
be gone but the effects never left him. Look at his foreleg and you can see where the fur is sheared close. That's where he would hold his leg in his mouth and warm it to ease the pain. You can find Pam's Samoyeds and her extensive section on Dog Health topics here.


click on link above for rest of story

[blimeyitslymie]

http://thestory.org/archive/the_story_397_A_Tale_Of_Two_Health_Care_Systems.mp 3/view

Broadcast on Dec 3rd

[blimeyitslymie]

Researchers from the University of Rhode Island's Center for
Vector-Borne Disease are teaming with colleagues from Pakistan to help
the south Asian nation address its growing tick problem.

Released: Mon 03-Dec-2007, 12:40 ET

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/535855/

"Unlike in Rhode Island where abundant deer tick populations cause
alarming numbers of Lyme disease cases in humans, one of the major
tick-related problems in Pakistan is the impact of tick-transmitted
diseases on livestock," said URI Entomology Professor Thomas Mather,
director of the Center. "In Pakistan, ticks also transmit a virus to
humans known as CCHF, sometimes called the Asian Ebola virus because
of its contagious and deadly similarity to African Ebola."

The project is part of the U.S. Agency for International
Development-funded $6.9 million U.S.-Pakistan Science and Technology
Cooperative Program, which provided a $290,000 grant to the URI
researchers. The Higher Education Commission in Pakistan provided
matching funds. The grants will help establish a molecular entomology
laboratory in Pakistan, and a research and training program focused on
anti-tick vaccine development similar to one at URI.

[blimeyitslymie]

Time for Lyme and Lyme Disease Association Fund Clinical Study of
Neurological Disorder in Chronic Lyme

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2007/12/prweb574645.htm

Greenwich, CT (PRWEB) December 7, 2007 -- Time for Lyme and the Lyme
Disease Association have finalized an agreement with the Neurology
Research Foundation (NRF) to support a research project to examine
dysautonomia, a devastating and sometimes life-threatening
neurological disorder, in Lyme disease.

The study will be led by the NRF's senior investigator, Dr. David S.
Younger, MD. -- a leading authority in the field of neurology research
who has participated in and authored more than 100 published studies
and peer-review journal articles on neurological disorders. The
investigation will involve the recruitment of a large cohort of
patients with early and chronic Lyme disease of the nervous system,
also known as Lyme neuroborreliosis over four years, with the majority
of the advocacy groups' funding to be used on the purchase of
necessary equipment to support the study. In a preliminary abstract
submitted to the American Academy of Neurology for publication, Dr.
Younger and colleagues noted the development of dysautonomia among
those so studied with early and chronic Lyme disease using the
strictest of criteria for case selection of the Center for Disease
Control (CDC) and New York State (NYS). The investigators concluded
that dysautonomia may be underestimated and under diagnosed in all
stages of Lyme neuroborreliosis.

"Time for Lyme is pleased to support this scientific investigation by
such a respected organization as the Neurology Research Foundation,"
explains Diane Blanchard, co-founder and president of Time for Lyme.
"We are galvanized by their support, as well as the support of the
Lyme Disease Association, in our hope that this study will bring us
closer to understanding and treating dysautonomia in chronic Lyme
disease patients," Blanchard adds.

Difficulties of Dysautonomia

The autonomic nervous system is a complex, fragile and crucial system
that regulates all automatic bodily functions, including respiration,
heart rate, blood pressure, digestion and kidney function, among
others. It is one of the main branches of the nervous system that is
frequently affected in late-stage chronic Lyme disease, causing
dysautonomia. According to the American Dysautonomia Institute,
symptoms of the disorder include fainting, extremely low blood
pressure (hypotension), light-headedness, dizziness, problems
concentrating, headaches, fatigue, heart palpitations, digestive
problems, exercise intolerance, insomnia, hot flashes, chills,
weakness, seizures, pain, and disability.

Dysautonomia is not only a manifestation of Lyme disease. In fact, it
is estimated that as many as 3 million Americans are afflicted with
dysautonomia, and there are potential treatments and cures especially
when recognized early and treated aggressively. "This disorder robs
millions of people of their quality of life, and endangers their
health and well-being on a daily basis," notes Debbie Siciliano,
co-founder of Time for Lyme. "Our organization is gratified to
participate in the collection of critical scientific data that not
only will help chronic Lyme disease patients, but may also benefit
dysautonomia sufferers in general," Siciliano concludes.

Time for Lyme has become a particularly proactive force in the area of
chronic Lyme disease research this year. "Chronic Lyme disease is
all-too real for the many thousands of patients who are living with
its symptoms," Blanchard explains. "With the support of top-notch
scientists like Dr. Younger among so many others, we are able to hope
for a better understanding of this insidious disease and, ultimately,
a cure."

About Time for Lyme

Time for Lyme is an organization dedicated to eliminating the
devastating effects of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illness. Our
mission is to prevent the spread of disease, develop definitive
diagnostic tools and effective treatments, and to ultimately find a
cure for tick-borne illness by supporting research, education, and the
acquisition and dissemination of information. In addition, we will
continue to act as advocates for Lyme disease sufferers and their
families through support of legislative reform on the federal, state
and local levels. For more information on our organization, please
visit http://www.timeforlyme.org/

About the Neurology Research Foundation

The Neurology Research Foundation (NRF), a 501 (C) 3 public
foundation, was founded in 1995 out of a compassionate desire to help
the many individuals who suffer from debilitating and fatal
neuromuscular disorders.

Our mission is to advance progress toward cure and prevention of
neuromuscular disorders by providing support for promising research
projects, as well as the assistance of patients, their families, and
caregivers in coping with neuromuscular diseases by fostering support
groups, lectures, seminars, and other participatory forums.

For more information on our organization, please visit
http://www.neurologyresearch.org/

[blimeyitslymie]

Immune complexes in early Lyme disease

Can. J. Microbiol. 53(12): 1375–1377 (2007)

http://rparticle.web-p.cisti.nrc.ca/rparticle/AbstractTemplateServlet?calyLang=eng&journal=cjm&volume=53&year=0&issue=12&msno=w07-105
or:
http://tinyurl.com/39su52

Daniela Lencáková, Astéria Štefancíková, Renáta Ivanová, and Branislav
Petko
Department of Natural Foci Diseases, Parasitological Institute of
Slovak Academy of Sciences, Hlinkova 3, 04001 Košice, Slovakia

Corresponding author: D. Lencáková (e-mail: daniela.lencakova@gmail.com).

Received 12 July 2007. Revision received 27 September 2007. Accepted
27 September 2007. Published on the NRC Research Press Web site at
http://cjm.nrc.ca on 21 November 2007.
© 2007 NRC Canada

Abstract
The study investigated the presence of Borrelia-specific antibodies
captured in immune complexes (ICs) in patients with early Lyme disease
manifested by erythema migrans. Out of 18 patients, 15 (83.3%) tested
positive for polyethylene glycol-precipitated ICs containing IgM
antibodies, while only 4 (22.2%) were IgG positive. These results are
in accordance with our findings obtained by standard ELISA and
recombinant blot, which indicated that ICs might be used for
serological diagnosis of the early disease.

...

In conclusion, our results showed that ICs (Immune Complexes) are
present in EM patients. This finding indicates that ICs may be a
valuable source of antibodies, which can contribute in diagnosing an
early active LD. However, further studies are still required.

Get Full text here:
http://tinyurl.com/39su52

[blimeyitslymie]

"The DPH has partnered with the Connecticut State Medical Society
(CSMS) to provide information to physicians on diagnosing and
reporting Lyme disease. The first article regarding this topic will be
submitted for consideration in an upcoming edition of "Connecticut
Medicine," the medical society's monthly bulletin to member
physicians. It will be aimed at driving up the number of physicians
who respond to DPH requests for Lyme disease clinical data. The
current rate of return on those requests is now 20 percent."

- -

State Announces Expansion of Lyme Disease Programs
By Julie Curtis
Westport News, Westport, Connecticut

http://www.westport-news.com/ci_7722879
Article Launched: 12/14/2007 12:09:00 PM EST

Lyme disease is now squarely in the state's crosshairs with Gov. M.
Jodi Rell's recent launch of a three-part Lyme disease surveillance
and education program.

"Thousands of patients with Lyme disease visit Connecticut doctors
every year," Gov. Rell said. "We aim to increase community awareness
about Lyme, but we also are pushing forward in our efforts to track
Lyme disease cases electronically."

Complete text:
http://www.westport-news.com/ci_7722879

Letters to:
Will Rowlands, Editor
wrowlands@bcnnew.com
phone: (203) 222-6780

[blimeyitslymie]

Xiaohui Wang, Ying Ma, Alyson Yoder, Hillary Crandall, James F.
Zachary, Robert S. Fujinami, John H. Weis, Janis J. Weis

T cell infiltration is associated with increased Lyme arthritis in
TLR2-/- mice

FEMS (Federation of European Microbiological Societies)
Immunology & Medical Microbiology (OnlineEarly Articles).
doi:10.1111/j.1574-695X.2007.00356.x

http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1574-695X.2007.00356.x
or:
http://tinyurl.com/37s2pc

Publication History:
Received 30 May 2007; revised 7 September 2007; accepted 8 October 2007.
Published article online: 13 Dec 2007

ABSTRACT

C57BL/6 mice deficient in TLR2 develop more severe arthritis following
infection with Borrelia burgdorferi than do wild-type C57BL/6 mice,
and this increase is suppressed by the simultaneous presence of the
scid mutation.

This suggested a requirement for lymphocytes in the development of
subacute Lyme arthritis in TLR2-/- mice, a feature not commonly
associated with this arthritis.

The increased pathology of B. burgdorferi-infected TLR2-/- mice was
also accompanied by an increase in mononuclear cell infiltration. In
this study, T cells were found to be responsible for the increase in
mononuclear cells in infected TLR2-/- C3H mice.

Accordingly, transcripts for the IFN-inducible T cell chemokines,
CXCL9 and CXCL10, were greatly enhanced in joint tissue from TLR2-/-
mice, as were transcripts for a prototypical IFN-inducible gene
IFN-gamma-induced GTPase (igtp).

Treatment of murine synovial cells with sonicated B. burgdorferi
resulted in induction of transcripts for chemokines and other
IFN-inducible genes, irrespective of the presence of TLR2.

The presence of T lymphocytes greatly enhanced the transcriptional
response of synovial cells.

These results suggest that the increased inflammatory cell
infiltration in TLR2-/- C3H mice is the result of localized
overproduction of T cell attracting chemokines.

http://tinyurl.com/37s2pc

[blimeyitslymie]

CD28 Deficiency Exacerbates Joint Inflammation upon Borrelia
burgdorferi Infection, Resulting in the Development of Chronic Lyme
Arthritis(1)

Bettina P. Iliopoulou*, Joseph Alroy# and Brigitte T. Huber(2),*
The Journal of Immunology, 2007, 179: 8076-8082.

http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/abstract/179/12/8076

Copyright © 2007 by The American Association of Immunologists, Inc.

*Department of Pathology, and #Department of Pathology-Veterinary
Medicine and Tufts-New England Medical Center, Tufts University School
of Medicine, Boston, MA 02111

Lyme disease, caused by the tick-borne spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi
(Bb), is a multisystem illness, affecting many organs, such as the
heart, the nervous system, and the joints.

Months after Bb infection, approximately 60% of patients experience
intermittent arthritic attacks, a condition that in some individuals
progresses to chronic joint inflammation.

Although mice develop acute arthritis in response to Bb infection, the
joint inflammation clears after 2 wk, despite continuous infection,
only very rarely presenting with chronic Lyme arthritis. Thus, the
lack of an animal system has so far prevented the elucidation of this
persistent inflammatory process that occurs in humans.

In this study, we report that the majority of Bb-infected CD28(-/-)
mice develop chronic Lyme arthritis. Consistent with observations in
chronic Lyme arthritis patients, the infected mutant, but not
wild-type mice present recurring monoarticular arthritis over an
extended time period, as well as anti-outer surface protein A of Bb
serum titers.

Furthermore, we demonstrate that anti-outer surface protein A Abs
develop in these mice only after establishment of chronic Lyme arthritis.

Thus, the Bb-infected CD28(-/-) mice provide a murine model for
studying chronic Lyme arthritis.

(1) This work was supported by National Institutes of Health Grant
AR45386, Global and Regional Asperger Syndrome Project Center National
Institutes of Health/National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and
Kidney Diseases Grant DK34924, and the Eshe Fund.

(2) Address correspondence and reprint requests to Dr. Brigitte T.
Huber, Department of Pathology, Tufts University School of Medicine,
Jaharis 512, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111. E-mail address:
brigitte.huber@tufts.edu

The costs of publication of this article were defrayed in part by the
payment of page charges. This article must therefore be hereby marked
advertisement in accordance with 18 U.S.C. Section 1734 solely to
indicate this fact.

http://www.jimmunol.org/cgi/content/abstract/179/12/8076

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme Disease, Comorbid Tick-Borne Diseases, and Neuropsychiatric Disorders
Robert C. Bransfield, MD
Psychiatric Times
December 01, 2007 Vol. 24 No. 14
http://www.psychiatrictimes.com/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=204701791&CID=rss
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2vzgxa

"The following composite case illustrates a number of problems that
may make diagnosis and treatment of Lyme borreliosis anything but
straightforward. The patient is in good health and enjoys outdoor
activities. Often this person has the HLA DR4 genotype. He or she may
acquire a small tick bite that goes unnoticed because the subsequent
rash may not be of the classic bull's-eye type, may be easily
overlooked in dark-skinned individuals, may be misdiagnosed, or may
occur only with a second or subsequent infection. There may be
flu-like symptoms with migratory musculoskeletal aches and pains. If a
diagnosis of Lyme disease is made, the initial course of antibiotic
treatment may not have been sufficient to eliminate the infection.
(Although standardized by 1 set of guidelines, psychiatrists often see
the failures of some of the "standard" treatments.) Low-grade symptoms
may remit and periodically relapse over time. An accident, emotional
stress, vaccination, or childbirth can trigger an exacerbation of
symptoms."

http://tinyurl.com/2vzgxa

[blimeyitslymie]

Legislators and notable leaders in the Lyme disease community
gathered at the Connecticut Legislative Office Building to discuss
issues related to access to care for Connecticut residents suffering
from chronic Lyme disease. With an estimated 34,000 cases of Lyme
reported in 2004, Lyme disease has become an epidemic in the state of
Connecticut, yet only a small number of physicians offer treatment
options that address the complexities of the disease. It's important
Connecticut residents have access to the best medical treatment
available for chronic Lyme disease

Hartford, CT (PRWEB) December 18, 2007 -- Legislators and notable
leaders in the Lyme disease community hosted a meeting today at the
Connecticut Legislative Office Building to discuss issues related to
access to care for Connecticut residents suffering from chronic Lyme
disease. With an estimated 34,000 cases of Lyme reported in 2004,
Lyme disease has become an epidemic in the state of Connecticut, yet
only a small number of physicians offer treatment options that
address the complexities of the disease.

Jason Bartlett, Connecticut State Representative, D-2, was joined by
Dr. Daniel Cameron, President of the International Lyme and
Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) and Pat Smith, President of the
Lyme Disease Association.

"Lyme is a serious disease of epidemic proportion," said Dr. Dan
Cameron, president of ILADS. "It is important that Connecticut
residents have access to doctors who have deep experience treating
Lyme disease. If misdiagnosed in its early stages, people run the
risk of suffering from the highly debilitating chronic form of the
disease."

Complex Disease
Lyme is a complex disease that can easily be misdiagnosed, even in
its early stages. Reliable diagnostic tests are not yet available and
not all individuals demonstrate the classic symptoms associated with
Lyme. ILADS research indicates that only 50% of patients typically
recall a tick bite; the rash is reported in only 35% to 60% of
patients; and joint swelling typically occurs in only 20% to 30% of
patients.

Additionally, Lyme can mimic other debilitating conditions. Patients
with chronic Lyme disease often are misdiagnosed due to symptoms such
as extreme fatigue equivalent to those with multiple sclerosis,
physical dysfunction comparable to patients with congestive heart
failure and neurological impairment similar to ALS.

Lyme disease is characterized by the CDC as a clinical diagnosis,
reinforcing the importance of physician understanding and experience
treating the disease. Unfortunately, mainstream treatment
recommendations promoted by some medical societies are based on the
view that Lyme disease is simple to diagnose and treat, thus leaving
many patients suffering unnecessarily.

Treatment recommendations pioneered by ILADS and other Lyme
specialists take into account the importance of clinical observation
and supports the right for physicians to prescribe treatment which
aims to improve the quality of life of the patient.

"It's important Connecticut residents have access to the best medical
treatment available for chronic Lyme disease," stated Jason Bartlett,
Connecticut State Representative. "I am committed to working with
other members of the state legislature to support Lyme literate
doctors."

About ILADS
ILADS is a nonprofit, international, multidisciplinary medical
society, dedicated to the diagnosis and appropriate treatment of Lyme
and its associated diseases. ILADS promotes understanding of tick-
borne diseases through research and education and strongly supports
physicians and other health care professionals dedicated to advancing
the standard of care for Lyme and its associated diseases.

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.greenwic htime.com/ news/local/ scn-gt-

a1lymesundaydec16, 0,5641019. story?coll= green-news- local-headlines

Study to test link between Lyme disease and other disorders
By Michael Dinan
Staff Writer

December 16, 2007

Challenged by recent reports that there's no such thing as "chronic"
Lyme disease, Greenwich advocates are trying to show that the illness
can cause a severe neurological disorder that's already associated
with proven long-term problems such as diabetes.

By proving that the tick-borne illness can trigger dysautonomia,
advocates hope to show that what they call "late" or antibiotic-
resistant Lyme disease must be identified as a real problem by the
medical community and that better diagnostic and treatment methods
need to be developed.

"People develop dysautonomia when they have other primary conditions,
such as diabetes and other diseases, and essentially what we're
trying to prove is that Lyme is another primary condition that can
lead to it," said Diane Blanchard, co-president of Time for Lyme, a
Greenwich nonprofit organization that's affiliated with the Lyme
Disease Association, both of which advocate for better research into
and treatment of the disease.

"What we're saying here is that people absolutely can develop this
chronic (Lyme disease) condition. The question is: Are they
developing chronic secondary diseases and disorders in addition to
being chronically sick with Lyme?" Blanchard said.

Time For Lyme is contributing about $300,000 toward a three-year
study to be led by Dr. David Younger, a senior investigator from the
Neurology Research Foundation. Younger also serves as chairman of
neuromuscular diseases at the New York University Medical Center and
St. Vincent's Catholic Medical Center. The study will cost about $1.5
million, Younger said.

Dysautonomia is a disorder of the so-called "autonomic nervous
system" that controls all automatic body functions, such as blood
pressure, heart rate, temperature control, and vascular activity. The
disorder can cause fainting, dizziness, seizures, insomnia, hot
flashes and dangerously low blood pressure.

According to Younger, dysautonomia already is associated with
diabetes, Parkinson's disease and other central and peripheral
nervous system disorders. Younger recently completed a nine-month
study of two groups of 25 Lyme patients, in which two patients from
one of the groups showed symptoms of dysautonomia -- one with "early"
or newly contracted Lyme and another with late Lyme.

The finding means that the nervous system appears to be vulnerable at
both the early and later stages of Lyme disease. That could mean that
dysautonomia is connected to Lyme disease itself and not a disorder
that develops separately from the disease, Younger said. The study
will set out to prove just that, he said.

"That would appear to be a small number, two out of 25, but the
importance of those results were that they both resembled each other,
even though you would assume they would have a different pathology,"
Younger said.

The study will involve patients with both early and late Lyme
disease, Younger said.

An illness endemic to southwestern Connecticut, Lyme disease is
caused by the bacteria Borrelia burgdorferi and may bring on
depression, dementia, loss of reflexes, muscle aches and blurred
vision. Humans contract the disease from infected ticks.

According to the state Department of Public Health, 355 new cases
were reported in Fairfield County in 2006 -- a figure that advocates
say is too small and belies undiagnosed cases and flawed reporting
methods.

Though most physicians and advocates say early Lyme disease is best
treated by antibiotics, there is disagreement over how the disease
emerges, how it should be diagnosed and whether there is such a thing
as chronic Lyme disease.

A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine in October
found that there's no scientific evidence to link a persistent
Borrelia burgdorferi infection to what is known as chronic Lyme
disease.

For Time for Lyme co-president Debbie Siciliano, it's frustrating
when the medical community appears to downplay the effects of
elusive, persistent cases of Lyme disease.

"Some people feel they know everything they need to know about Lyme
disease and as a patient and patient advocate that's very
frustrating, because we don't even have an accurate diagnostic test,"
Siciliano said.

For Blanchard, a study that directly links Lyme disease to
dysautonomia may be the first small step toward getting wider
recognition for the seriousness of the illness.

"All we're asking is: Can Lyme disease lead to chronic conditions?
You better believe it can," Blanchard said. "And this is only one of
things that can occur."
Copyright © 2007, Southern Conn Newspapers

[blimeyitslymie]

"Patients need to be able to choose their options of treatment, and we
need freedom to use our own judgments as doctors," Cameron said.

- -

More options sought in treatment of Lyme

By Natasha Lee, Staff Writer
The Stamford Advocate, Stamford, CT
http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/news/local/scn-sa-nor.lyme4dec19,0,5109643.story?coll=stam-news-local-headlines
or
http://tinyurl.com/27e8a4

Published December 19 2007

HARTFORD - Doctors and health advocates urged legislators yesterday
to improve and protect access to treatment for people with chronic
Lyme disease.

Advocates say only a small number of physicians are treating long-term
effects of the tick-borne illness because such therapies are not
accepted by the mainstream medical community, which says there are no
proven benefits.

Long-term antibiotic treatment lowers the chance of misdiagnosis and
increases the quality of life for patients with the disease, Dr.
Daniel Cameron said at a breakfast forum hosted by state Rep. Jason
Bartlett, D-Danbury, who has pushed for legislation to improve Lyme
disease reporting to the state Department of Public Health.

Complete Story:
http://tinyurl.com/27e8a4

Letters: letters.advocate@scni.com

[blimeyitslymie]

"I can't think of a family in Wickenburg who needs help more than the
Almstedts," said a concerned resident who asked not to be named. "If
we don't do something to help them, we might lose Sonja - she is that
sick."

If anyone in the community would like to help the Almstedts, you can
reach them at 928-684-2271.

- -

Family continues to struggle with Lyme

By Patti Jares, Staff Writer
The Wickenburg Sun, Wickenburg, Arizona
December 19, 2007

http://www.wickenburgsun.com/articles/2007/12/19/news/news12.txt

Last December the Wickenburg Sun reported on a local family struggling
with Lyme disease. Dirk and Sonja Almstedt, along with two of their
three small children, were diagnosed with the disease, with Sonja
displaying signs of Chronic Lyme disease.

One year later the two older Almstedt children Nicklas and Cailin are
nearly symptom free, but the disease and its related effects have
reduced Sonja to 94 pounds without the stamina to care for the
children. The difficult roller-coaster ride of false diagnoses and
unanswered questions have left Dirk and Sonja Almstedt in a state of
deep frustration.

Complete story:
http://www.wickenburgsun.com/articles/2007/12/19/news/news12.txt

[blimeyitslymie]

Hi Good People,

I will be off the internet radar for the next week or so. Hope you all have a wonderful holiday season and that 2008 is filled with better health, good cheer, lots of fun and laughter and no TICKS!

So I will post lots of articles when I am back online. Of course, please feel free to post any news in my absence. ;)

Wishing you only the best,
B~

[blimeyitslymie]

"We're not trying to win a debate here on how to treat Lyme. We're
just people at it's mercy and so we just want to start a conversation
that will be helpful in finding ways to treat it effectively," Miki
Smith says.

- -

Looking For A Cure
http://wkow.madison.com/News/index.php?ID=17810
WKOW-TV Madison, Wisconsin, ABC affiliate, Channel 27

Updated: December 31, 2007, 10:32 am

A family is frustrated after hitting dead ends when it comes to
looking for a cure for their son's illness.

10-year-old Eddie Smith was diagnosed with Lyme Disease, an illness
contracted through an infected tick bite, five years ago on a camping
trip with his family.

Doctors put him on anti-biotics for 14 days, a treatment they say is
usually a cure.

"We can cure the disease reliably in the majority of patients," says
Doctor Dennis Mackey.

But it didn't cure Eddie.

Full Story:
http://wkow.madison.com/News/index.php?ID=17810

[blimeyitslymie]

Global Transcriptome Analysis of Borrelia burgdorferi during
Association with Human Neuroglial Cells

Infection and Immunity, January 2008, p. 298-307, Vol. 76, No. 1

PMID: 17984208
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17984208

Jill A. Livengood, Virginia L. Schmit, and Robert D. Gilmore Jr.*

National Center for Zoonotic, Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases,
Division of Vector-Borne Infectious Diseases, Bacterial Diseases
Branch, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Fort Collins,
Colorado 80521

As adherence and entry of a pathogen into a host cell are key
components to an infection, identifying the molecular mechanisms
responsible for cellular association will provide a better
understanding of a microbe's pathogenesis.

We previously established an in vitro model for Borrelia burgdorferi
infection of human neuroglial cells. To expand on our earlier study,
we performed B. burgdorferi whole-genome expression analysis following
a 20-hour infection of human neuroglial cells to identify borrelial
genes that were differentially regulated during host-cell association
compared with cultured Borrelia in cell-free medium.

This study identifies several regulated genes, the products of which
may be important mediators of cellular pathogenesis.

* Corresponding author. Mailing address: Division of Vector-Borne
Infectious Diseases, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 3150
Rampart Road, CSU Foothills Campus, Fort Collins, CO 80521. Phone:
(970) 221-6405. Fax: (970) 221-6476. E-mail: rbg9@cdc.gov

[blimeyitslymie]

Australian tennis star, Samantha Stosur, announced recently that after
losing six months of her career to the combined effects of Lyme
disease and viral meningitis, she will need even more time away from
competition in order to recover.

- -

Stosur to take no risks with recovery
Margie McDonald | December 27, 2007

The Australian, Sydney, NSW, Australia
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,22974317-5010361,00.html
or:
http://tinyurl.com/32b5rd

SAMANTHA STOSUR is confident she will make a full recovery from her
brush with two energy-sapping illnesses, but she needs time.

"I know I'm going to be back - it's just a matter of when. I just
needed a couple more months," Stosur told The Australian yesterday
after losing six months of her career to the combined effects of Lyme
disease and viral meningitis.

"I held out as long as I could to try to do it, but at the end of the
day, it just didn't happen.

"It's not like anything major has changed (in her physical recovery).
It's just time basically."

Stosur announced on Christmas Eve that she could not play at her home
event - the Australian Women's Hardcourts on the Gold Coast starting
on Sunday.

She will also miss the Sydney International a week later and then the
Australian Open in Melbourne, which starts on January 14.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/32b5rd
Letters: letters@theaustralian.com.au

[blimeyitslymie]

Necrotic spider or tick bite? Hobo spider venom or ehrlichial bacteria?
From: The Forensic Examiner, Vol 16, No. 4, Winter 2007
Date: December 22, 2007
By Cornelia Richardson-Boedler, NMD, MA, DABFE, DABFM

The entire *issue* is available in .pdf from the archives. Select
"Winter 2007" at
http://www.acfei.com/examiner_archive.php

Abstract
Diagnosing spider or tick bites, which is often difficult because the
culprit species escapes identification, is urgent in cases where there
is a serious risk of systemic poisoning.

This article compares signs, symptoms, and regional/seasonal
circumstances of suspected bites by Tegenaria agrestis of the family
agelenidae with the zoonotic hematological illness, ehrlichiosis, thus
aiding clinicians and forensic investigators.

A differential diagnosis is suggested in a suspected Tegenaria
agrestis ("hobo spider" of the Pacific Northwest) bite associated with
severe, even fatal, systemic symptoms in some victims, and the "myth
of necrotic arachnidism" is discussed.

The entire *issue* is available in .pdf from the archives. Select
"Winter 2007"
http://www.acfei.com/examiner_archive.php

Also in this issue is another article titled,
"Toxic Shock Syndrome or Rocky Mountain
Spotted Fever?" By Kristin Crowe, Associate Editor

[blimeyitslymie]

NATIONAL INSTITUTES OF HEALTH AWARD K-STATE SPECIALIST IN TICK-BORNE
PATHOGENS $1.8 MILLION GRANT TO HELP HALT DISEASE SPREAD

Friday, Dec. 7, 2007
http://www.k-state.edu/media/newsreleases/dec07/ganta120707.html

Source: Roman Ganta,785-532-4612, rganta@k-state.edu
http://www.vet.k-state.edu/depts/dmp/personnel/faculty/ganta.htm
News release prepared by: Katie Mayes, 785-532-6415, kmayes@k-state.edu

MANHATTAN -- Roman Ganta, a professor of diagnostic medicine and
pathobiology at Kansas State University, has been awarded a grant of
$1,825,000 by the National Institutes of Health to figure out how to
stop the tick-borne bacteria, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, from making
animals and people sick.

This is the second grant of roughly the same size Ganta has received
for this research.

Ehrlichia chaffeensis affects people and animals primarily in the
southeastern and south central regions of the U.S. It is transmitted
by the lone star tick. The resulting sickness, termed Ehrlichiosis, is
hard to diagnose because its symptoms' similarities with other, more
minor infections. Symptoms include headache, fever, malaise and muscle
aches. For those with compromised immune systems, the bacterial
infection could be fatal.

Though very few cases are reported -- around 1,500 since the Centers
for Disease Control deemed it a disease of concern in the late 1980s
-- Ganta estimates that as many as 50,000 people have actually
contracted ehrlichia chaffeensis. Though relative to the nation's
population that doesn't seem significant, the ensuing infection and
symptoms can be serious, especially if untreated. As many as half of
the patients diagnosed with ehrlichiosis require hospitalization.

This particular tick-borne pathogen is also unique because it
circumvents the initial defenses of the immune system of the animal or
human the tick bites, according to Ganta.

When bacteria enters the mammalian body the response is typically the
same: the bacteria multiply and the immune system gears up, sending
out its own organisms -- cells derived from white blood cells called
macrophages -- to seek out and destroy the offender.

The average, healthy immune system can clear the body of most
bacterial infections. But ehrlichia chaffeensis gets past that first
line of defense, making the infection persist and the subsequent
illness difficult to get rid of.

"It's like the enemy entering into a battlefield and knowing exactly
where the landmines are and diffusing them all," Ganta said.

Over the last five years, Ganta's research team has been working under
a prior federal grant, also from the National Institutes of Health, to
uncover exactly how the bacteria works. They recreated the bacteria
using cells from mice and from ticks. The current study revealed that
the tick cells are what made the difference, and that the tick's
ecology changes the bacteria by adding proteins, enabling bacteria to
slip by the immune system.

"Understanding the molecular basis for persistence by these bacteria
has been critical in developing effective methods to control this and
other tick-borne pathogens," Ganta said. "Our research is focused on
understanding the pathogen evasion mechanisms, and then using those to
defeat it."

The trick now is to learn how to turn those proteins off, leaving the
bacteria vulnerable, Ganta said. That's the research his new grant
will fund.

Ganta said that tick-borne pathogens like ehrlichia chaffeensis have
long been recognized as a persistent concern for the health of several
companion animals and livestock. The number of cases in humans has
also risen in recent years, increasing the threat to public health.

The hope is that once Ganta comes up with a way to fight off the
bacteria, that will pave the way for solutions to other forms of
ehrlichia, some of which are devastating for cattle and other food
animals.

The $1,825,000 grant is for five years of study at $365,000 a year.

[blimeyitslymie]

The Bowen Laboratory is now Central Florida Research, Inc.
http://centralfloridaresearch.com/

- -

Florida lab claims to have superior Lyme disease test
Test, however, is non FDA-approved, and Dr. Tim Lepore is skeptical

BY MARY LANCASTER INDEPENDENT WRITER
The Nantucket Independent Online, Nantucket, MA

http://www.nantucketindependent.com/news/2007/1226/Other_news/007.html

A Florida laboratory facility maintains that for the last year it has
been able to offer a blood test that specifically identifies whether a
person is carrying the antigen or bacteria that causes Lyme disease.
It is a test company principals claim is superior to the standard
Western Blot test routinely run to search for antibodies that may
appear after someone is exposed to the bacteria.

"The bacteria itself is extremely hard to find, which is why it has
taken a year to get this test into use," said Thomas Long, President
of Central Florida Research, Inc. based in Lake Alfred, Fla. Long
contacted The Independent following its cover story on tick and Lyme
disease published on Dec. 5.

"No one else in the United States has a test for the bacteria itself
through blood processing. Florida is the only state to approve a test
of this kind. Western Blot is sketchy in accuracy and not everyone hit
with this bug creates antibodies," he said. "The benefit of this test
is that it tells the doctor earlier and definitively if we see
bacteria or not in the blood."

Not everyone is as enthusiastic about this testing method as Long,
however.

Full text:
http://www.nantucketindependent.com/news/2007/1226/Other_news/007.html

Letters: don@nantucketindependent.com

[blimeyitslymie]

AM2 PAT, Inc., and FDA informed healthcare professionals and consumers
of a nationwide recall of one lot of Pre-Filled Heparin Lock Flush
Solution (5 ml in 12 mL Syringes), Lot # 070926H. The heparin IV flush
syringes have been found to be contaminated with /Serratia marcescens/,
which have resulted in patient infections. This type of bacterial
infection could present a serious adverse health consequence that could
lead to life-threatening injuries and/or death. Consumers and user
facilities should stop using the product immediately, quarantine the
affected product, and return it to the distributor immediately.

Read the entire 2007 MedWatch Safety Summary including a link to the
manufacturer’s press release regarding this issue at:

http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2007/safety07.htm#HeparinLock
<http://www.fda.gov/medwatch/safety/2007/safety07.htm#HeparinLock>

[blimeyitslymie]

Spirochetes in otology: Are we testing for the right pathogens?
Otolaryngology - Head and Neck Surgery
Volume 138, Issue 1, January 2008, Pages 107-109

http://tinyurl.com/24xttt
and
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18165003

Short scientific communication

Presented as an oral presentation at the American Academy of
Otolaryngology€ ¦’¶Head and Neck Surgery Annual Meeting, September 16-19,
2007, Washington, DC.

Waleed M. Abuzeid BSc, MBBS (a) and Michael J. Ruckenstein MD, FRCSC (a)

(a) Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA.

Received 28 August 2007; revised 8 October 2007; accepted 11 October
2007. Available online 27 December 2007.

*Objective*

To determine the prevalence rate of otosyphilis and Lyme-associated
labyrinthine disease among patients presenting with idiopathic,
progressive sensorineural hearing loss and, thus, to provide
recommendations regarding the diagnostic workup.

*Study Design*

A prospective cohort study of patients presenting to a university
hospital otology clinic with idiopathic, progressive sensorineural
hearing loss between 1998 and 2006.

*Subjects and Methods*

Cases in which hearing loss was clearly attributable to other causes
were excluded, leaving 181 patients (mean age 55.6 years). History,
physical examination, autoimmune laboratory tests, syphilis and Lyme
serology, audiometric assessment, and MRI were performed in all cases.
Results

Nine cases (4.9%) of otosyphilis and none of Lyme disease were
diagnosed by serological tests.

*Conclusion*

Routine serological testing for otosyphilis, but not Lyme disease, is
recommended for all cases of idiopathic, progressive sensorineural
hearing loss.

Corresponding Author Contact Information: Michael J. Ruckenstein, MD,
FRCSC, Department of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery,
University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, 5th Floor Ravdin
Building, 3400 Spruce Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104.

[blimeyitslymie]

Borrelia burgdorferi basic membrane proteins A and B participate in
the genesis of Lyme arthritis

Published online 31 December 2007
doi:10.1084/jem.20070962
The Journal of Experimental Medicine

http://www.jem.org/cgi/content/abstract/jem.20070962v1

Utpal Pal(1), Penghua Wang(1), ***ai Bao(1), Xiuli Yang(2), Swapna
Samanta(1), Robert Schoen(1), Gary P. Wormser(3), Ira Schwartz(4), and
Erol Fikrig(1)

(1) Section of Rheumatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Yale
University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06520
(2) Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Maryland, College
Park, MD 20742
(3) Division of Infectious Diseases, Department of Medicine, and
(4) Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical
College, Valhalla, NY 10595

CORRESPONDENCE Erol Fikrig: erol.fikrig@yale.edu

Abstract

Lyme arthritis results from colonization of joints by Borrelia
burgdorferi and the ensuing host response. Using gene array€ ¦’¶based
differential analysis of B. burgdorferi gene expression and
quantitative reverse trancription-polymerase chain reaction, we
identified two paralogous spirochete genes, bmpA and bmpB, that are
preferentially up-regulated in mouse joints compared with other organs.

Transfer of affinity-purified antibodies against either BmpA or BmpB
into B. burgdorferi€ ¦’¶infected mice selectively reduced spirochete
numbers and inflammation in the joints. B. burgdorferi lacking bmpA/B
were therefore generated to further explore the role of these proteins
in the pathogenesis of Lyme disease.

B. burgdorferi lacking bmpA/B were infectious in mice, but unable to
persist in the joints, and they failed to induce severe arthritis.

Complementation of the mutant spirochetes with a wild-type copy of the
bmpA and bmpB genes partially restored the original phenotype.

These data delineate a role for differentially produced B. burgdorferi
antigens in spirochete colonization of mouse joints, and suggest new
strategies for the treatment of Lyme arthritis.

http://www.jem.org/cgi/content/abstract/jem.20070962v1

--

Abbreviations used:
DECAL, differential expression analysis using a custom-amplified library;
GST, glutathione S-transferase;
q, quantitative.

U. Pal, P. Wang, and F. Bao contributed equally to this paper.

U. Pal's present address is Department of Veterinary Medicine,
University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742.

F. Bao's present address is Department of Microbiology, Kunming
Medical College, Kunming 650031, China.

[blimeyitslymie]

The Pathogenesis of Lyme Neuroborreliosis € ¦’¶ from Infection to Inflammation

Moleclar Medicine
Published online 2007 December 19.
doi: 10.2119/2007-00091****pprecht.

Full text available here:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2148032
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2pkub5

Tobias A. Rupprecht, MD,(1) Uwe Koedel, MD,(1) Volker Fingerle, MD,(2)
and Hans-Walter Pfister, MD(1)

(1) Department of Neurology, Ludwig-Maximilians University,
Marchioninistr. 15, D-81377, Munich, Germany
(2) Department of Microbiology, Ludwig-Maximilians University,
Marchioninistr. 15, D-81377, Munich, Germany

Corresponding author: Hans-Walter Pfister, MD, Department of
Neurology, Klinikum Grosshadern, Ludwig-Maximilians University,
Marchioninistr. 15, D-81377 Munich, Germany
Fax: +49 89 7095-6673, Phone: +49 89 7095-3676,
e-mail: hans-walter.pfister@med.uni-muenchen.de

*Abstract*
This review describes the current knowledge of the pathogenesis of
acute Lyme neuroborreliosis (LNB), from invasion to inflammation of
the central nervous system.

Borrelia burgdorferi (B.b.) enters the host through a tick bite on the
skin and may disseminate from there to secondary organs, including the
central nervous system.

To achieve this, B. b. first has to evade the hostile immune system.
In a second step, the borrelia have to reach the central nervous
system and cross the blood-brain barrier. Once in the cerebrospinal
fluid (CSF), the spirochetes elicit an inflammatory response. We
describe current knowledge about the infiltration of leukocytes into
the CSF in LNB.

In the final section, the mechanisms by which the spirochetal
infection leads to the observed neural dysfunction will be discussed.
In conclusion, this review will construct a stringent concept of the
pathogenesis of LNB.

Full text:
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?artid=2148032

[blimeyitslymie]

"Eighty percent of the households responding said at least one member
had suffered a tick bite, and 48 percent said someone in their
household was currently or had been treated for Lyme disease. Not
diagnosed, but treated," Mr Lundquist said.

- -

Speeding, Lyme Disease, Budget Process Among Top Survey Concerns
January 4, 2008

Newtown Bee, Newtown, Connecticut
http://www.newtownbee.com/News/News/2008%5C01-January%5C2008-01-04__13-54-26/Speeding%2C+Lyme+Disease%2C+Budget+Process+Among+T op+Survey+Concerns
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2xh664

Whether it involves public health concerns like Lyme disease, traffic
woes, or perceptions about local government, Newtown survey expert
Paul Lundquist is never surprised when reliable statistical
information debunks rumors or preconceived ideas about what the
general public is thinking.

The local research professional is ready to talk about what fellow
Newtown residents are thinking when he unveils the results of an
October survey that was completed by more than 850 residents (see
related story). That presentation is set for Tuesday, January 8, at 7
pm, at Edmond Town Hall.

Besides defining with a great degree of precision what respondents
feel about specific issues in town, the survey also clarifies certain
public attitudes. For example, he said the survey revealed that
residents are not as concerned about the political affiliations of
town leaders as they are about wanting those elected officials to look
out for taxpayers' best interests.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/2xh664

[blimeyitslymie]

*Last Call For Conference!*
*Walk IN's Are Welcome* to register on the morning of the conference

MEDICAL CONFERENCE ANNOUNCEMENT
Continuing Medical Education program jointly sponsored by
University of South Florida, Morton Plant Mease Hospital &
The Lanford Foundation - Lifelyme, Inc.

Date: Saturday, January 19, 2008
Place: The Renaissance Vinoy Resort, St. Petersburg, FL


"Similarities and Paradoxes in Chronic Illnesses"
The overlapping symptoms in Tick-Borne diseases, chronic fatigue
syndrome, and other chronic illnesses.

Registration here:
http://www.cme.hsc.usf.edu/lyme

CME - Continuing Medical Education credits are being offered for health care practitioners. Kindly share this information with your physicians, and other health care practitioners.

Registration fee: $150.00
Fee includes a Buffet Lunch at the Renaissance Vinoy Resort

http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/tpasr-renaissance-vinoy-resort-and-golf-club/

Questions or Additional Information call:
The Office of Continuing Professional Development
(813-974-4296) or (800-852-5362)
or email: jahartfi@health.usf.edu

Hope to see you at the conference. Kindly share this information with
your physicians, and other healthcare professionals.

Wishing you good health,
Sandi Lanford
Lifelyme
http://www.lifelyme.org/

CONFERENCE AGENDA
*Course Director*: Dr. Leslie Fein, MD
7:00 - 8:15am Registration

8:15 - 8:30 am Welcome
*President - Sandi Lanford, Founder - Advocate
*Vice President - Dr. Ernie Lanford, Ed.D. Kinesiology
Professional Golf Management, Florida State University, Tallahassee, FL

8:30 - 9:15am
*"Summary of Tick Borne Disease Agents in Florida"
*Kerry Clark, Ph.D., M.P.H., Associate Professor Epidemiology
& Environmental Health, Department of Public Health, University of North
Florida, Jacksonville, FL

9:15 - 10:00am
*"What I have learned in the past 20 years"
*Leslie Fein, MD Private Practice, Internal Medicine, Rheumatology
and Lyme Disease." E. Caldwell, NJ

10:00 -10:15am BREAK

10:15 -11:00am
*"The Positive Side of Lyme Disease"
*Kenneth Friedman, Ph.D.Associate Professor, College of Pharmacology
and Physiology, Medical School of New Jersey

11:00am - 11:45pm
*"The Three Phases of Lyme Borrelia burgdorferi, Treatment and
Evaluation"
*Joseph Jemsek, MD Infectious Disease and Internal Medicine, founder
of the Jemsek Clinic for Lyme Disease and HIV/AIDS, Huntersville, NC.

11:45 - 1:00pm LUNCH BREAK @ the Vinoy
1:15 - 1:30pm Recognition of Special Advocates &
Support Group Leaders

1:30 - 2:15 pm
*"Biomarkers of Lyme Disease and Controlled Treatment Trials"
*Brian Fallon, MD, M.P.H., Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at
the Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons, Director
of the Center for the Study of Neuroinflammatory Disorders & Biobehavioral
Medicine, Columbia University.

2:15 - 3:00pm
*"Current CFIDS Research"
*Nancy Klimas, MD Professor of Medicine, Psychology, Microbiology and
Immunology at the University of Miami School of Medicine. Dr. Klimas is
the principal investigator of one of the 3 NIH sponsored CFS Research
Centers and President IACFS ( International Alliance for Chronic Fatigue
Syndrome)

3:00 - 3:45pm
*"An Overview of Tick Borne Disease in Children & the Autism Connection"
Charles Ray Jones, MD, Pediatrician, Private Practice in Hartford,
Connecticut.
*
3:45 -5:00pm
*Recognition Awards & Honors for Dr. Charles Ray Jones
*Tribute presentation by Ken and Pamela Marks & family

Disclaimer:
The mission of "THE LANFORD FOUNDATION - LIFELYME, INC., is to provide educational information for anyone interested in tick-borne diseases, chronic infectious, systemic diseases and related disorders.

Information presented is intended only for educational exchange. This
information is not offered by LIFELYME as medical advice for anyone.
THE LANFORD FOUNDATION - LIFELYME
http://www.lifelyme.org/

[ray]

I did not read through all of this thread because I only have a link to drop by for you guys to scrutinies and it may be here already and I imagine you all are aware of this anyway but just in case you didn't see it before here it is, ray

http://portland.indymedia.org/en/2006/01/331695.shtml

[blimeyitslymie]

"We have learned that you can take antibiotics and the Lyme can hide
out in the body and go into cyst form," Scott [Smith] said. "There is
a lot of disagreement out there. I think a lot of doctors will be
upset with what we are doing. We are just doing what is best for Eddie."

Wrestling to beat Lyme disease
By Mark Nesbitt/Sauk Prairie Eagle, Wisconsin
January 9, 2008

http://www.wiscnews.com/spe/news/266281

SAUK PRAIRIE AREA, Wisconsin - Grand Avenue Elementary School
fifth-grader Eddie Smith was overwhelmed by a groundswell of
fund-raising support in his fight against Lyme disease at the Eagle
wrestling Invitational tournament Jan. 5.

"When everyone wears a shirt with your name on it, I feel kind of
scared," said Eddie, who is 10 years old and was diagnosed with the
disease in 2003. "It makes you feel happy at the same time."

Eddie has battled Lyme disease with the support of his family for
almost five years and the family has turned to a combination of
alternative treatments in its mission to eradicate the disease.

Full story and photo:
http://www.wiscnews.com/spe/news/266281

[blimeyitslymie]

"In one example of how changes in reporting can affect counts,
Baltimore County reported two cases in 2006 and none in 2005. After
the county Health Department received additional funds for Lyme
disease surveillance, it reported 256 cases last year."

- -

Lyme disease cases double, set record in Md.

By Frank D. Roylance: Baltimore Sun, Baltimore, Maryland
January 11, 2008

http://www.baltimoresun.com/news/loc...,1568194.story
or
http://tinyurl.com/yroyrj

More than 2,200 cases of Lyme disease were reported in Maryland last
year, almost double the number in 2006 and a record for the state.

Although the case reports won't be verified and totaled before April,
"the raw numbers are up substantially in 2007. ... The doubling is
probably going to be confirmed," said John P. Krick, director of the
Office of Epidemiology and Disease Control Programs at the Maryland
Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.

Reports of the tick-borne disease have been climbing for years in
Maryland and across the United States. Experts say some of that growth
probably results from more aggressive reporting by doctors and public
health authorities.

Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/yroyrj

[blimeyitslymie]

Borrelia burgdorferi uniquely regulates its motility genes and has an
intricate flagellar hook basal body structure

Journal of Bacteriology Accepts, published online ahead of print on 11
January 2008
J. Bacteriol. doi:10.1128/JB.01421-07

http://jb.asm.org/cgi/content/abstra...421-07v1?ct=ct

Melanie S. Sal, Chunhao Li, M. A. Motalab, Satoshi Shibata, Shin-Ichi
Aizawa, and Nyles W. Charon*

Department of Microbiology, Immunology, and Cell Biology, Robert C.
Byrd Health Sciences Center, West Virginia University, Morgantown,
West Virginia 26506-9177;
Department of Oral Biology, State University of New York at Buffalo,
Buffalo, NY 14214;
Prefectural University of Hiroshima, Department of Life Sciences, 562
Nanatsuka, Shobara, Hiroshima, 727-0 023, Japan and CREST "Soft-Nano
machine Project, Innovation Plaza, Hiroshima,3-10-23 Kagamiyama,
Higashi-Hiroshima, 739-0046, Japan

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email: ncharon@hsc.wvu.edu

ABSTRACT

Borrelia burgdorferi is a flat-wave, motile spirochete that causes
Lyme disease. Motility is provided by periplasmic flagella (PFs)
located between the cell cylinder and an outer membrane sheath.

These PFs, composed of basal body, hook, and filament, are similar in
structure to flagella from other bacteria. To determine if hook
formation influences flagellin gene transcription in B. burgdorferi,
we inactivated the hook structural gene flgE by targeted mutagenesis.

In many bacteria, completion of the hook structure serves as a
checkpoint for transcriptional control of flagella synthesis and other
chemotaxis and motility genes. Specifically, the hook allows secretion
of the anti-sigma factor FlgM, and concomitant late genes
transcription promoted by {sigma}28.

However, the control of B. burgdorferi PF synthesis differs from
flagella synthesis in other bacteria: The gene encoding {sigma}28 is
not present in its genome, nor are there any {sigma}28 promoter
recognition sequences associated with its motility genes.

We found that B. burgdorferi mutants in flgE lacked PFs, were
rod-shaped, and were non-motile, which substantiate previous evidence
that PFs are involved in both cell morphology and motility.

Although most motility and chemotaxis gene products accumulated at
wild-type levels in the absence of FlgE, mutant cells had markedly
decreased levels of flagellar filament proteins FlaA and FlaB.

Further analyses showed that reduction of flagellin proteins in the
spirochetes lacking FlgE was mediated at the post-transcriptional level.

Taken together, our results indicate that in B. burgdorferi, the
completion of the hook does not serve as a checkpoint for
transcriptional regulation of flagella synthesis. In addition, we also
present evidence that the hook protein in B. burgdorferi forms a high
molecular weight complex, and that formation of this complex occurs in
the periplasmic space.

http://jb.asm.org/cgi/content/abstra...421-07v1?ct=ct

[blimeyitslymie]

From Kris Kraft, Open Eye Pictures:

We're very excited to announce that a 30-minute sample of our Lyme
documentary, UNDER OUR SKIN, has put us in the running for the
prestigious IFP Award for Socially Conscious Documentaries. In
addition, we were awarded a screening slot at IFP Market, which will
place the rough cut of our film in front of high-level broadcasters and distributors in September.

http://www.lymediseasefilm.com

Interest in the film has been high, with packed fundraising screenings
in five cities; a pitch meeting with HBO; and interviews with national
publications such as The Washington Post, The Scientist, and Forbes
(well, we tried). And with President Bush's announcement that he's been treated for Lyme, and Michael Moore's SICKO film making health care an election issue, we feel the time is right for this film.

We're now in the homestretch for completing our rough cut for Sundance
Festival submission, and we'd like to call on the Lyme disease community to help us out in this final sprint. Even if you're not able to financially assist us, please help us spread the word among your friends, family, and influencers, so we can create a groundswell of excitement for our upcoming screenings. (We've placed our 5-minute film trailer back on our main website, so that you can easily forward it via email.)

And thanks again for all your support and stories!!
Open Eye Pictures

--------------------
Kris Kraft
http://www.lymediseasefilm.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Calder Center Awarded NIH Grant to Study Tick Pathogens
December 17, 2007

http://www.fordham.edu/campus_resources/public_affairs/inside_fordham/december_17_2007/news/_calder_center_award_28739.asp
or
http://tinyurl.com/35nu8u

By Janet Sassi
Fordham University, New York

Fordham University's Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station has
been awarded a $388,000 grant from the National Institutes of Health
(NIH) to study fungi that can kill the blacklegged tick, popularly
known as the "deer tick," one of the major transmitters of Lyme disease.

The two-year grant will allow Calder Center researchers to identify
fungi that share habitats with the tick and investigate how weather
conditions, such as humidity and temperature, affect those fungal
populations. The researchers hope to determine which fungi are most
virulent to ticks and the optimum conditions under which they act as a
natural deterrent to the spread of the tick population.

"These fungi are one of the reasons why a tick's life isn't easy,"
said Tom Daniels, Ph.D., associate research scientist at the Calder
Center's Vector Ecology Laboratory and principal investigator on the
project. "By understanding the ecology of these organisms, we
anticipate development of natural ways to impose further controls on
tick populations and the spread of disease."

Amy Tuininga, Ph.D., assistant professor of biology, and Rich Falco,
Ph.D., associate research scientist of biology and regional medical
entomologist for the New York State Department of Health, will serve
as co-principal investigators. In addition, undergraduate and graduate
research assistants will take part in gathering soil samples and ticks
for the presence of fungi.

Lyme disease is transmitted by the bite of an infected deer tick, and
New York accounts for 30 percent of the nation's cases of the
bacterial disease, according to the Federal Centers for Disease
Control. In addition, the ticks spread human granulocytic anaplasmosis
and babesiosis, two rare diseases that can be deadly if not treated
with antibiotics.

The grant represents the first major funding on the fungal study
project, which scientists at the Calder Center have been working on
since 2001. It is part of the NIH's R21 program, which funds
early-stage studies in areas classified as speculative but which "may
lead to a breakthrough."

"Our hypothesis is that there is not a single species of fungus, but
rather several species of fungi that work together to regulate the
tick populations," said Tuininga. "Through our work, we hope to
discover a new biocontrol strategy consisting of, say, three or more
fungi that can be used together more effectively than just one."

Once the effect of various fungi on ticks is documented, Tuininga said
that the team hopes to be able to identify certain weather conditions
under which the spraying of agents to control the ticks might be most
optimal, and to discover whether ticks are more susceptible to the
fungi when they are in the larval, nymph or adult stages.

The Louis Calder Center Biological Field Station is a 113-acre field
station in Armonk, N.Y., which is used to train biologists for work in
environmental science and conservation.

[blimeyitslymie]

CDC To Launch Study on Unexplained Illness

Press Release
For Immediate Release
Wednesday, January 16, 2008

http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2008/r080116.htm
Contact: CDC Division of Media Relations, 404-639-3286

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in conjunction
with Kaiser Permanente's Northern California Division of Research
launched a study to learn about an unexplained skin condition known as
Morgellons. Persons who suffer from this condition report a range of
symptoms including non-healing skin lesions associated with the
emergence of fibers or solid material from the skin, abnormal skin
sensations (such as stinging and biting or pins and needles) and
non-cutaneous symptoms such as difficulty concentrating and short-term
memory loss. Researchers hope to learn more about who might be
affected, what symptoms they experience, and factors that may
contribute to their illness. "We earnestly want to learn more about
this unexplained illness which impacts the lives of those who suffer
from it," said Dr. Michele Pearson, principal investigator leading the
study for CDC. "Those who suffer have questions, and we want to help
them."

CDC will identify patients in Kaiser Permanente's Northern California
Health Plan to enroll in the study. The Kaiser Permanente Division of
Research was awarded a $338,000 contract to assist CDC in this
investigation because of the organization's location in a geographic
area where self-reported cases are concentrated, the size of the
patient population to draw from (Kaiser Permanente covers
approximately 30 percent of the Northern California population), and
its ability to systematically identify Kaiser Permanente patients who
may have this unexplained illness.

"CDC is taking a multifaceted approach to this investigation with
other external partners including the Armed Forces Pathology
Institute," Dr. Pearson said. "We have a team of epidemiologists,
laboratorians, and pathologists to carry out the study," Dr. Pearson
added. The primary goals of the investigation are to better describe
the clinical and epidemiological features of this condition and to
generate hypothesis about possible risk factors.

The investigation may take 12 months or longer to complete. Initially
investigators will identify and recruit participants and collect
detailed information on participants' symptoms and potential factors
that may contribute to the condition. Later eligible participants will
undergo detailed clinical evaluations, including a general medical
examination, dermatologic examination, mental health examination, skin
biopsies, and multiple blood tests.

Results of this investigation will most likely be published in CDC's
weekly bulletin called the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report or a
peer-reviewed scientific journal. A designated web site and voice
message line with prerecorded messages (404-718-1199) has been
established and will provide updates about the investigation and new
information as it becomes available. Interested persons are encouraged
to visit the CDC's Unexplained Dermopathy/Morgellons web site:
http://www.cdc.gov/unexplaineddermopathy
to obtain current information about CDC activities related to this
condition.

http://www.cdc.gov/od/oc/media/pressrel/2008/r080116.htm

[blimeyitslymie]

Lengthy article on Morgellon's Disease from The Washington Post is
referred to here because it is a condition where a sizable number of
patients also test positive on a Western Blot for Lyme disease.
Reference:
The mystery of Morgellons disease: infection or delusion?
Am J Clin Dermatol. 2006;7(1):1-5.
http://www.morgellons.com/AJCDerm1.pdf

From washingtonpost.com:
"Instead, she sought out more than eight doctors and specialists, not
because she's crazy, she says, but because she was in agony. All she
wanted was relief. She gave her physicians permission to discuss her
case and records with a reporter. One doctor told her she had
athlete's foot. Another said shingles. Another scabies. One treated
her with antibiotics used for Lyme disease, which eased her itching a
bit. One told her to go to a movie to get her mind off it."

- -

Cover Story
Figments of the Imagination?
By Brigid Schulte

Published: Sunday, January 20, 2008; Page W10
Available today, January 19, 2008 online ahead of print.
The Washington Post, Washington, DC Reg. req. (free)

Full text, slideshow and commentary:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011603134.html?hpid=moreheadlines&sid=ST2008011801924

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.rocheste r.edu/pr/ Review/V70N3/ gazette04. html

Living with Lyme Disease
When viewers of the ABC affiliate KGTV tune in to find out what's
happening on San Diego roads, they get their news from Brooke
Landau '94, the station's apparently healthy and energetic traffic
anchor.

But looks can be deceiving.

"Every day viewers see me on the air, I'm in pain," Landau says. She
recalls many times when she's had to give herself injections of anti-
inflammatory medication during commercial breaks to keep going. And
last summer marked the first time in 12 years that Landau was not
being treated with antibiotics.

In 1995, just one year after graduating from the University, Landau
contracted Lyme disease. She has been battling it ever since.

ANCHORED: The traffic anchor for a San Diego TV station, Brooke
Landau '94 has been living with Lyme disease since 1995.
"I went to bed one night absolutely fine and woke up the next morning
unable to move from the neck up or the waist down," Landau says of
the sudden onset of the disease.

Doctors first diagnosed her with spinal meningitis, not realizing
that the meningitis was actually being caused by her then-undetected
Lyme disease.

Bed-ridden for a year and a half, Landau's case worsened. She lost
hearing in her left ear and began to lose sight in both eyes. She
developed colitis, gallstones, heart arrhythmia and palpitations,
short-term memory loss, and more.

"It affected just about every organ in my body," she says.

Meanwhile, Landau and her physicians were at a loss for an
explanation. "I had no idea what this was. Every time they tested me
for Lyme disease, the test came back negative," she says, results she
attributes to what she calls a high inaccuracy rate in blood tests
for Lyme. Without a positive test, doctors suggested multiple
sclerosis and lupus as possible diagnoses.

A tick-born bacterial infection, Lyme disease can cause of a host of
symptoms persisting long after the original infection has cleared.
While antibiotics can treat the infection if administered promptly,
the disease can create serious and long-lasting health problems if
left untreated. Landau recalls removing a tick from her leg about a
year before her first symptoms appeared, but she gave it no thought
at the time.

Finally Landau's doctor, afraid that her life was in danger, took
drastic measures. He gave Landau an experimental treatment:
intravenous antibiotics administered through an artery leading to her
heart and 30 days in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber. She was the first
patient ever to receive the unapproved treatment.

"It saved my life," Landau says of the treatment, "but it didn't cure
me."

Determined not to let the disease rule her life, Landau returned to
work as soon as she was physically able. She no longer had the
stamina for full-time corporate life, but she began to earn money as
a runway model; the loss of a quarter of her body weight due to
illness, she notes wryly, was a professional advantage for high-end
modeling. She eventually turned to a career in broadcasting, working
as an anchor for KSWT/CBS in Yuma, Ariz.; a producer for the E! True
Hollywood Story; and a freelance reporter for ESPN before taking on
her current job at KGTV.

She says her Lyme disease is at last "in remission," although she
continues to live with symptoms such as chronic headache and chronic
fatigue.

"When people ask me if I'm feeling normal again—I don't have the
perspective to know what's normal," Landau says. "I think back to
when I was at the University of Rochester. That's the last time I
felt fine."

Today, with her own health improving, Landau is still fighting Lyme
disease. She works with New York–based Turn the Corner and other Lyme
disease advocacy groups to raise money for research and build public
awareness of a disease that Landau describes as "the fastest growing
infectious disease in the country."

Her experience with Lyme disease has changed the way she approaches
things, she says. "I don't sweat the small stuff. People who knew me
in college know I was a complete Type A." But she credits that
determination and drive for the fact that she found treatment when
many doctors told her nothing was really wrong with her—a problem
many Lyme disease patients encounter, she says.

"I think it's important for people to trust their instincts about
their health," Landau says. "That's what I did."

—Kathleen McGarvey

[blimeyitslymie]

Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation: Feds Say "No" to Access to
Information Request on Serious Health Matter; National Security Cited

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=812223

Jan 20, 2008 12:15 ET

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA--(Marketwire - Jan. 20, 2008) -

The federal government denies Access to Information request. They say
it is a matter of "national security", so Canadians have no right to
records that measure the ability of our national medical laboratory to
detect the fastest growing animal to human disease in the northern
hemisphere

The Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation decided they must find out how
well our federal medical laboratory in Winnipeg does at detecting Lyme
disease in humans.

Fully certified, proficiency tested and accredited laboratories in the
U.S. have been finding that several thousand Canadians are actually
positive for lyme disease after a negative Canadian test. Many of
these Canadians had been given diagnoses ranging from multiple
sclerosis, mental illness, to chronic fatigue syndrome.

The successful outcome of lyme disease treatment demands early
diagnosis, so the Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation sought to find out
why Canadian lab tests in so many instances are negative followed by a
positive U.S. test. These patients only then get the treatment they
need. The proof is in the pudding, they do remarkably well in recovery
after having been left sick for years in many instances.

Proficiency testing of laboratories measuring their ability to detect
specific disease is required in most jurisdictions for laboratories to
retain certification. The U.S. labs are proficiency tested and have
excellent results. We expect similar results from our federal labs but
we will never know if a small group of people who hold the lives of
Canadians in their hands has their way.

If denying our request because of "national security" sounds absurd to
you, it did to us as well. Something is going on. One provincial
access to information request revealed minutes of a meeting involving
provincial medical authorities and our federal laboratory
representatives who discuss hundreds of unique cases of lyme disease
in only a three year period in that province. Officially, in that same
three year period the reported number of cases was zero.

We had also previously asked to be allowed to participate in
proficiency testing of our Canadian labs but that request was quickly
denied as well.

To put this in proper perspective, Canada has some of the highest
rates in the world of diseases and conditions sharing the same
symptomology as lyme disease but we have virtually no lyme disease, in
stark contrast to every other northern hemisphere country. There are
1.5 million Canadians suffering from disease of unknown origin. Many
of these mirror the symptoms of chronic lyme disease. We want to know
how many are in fact lyme. We believe that number will prove to be
substantial. It is implausible that Canada has protective border
crossings that prevent birds that are carrying lyme disease from
entering our country. It is much more plausible that we have many
cases of lyme disease. Our cold temperatures do not account for our
low numbers as previously stated by the government. Finland, a much
colder country, has thousands more cases than Canada.

The best way to prove the prevalence of lyme in the bodies of
Canadians would be through aggressive research including multiple
tissue biopsies from skin and internal organs of those individuals who
share the symptoms of lyme disease, and post-mortem study of those who
did not survive the onslaught of their illness. We have had many
requests Canada wide from very sick individuals or their family
members who want to leave their or their loved ones remains for this
specific research. Most have not been diagnosed with lyme, but suffer
all of the symptoms.

Background information:

Our friendly migratory birds transport the ticks that carry Lyme
disease around at random. Biting insects such as mosquitoes and horse
flies have also been shown to transmit the disease. In the U.S. where
our springtime migratory birds come from there is an estimated 200,000
human cases of Lyme disease each year and this is increasing year over
year. Our government labs confirm fewer than 60 cases per year in Canada.

We do know Lyme is being misdiagnosed as other illnesses, or not
diagnosed at all. Lyme disease is robbing many Canadian children of
their youth and adults of their careers.

Lyme disease can cause serious long-term health issues if not
identified and treated early. It can affect the brain, eyesight,
hearing, nervous system, muscles, joints, digestive tract, skin and
most organs including the heart, liver, spleen, and kidneys. Because
Lyme disease is a multi-system disorder many systems of the body can
be affected at once.

Ticks that carry Lyme disease can be found in your lawn, on logs, on
your pets, in tall grass or brush. If outside do not brush up against
brush or tall grass, or sit on logs. Wear a repellent containing DEET,
and do a daily full body tick check on yourself, your children and
your pets. Talk to your veterinarian about protecting your pets. Use
fine tipped tweezers to remove an attached tick. Prevention is the
best medicine.

Media -- For high resolution tick photo go to
http://www.canlyme.com/tick%20high%20res.jpg

For more information, please contact
Canadian Lyme Disease Foundation
Jim Wilson
President
(250) 768-0978
Website: http://www.canlyme.org

http://www.marketwire.com/mw/release.do?id=812223

[blimeyitslymie]

Borrelia burgdorferi VlsE antigen for the serological diagnosis of
Lyme borreliosis

European Journal of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases
http://www..springerlink.com/content/b2176kl872670537

A. Marangoni(1), A. Moroni(1), S. Accardo(1), R. Cevenini(1)
DOI - 10.1007/s10096-007-0445-7

(1) Section of Microbiology, DMCSS–University of Bologna, St.Orsola
Hospital, via Massarenti 9, 40138 Bologna, Italy

Received: 19 June 2007; Accepted: 10 December 2007; Published online:
16 January 2008

Abstract
In this study, raising and development of antibody response to
Borrelia burgdorferi infection in 66 Italian patients suffering from
culture-confirmed Lyme borreliosis erythema migrans (EM) was
investigated.

Sixty-two of 66 cultures obtained from biopsies were identified as B.
afzelii by PCR. A total of 175 serially collected serum samples were
tested by using two different sets of commercial assays: Enzygnost
Lyme link VlsE/IgG and Enzygnost Borreliosis IgM (DADE Behring,
Marburg, Germany) and LIAISON Borrelia IgG and IgM (Diasorin,
Saluggia, Italy).

Considering only samples obtained at first presentation when EM was
clinically evident, 49/66 patients (72.4%) were IgG or IgM positive by
Enzygnost, whereas 33/66 (50.0%) patients were IgG or IgM positive by
LIAISON.

Taking into account the follow-up period, eight patients
sero-converted for IgG or IgM by Enzygnost and four by LIAISON.
Similar and very good specificity values were obtained by all methods.
Testing sera obtained from blood donors (n=300) and from patients
suffering from some of the most common biological conditions possibly
resulting in false-positive reactivity in Lyme disease serology
(n=100) showed that Enzygnost Lyme link VlsE/IgG was the more
specific (98.3%), followed by LIAISON Borrelia IgG (96.5%), and
considering IgM tests, Enzygnost Borreliosis IgM showed to be 95.3%%
specific, whereas the LIAISON Borrelia IgM was 92.8% specific.

Recombinant VlsE antigens obtained from all three B.burgdorferi
genospecies pathogenic to humans (included in Enzygnost Lyme link
VlsE/IgG) greatly improved serodiagnosis of Lyme disease.

Corresponding author: A. Marangoni
marangoni@aosp.bo.it

http://www..springerlink.com/content/b2176kl872670537

[blimeyitslymie]

A joint press release from the Companion Animal Parasite Council
http://www.capcvet.org/ and IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
http://www.idexx.com/
Included is a reference to http://www.dogsandticks.com/
where you can view an informative map showing the number of cases of
Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi) in dogs, Canine Ehrlichiosis (E.
canis) and Canine Anaplasmosis detected in the United States from 2000
to the present.

- -

Tick-borne Diseases Are Found in All 50 States
http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080122006084&newsLang=en
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2j6eoz

Ticks are on the rise and on the move – posing an increased risk to
people and pets

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veterinarians and industry experts
concerned with the spread of tick-borne diseases announced today the
results of a disturbing study that found tick populations are not only
increasing in number, but also in reach across the United States. The
results, presented during the 2008 North American Veterinary
Conference (NAVC) in Orlando, were part of a voluntary national
veterinary reporting system that was developed by IDEXX Laboratories
of Westbrook, Maine. The data uncovered the presence of at least three
tick-borne diseases, Lyme disease (Borrelia burgdorferi), anaplasmosis
(Anaplasma phagocytophilum) and ehrlichiosis (E.canis), in every state
in the country. All three tick-borne diseases can cause mild to severe
health complications and even death in humans and dogs, if left untreated.

"This information is important because it indicates the significant
degree to which people and pets are being exposed to tick-borne
diseases, and therefore, the risk of developing some very serious
illnesses," said Susan E. Little, DVM, PhD, Dipl. EVPC, Center for
Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University. "As
veterinarians, we need to incorporate this information into our
practice, continuing to stress the need for year-round tick control in
dogs and the importance of routinely screening for ticks and
tick-borne diseases."

These commonly recognized diseases in dogs could cause multiple health
problems. Lyme disease, commonly associated with both people and
canines, can often present with fever, weight loss, arthritis and
nausea in dogs. In people, if the disease is untreated, it can lead to
medical problems such as neurological damage, heart complications and
arthritis.

A recently recognized disease spread by ticks, anaplasmosis, can cause
mild to severe illnesses in dogs and has been known to cause death in
people. In ehrlichiosis, signs are very similar to anaplasmosis and
include potential neurological complications. Among people, 13 percent
of ehrlichiosis cases being reported are in children.

Common ticks of dogs in North America causing the biggest problem
include the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the
black-legged tick or "deer tick" (Ixodes scapularis in the East,
pacificus in the West), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus
sanguineus).

Complete text of press release:
http://tinyurl.com/2j6eoz

[blimeyitslymie]

Effect of electronic laboratory reporting on the burden of lyme
disease surveillance--New Jersey, 2001-2006.

Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2008 Jan 18;57(2):42-5.

Free full text here:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5702a4.htm

Lyme disease (LD) is a vector-borne illness caused by the spirochete
Borrelia burgdorferi and transmitted in the United States by
blacklegged ticks (Ixodes spp.). LD is most commonly found in the
northeastern, mid-Atlantic, and north-central regions of the United
States.

In 2005, New Jersey reported 38.6 LD cases per 100,000 population, the
third-highest incidence in the United States after Delaware and
Connecticut. Since 1980, New Jersey has mandated that health-care
providers and clinical laboratories report all LD cases to local
health departments, which investigate these reports to confirm that
they meet the national surveillance case definition.

Reports from health-care providers typically include exposure and
clinical information needed for case confirmation. In contrast,
reports from laboratories do not contain exposure and clinical
information, and local health departments must follow up with
health-care providers to obtain the missing information needed to
confirm a case for surveillance purposes.

In 2002, New Jersey expanded its paper-based laboratory reporting
system to include electronic laboratory-reporting (ELR) for all
laboratory-reportable diseases. During the next 4 years, New Jersey's
local health departments noted that the number of ELR reports for LD
and the time needed to handle them had begun to impede the
departments' abilities to address other public health priorities.

In 2006, to assess these concerns, the New Jersey Department of Health
and Senior Services evaluated the state's LD surveillance system. This
report summarizes the results of that evaluation, which determined
that during 2001-2004, the total annual number of LD reports increased
nearly fivefold (from 2,460 in 2001 to 11,957 in 2004), but confirmed
reports increased only 18% (from 2,371 in 2001 to 2,791 in 2004). ELR
represented 51% of reports received during 2001-2006, but only 29%
were confirmed upon investigation. These results illustrate the
difficulties associated with ELR reporting of LD in New Jersey,
especially the use of resources needed to address other public health
problems. Other states with similar difficulties might need to
reevaluate the resources used to confirm electronically reported LD
and other notifiable diseases.

PMID: 18199968

Free full text here:
http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/mm5702a4.htm

[blimeyitslymie]

"Even if the deer population was known and there were no animal rights
issues, there's still the question of how to control deer numbers in a
town or state that borders other towns and states with similar
deer-friendly terrain."

- -

Massive deer slay only way to stop Lyme
By Hoa Nguyen
Staff Writer, Greenwich Time, Greenwich, CT

http://www.greenwichtime.com/news/local/scn-gt-a1deermondayjan21,0,1460492.story?coll=green-news-local-headlines
or:
http://tinyurl.com/yrwtga

Published January 21 2008

Georgina Scholl is not calling for every deer to be killed, but she is
lobbying for a drastic reduction in the population, calling the
abundance of deer a public health hazard.

"Deer reduction is the only method that has been found to reduce Lyme
disease in any community," said the vice-chairwoman of the Connecticut
Coalition to Eradicate Lyme Disease.

Complete article:
http://tinyurl.com/yrwtga

Letters:
letters.greenwichtime@scni.com

[blimeyitslymie]

I inadvertantly put wrong title of the article above. It should read:

An Appraisal of Chronic Lyme

A little lyme fog today, sorry. B~


In the January 24, 2008 edition of New England Journal of Medicine,
Volume 358:428-431, you'll find the following correspondence titled,
An Appraisal of "Chronic Lyme Disease"

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/4/428

Letters to NEJM are in response to:
Feder HM Jr, Johnson BJB, O'Connell S, et al. A critical appraisal of
"chronic Lyme disease." N Engl J Med 2007;357:1422-1431.

Among the letters are one from Daniel J. Cameron, M.D., M.P.H. who now
serves as the President of ILADS and another from David J. Volkman,
M.D., Ph.D. of SUNY Stony Brook.

http://content.nejm.org/cgi/content/full/358/4/428

[blimeyitslymie]

Autoimmunity Research Foundation. "Vitamin D Deficiency Study Raises
New Questions About Disease And Supplements." ScienceDaily 27 January
2008.
http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2008/01/080125223302.htm


Low blood levels of vitamin D have long been associated with disease,
and the assumption has been that vitamin D supplements may protect
against disease. However, this new research demonstrates that ingested
vitamin D is immunosuppressive and that low blood levels of vitamin D
may be actually a result of the disease process. Supplementation may
make the disease worse.

In a new report Trevor Marshall, Ph.D., professor at Australia's
Murdoch University School of Biological Medicine and Biotechnology,
explains how increased vitamin D intake affects much more than just
nutrition or bone health. The paper explains how the Vitamin D Nuclear
Receptor (VDR) acts in the repression or transcription of hundreds of
genes, including genes associated with diseases ranging from cancers
to multiple sclerosis.

Complete article:
http://www.sciencedaily.com­/releases/2008/01/080125223302.htm

Journal reference: Marshall TG. Vitamin D discovery outpaces FDA
decision making. Bioessays. 2008 Jan 15;30(2):173-182
[Epub ahead of print]
Online ISSN: 1521-1878 Print ISSN: 0265-9247 PMID: 18200565

[blimeyitslymie]

Challenges
Vitamin D discovery outpaces FDA decision making
Trevor G. Marshall*
School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University,
Western Australia
BioEssays 30:173-182, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Published Online: 15 Jan 2008

http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/117885976/ABSTRACT?CRETRY=1&SRETRY=0
or: http://tinyurl.com/27hv6k

email: Trevor G. Marshall trevor.m@autoimmunityresearch.org

*Correspondence to Trevor G. Marshall, Autoimmunity Research
Foundation, California Foundation, 3423 Hill Canyon Ave. Thousand
Oaks, California 91360.

Abstract
The US FDA currently encourages the addition of vitamin D to milk and
cereals, with the aim of reducing rickets in children and osteoporosis
in adults.

However, vitamin D not only regulates the expression of genes
associated with calcium homeostasis, but also genes associated with
cancers, autoimmune disease, and infection. It does this by
controlling the activation of the vitamin D receptor (VDR), a type 1
nuclear receptor and DNA transcription factor.

Molecular biology is rapidly coming to an understanding of the
multiplicity of roles played by the VDR, but clinical medicine is
having difficulty keeping up with the pace of change. For example, the
FDA recently proposed a rule change that will encourage high levels of
vitamin D to be added to even more foods, so that the manufacturers
can claim those foods reduce the risk of osteoporosis.

The FDA docket does not review one single paper detailing the
transcriptional activity of vitamin D, even though, on average, one
new paper a day is being published on that topic. Nor do they review
whether widespread supplementation with vitamin D, an immunomodulatory
secosteroid, might predispose the population to immune dysfunction.

This BioEssay explores how lifelong supplementation of the food chain
with vitamin D might well be contributing to the current epidemics of
obesity and chronic disease.

BioEssays 30:173-182, 2008. © 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Digital Object Identifier (DOI) 10.1002/bies.20708
http://tinyurl.com/27hv6k

[blimeyitslymie]

"MyD88 deficient mice infected by Borrelia
burgdorferi developped extreme hypergammaglobulinemia compared to
wild-type animals, and high levels of IgM autoantibodies."

- -

MyD88 negatively controls hypergammaglobulinemia with autoantibody
production during bacterial infection

Infection and Immunity, Accepts, published online ahead of print on 28
January 2008.
http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/IAI.00951-07v1?ct=ct
Infect. Immun. doi:10.1128/IAI.00951-07

Anne Woods, Pauline Soulas-Sprauel, Benoit Jaulhac, Bérénice Arditi,
Anne-Marie Knapp, Jean-Louis Pasquali, Anne-Sophie Korganow*, and
Thierry Martin

Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, U737,
Strasbourg, 67000, France;
Université Louis Pasteur, Faculté de Médecine, Hôpital Civil,
Strasbourg, 67000, France;
Université Louis Pasteur, Bactériologie, Hôpital Civil, Strasbourg,
67000, France

* To whom correspondence should be addressed:
Email: Anne-Sophie.Korganow@hemato-ulp.u-strasbg.fr

Abstract

A large body of evidence has convincingly shown that Toll like
receptors are necessary sensors for infections with pathogens, but
their activation was also suggested to generate autoimmunity. During
experimental infections, the lack of these sensors or of their
signaling molecules should lead to a deficient immune response.

We found out that MyD88, the major adaptator of the Toll/IL1 receptor
signaling pathway, can actually acts as a negative regulator of B cell
function in some settings. MyD88 deficient mice infected by Borrelia
burgdorferi developped extreme hypergammaglobulinemia compared to
wild-type animals, and high levels of IgM autoantibodies.

In vivo, cell transfer experiments and cell blocking assays showed
that this phenotype was not linked to the absence of MyD88 in B cells,
but rather to CD4 T cell and likely dendritic cell dysfunctions
leading to a Th1 to Th2 cytokine switch.

In addition, our results suggest a relative defect in the Ig class
switch recombination process since MyD88 KO mice developed mostly IgM
antibodies.

Collectively, these data emphasize the complex role of the Toll/IL1
receptor pathway in tuning the immune response against infection and
avoiding autoimmunity.

http://iai.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/IAI.00951-07v1?ct=ct
Infect. Immun. doi:10.1128/IAI.00951-07

[blimeyitslymie]

I've learned about a new book due out in May 2008 titled
"Cure Unknown: Inside The Lyme Disease Epidemic"
by Pamela Weintraub

Here's a snippet of the book's review written by Rita Stanley, Ph.D. and posted at Lymeblog.com:

"Well established science writer, and now senior editor at Discover, Pamela Weintraub spent countless hours interviewing key players in the Lyme disease saga and researching exhaustively to come up with the definitive Lyme disease story."

http://lymeblog.com/modules.php?name=News&file=categories&op=newindex&catid=6

It can be pre-ordered from Amazon and Borders.
ISBN: 0312378122

For more on Pamela Weintraub:
http://www.astralgia.com/resume.html

[blimeyitslymie]

Flagellin (Fla) and outer surface proteins (Osp) from Borrelia
burgdorferi are not g*****ylated

Journal of Bacterilology, published online ahead of print on 1
February 2008
J. Bacteriol. doi:10.1128/JB.01885-07
http://jb.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/JB.01885-07v1?ct=ct

Ján Sterba*, Marie Vancová, Nataliia Rudenko, Maryna Golovchenko,
Tammy-Lynn Tremblay, John F. Kelly, C. Roger MacKenzie, Susan M.
Logan, and Libor Grubhoffer

Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovská 31,
CZ-37005 Ceské Budejovice, Czech Republic;
Biology Center of Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, Institute
of Parasitology, Branisovská 31, CZ-37005 Ceské Budejovice;
Institute of Biological Sciences, National Research Council of Canada,
100 Sussex Dr., Ottawa, ON, Canada, K1A 0R6

* To whom correspondence should be addressed.
Email: sterbaj@paru.cas.cz

Abstract

We investigated the presence of glycoproteins in Borrelia burgdorferi.

We did not find any evidence for g*****ylation of the major outer
membrane proteins, OspA, and OspB the structural flagellar proteins,
FlaB and FlaA.

We suggest that glycoproteins present on the surface of B. burgdorferi
may be tightly bound culture medium glycoproteins.

Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the
Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

http://jb.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/JB.01885-07v1?ct=ct

[blimeyitslymie]

The role of migratory birds in introduction and range expansion of
Ixodes scapularis ticks, and Borrelia burgdorferi and Anaplasma
phagocytophilum in Canada

N. H. Ogden*, R. L. Lindsay, K. Hanincova, I. K. Barker, M.
Bigras-Poulin, D. F. Charron, A. Heagy, C. M. Francis, C. J.
O'Callaghan, I. Schwartz, and R. A. Thompson

Applied and Environmental Microbiology
published online ahead of print on 1 February 2008
doi:10.1128/AEM.01982-07
http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/AEM.01982-07v1?ct=ct

Foodborne, Waterborne and Zoonotic Infections Division, Public Health
Agency of Canada, Ottawa, Canada;
Groupe de recherché en épidémiologie des zoonoses et santé publique,
Faculté de médecine vétérinaire, Université de Montréal, Quebec, Canada;
Special Pathogens Division, Public Health Agency of Canada, National
Microbiology Laboratory, Winnipeg, Canada;
Department of Microbiology and Immunology, New York Medical College,
Valhalla, NY, USA;
Canadian Cooperative Wildlife Health Centre, Dept Pathobiology,
University of Guelph, Guelph, Ontario, Canada;
International Development Research Centre, Ottawa, Canada; Bird
Studies Canada, Port Rowan, Ontario, Canada;
Migratory Bird Populations Division, Canadian Wildlife Service,
Environment Canada, Ottawa, Canada; Department of Community Health and
Epidemiology, Queen's University, Kingston, Ontario, Canada

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email:
nicholas_ogden@phac-aspc.gc.ca or nicholas.ogden@umontreal.ca

Abstract

During spring of 2005 and 2006, 39095 northward migrating landbirds
were captured at 12 bird observatories in eastern Canada to
investigate the role of migratory birds in northward range expansion
of Lyme borreliosis, Human Granulocytic Anaplasmosis and their tick
vector Ixodes scapularis.

The prevalence of birds carrying I. scapularis ticks (mostly nymphs)
was 0.35% (95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.30 – 0.42), but a nested
study by experienced observers suggested a more realistic infestation
prevalence of 2.2% (95% CI = 1.18 –3.73).

Mean infestation intensity was 1.66 per bird. Overall, 15.4% of I.
scapularis nymphs (95% CI = 10.7 – 20.9) were PCR-positive for
Borrelia burgdorferi, but only 8% (95% CI = 3.8 – 15.1) were positive
when excluding nymphs collected at Long Point, Ontario where B.
burgdorferi is endemic.

A wide range of ospC and rrs–rrl intergenic spacer alleles of B.
burgdorferi were identified in infected ticks, including those
associated with disseminated Lyme disease, and alleles that are rare
in northeastern USA.

Overall, 0.4% (95% CI = 0.03 – 0.41) of I. scapularis nymphs were
PCR-positive for Anaplasma phagocytophilum. We estimate that migratory
birds disperse 50-175 million I. scapularis across Canada each spring,
implicating migratory birds as possibly significant in I. scapularis
range expansion in Canada.

However, the low infection prevalence in ticks carried by the birds
raises questions as to how B. burgdorferi and A. phagocytophilum
become endemic in any tick populations established by bird-transported
ticks.

Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the
Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

http://aem.asm.org/cgi/content/abstract/AEM.01982-07v1?ct=ct

[blimeyitslymie]

Billy Silvia, 52, a local tradesman and deer hunter, has lived on the
island year-round for 22 years and says he began seeing coyotes three
years ago. Few believed him then. "Now at night I can hear them
yipping from my porch."

Silvia, who has suffered terribly from Lyme disease that wasn't
quickly detected, raises turkeys, peacocks and exotic fowl on his few
acres. He used to shoot two dozen marauding raccoons a year, he says.
This year, "I didn't see one," a fact he attributes to the coyotes'
well-rounded appetite.

A coyote can't bring down a healthy deer but it can easily kill a fawn.

"I have never found a baby deer in the middle of the road until this
summer," says Silvia. "I found two fawns. There was no meat left. They
took all the meat all out of them."

--

Where have all the deer gone?
12:42 AM EST on Friday, February 1, 2008
Providence Journal, Providence, RI
http://www.projo.com/news/content/prudence_deer_02-01-08_E28NLL4_v20.37ee210.html
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2t785o

By Tom Mooney,Journal Staff Writer

Joel Maguire pulls into their yard, overlooking the West Passage, and
heads out back. He clangs the suspended bell and waits. And waits. He
peers into the bordering green thicket where in years past he's had as
many as 23 deer emerge from the thorny brush — his own Field of Dreams
moments.

"I haven't seen a deer in two months," he says.

Where have all the deer gone?

The question is on the minds and lips of many of the island's 125
year-round residents this winter — not to mention a segment of New
England deer hunters who, for years, have journeyed to Prudence Island
to cull from one of the densest populations of whitetail deer on the
East Coast.

Complete article:
http://tinyurl.com/2t785o

Letters:
letters@projo.com

[blimeyitslymie]

This has become a pattern. After 30 days of antibodies, all symptoms
disappear only to flair up at odd times with no particular reason.
Most often it returns with severe swelling in his knee. Doctors said
the disease also attacked the cartilage in his left ankle and
completely destroyed it.

"Vets are more up to date on Lyme disease than medical doctors," Pete
said of using their services for their dogs, who also have also tested
positive for Lyme.

- -

Trouble in Paradise:
Lyme Disease Spreads in Chester County Epicenter

Lancaster Farming, Ephrata, Pennsylvania
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/1070
Friday, 02/01/2008 - 1:05pm.

Lou Ann Good
Food and Family Features Editor

ATGLEN, Pa. — Pete and Sally Stees' 106-acre farm bordering the
Octorara Creek looks like a piece of Paradise. It's hard to fathom
trouble lurking among the beauty of the rolling farmland, the pond
sparkling in the winter sun, the 1700s farm house the adjacent log
cabin with its ties to the Underground Railroad and the untouched
woodland bordering the Octorara waterbasin.

Unfortunately the Stees' farm sits within the epicenter of Lyme
disease, which is spread by deer ticks and wildlife that inhabit the area.

The ugly tentacles of the disease have heavily infiltrated the Stees
household. Both Sally and Pete have been diagnosed with the disease
known for its fickle symptoms. Treatment of the disease is highly
controversial, and seldom effective in permanently eradicating it.
Both Sally and Pete have had different experiences with how Lyme
Disease invaded and attacked their bodies. Their stories demonstrate
the frustration patients and doctors face in treatment.

Full story:
http://www.lancasterfarming.com/node/1070

Letters:
farming@lancasterfarming.com

[blimeyitslymie]

The February 2008 issue of the Southern Medical Journal
http://www.smajournalonline.com/
also includes a Letter to the Editor titled, "Acute Infection with Human Monocytic Ehrlichiosis: The Tip of the Iceberg?" from: Raphael B. Stricker, MD; Elizabeth L. Maloney, MD and an article titled,"Lyme Carditis: Another Diagnostically Elusive Spirochetal Disease" from Jack P. Chen, MD, FACC, FSCAI, FCCP

Both are only available to subscribers.

- -

Chest Pain in a Military Recruit.

Case Report

Southern Medical Journal. 101(2):202-204, February 2008.
http://www.smajournalonline.com/pt/re/smj/abstract.00007611-200802000-00028.htm;jsessionid=HpYQxhNLd9FYQVwpf1JxvKcLZ4ygG Mx6CS7FpBp2N7jPXS3MdlBN!1138671057!181195629!8091!-1
or:
http://tinyurl.com/34he5w

Beck, Amy S. DO; Okulicz, Jason F. MD; Rasnake, Mark S. MD

Abstract:

Lyme borreliosis remains an important and common vector-borne illness
in the United States, Europe, and Asia. In the majority of cases, it
presents as a localized rash that seldom causes further complications
with antibiotic treatment.

If left undetected however, various neurologic, cardiovascular, and
musculoskeletal manifestations may occur.

Reported here is the case of a basic military trainee who first
presented with cardiac manifestations of Lyme disease, highlighting
this tick-borne illness as a rare, easily forgotten, and treatable
cause of complete heart block.

http://tinyurl.com/34he5w

(C) 2008 Southern Medical Association

[blimeyitslymie]

According to the Conference program, Paul Mead, MD MPH
CHIEF, EPIDEMIOLOGY AND SURVEILLANCE ACTIVITY
BACTERIAL DISEASES BRANCH
DIVISION OF VECTOR-BORNE
INFECTIOUS DISEASES
CENTRE FOR DISEASE CONTROL (CDC)
FT. COLLINS, COLORADO will be speaking on the topic:
Lyme Disease: Recent Trends and Controversies

Objectives:
• To describe the epidemiology of Lyme disease in the United States;
• To discuss the condition "Chronic Lyme Disease" and associated
controversy;
• To describe prospects for control and prevention of Lyme disease.

For more information about the AMMI Canada - CACMID Annual
Conference 2008 go to http://www.ammi.ca/annual_conference/index.php

The sessions are open to the media.

- Rick

- -

Media Advisory - Canadian and European Experts Join Forces to Discuss
Infectious Diseases in Upcoming National Conference

Vancouver Set to Host AMMI Canada - CACMID Annual Conference 2008

OTTAWA, Feb. 12 /CNW/ - Organizers of AMMI Canada - CACMID Annual
Conference, Canada's largest Infectious Diseases and Medical
Microbiology gathering, announced today that the conference will be
held in Vancouver from February 27 - March 1, 2008, at the Sheraton
Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel.

This year, participants of the conference will look at innovative
trends in prevention and control of infections and ways to bridge the
gap that divides academic learning and real-world practice. They will
also explore strategies for continued mobilization and collaboration
for actions to reduce the harms associated with global Tuberculosis;
recent trends and controversies in tick and mosquito-borne infections;
and the increased resistance of microbes to diverse therapeutics and
antibiotic misuse.

The conference will offer over 35 sessions, meetings and workshops
featuring important scientific advances and discussion of current
issues among medical experts. An estimated 500 delegates including
health care providers,educators, policy makers, and health care
leaders from Canada, United States and Europe are expected to attend
the conference to share current knowledge on a full spectrum of issues
about Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology.

"Infection prevention and control is a national issue, requiring
national solutions. This conference will be an opportunity for those
of us fighting Infectious Diseases in their communities to share
knowledge and develop new strategies to prevent and treat infection at
a nation's level," said Dr. Michel Laverdi*re, President, Association
of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease (AMMI) Canada.

"The program is designed to harness the knowledge, skills and
commitment of the dedicated medical microbiologists and infectious
diseases experts from across Canada, and internationally. We are eager
to join forces with other communities to build support for infectious
disease prevention, diagnosis, treatment and care," said Dr. Graham
Tipples, President, Canadian Association for Clinical Microbiology and
Infectious Diseases (CACMID).

<< Conference at a Glance >>

The Sheraton Vancouver Wall Centre Hotel, Vancouver

*Thursday, February 28th 2008*

- Lyme Disease: Recent Trends and Controversies. A session
dedicated to describing the epidemiology of Lyme disease in the US,
the controversies associated with the condition and the
prospects for control and prevention.

- A Canadian perspective of the Mosquito-Borne Viral
Pathogens will describe the public health impact of Canadians
encountering travel associated arboviruses, and detail the latest
developments in the diagnosis and treatment of arbovirus-associated
illnesses.

- Nosocomial UTI and Urosepsis - A review of the burden,
morbidity and risk factors of nosocomial urinary tract infection. But
what can we improve?

- An approach to wound assessment. What to do with what lurks beneath
the bandage: Is it science or witchcraft?

*Friday, February 29th 2008*

- Global epidemiology of Tuberculosis (TB), the epidemiology of
active and latent TB infections and the potential impact of extremely
drug resistant TB.

- New diagnostics in TB and Interferon Gamma Release Assays.

- Novel strategies for resistance testing in TB.

*Saturday, March 1st 2008*

- Are we misusing antibiotic? What are the tools available in
Canada that would help us optimize antimicrobial use?

- Students, Saliva and Swelling: A perfect storm for the
sharing of Mumps in Canada. A session focusing on the epidemiology of
Mumps in Nova Scotia, how it has spread throughout Canada, and
what are the possible reasons of current Mumps outbreaks.

- How close are we to a drug treatment for Hepatitis B, and would the
new therapeutics calm the storm?

- Where do we stand on the development of new classes of
antiretrovirals? Is there light at the end of the dark HIV tunnel?

- Understanding the non-traditional pulmonary infections in Cystic
Fibrosis: It's not just the usual suspects.

About AMMI Canada - CACMID Annual Conference

The Annual Conference 'Where Canada's experts in Clinical
Microbiology and infectious diseases meet', is a conjoint meeting
between the Association of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Disease
(AMMI) Canada http://www.ammi.ca/ and the Canadian Association for
Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (CACMID)
http://www.cacmid.ca/. The meeting is also an approved Accredited
Group Learning Activity as defined by the Maintenance of Certification
program of the Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada.

For more information about the AMMI Canada - CACMID Annual
Conference 2008 go to http://www.ammi.ca/annual_conference/index.php.
The sessions are open to the media.

[blimeyitslymie]

Out of adversity comes positive attitude
February 11, 2008
Star-Gazette.com Elmira/Corning, New York
http://www.star-gazette.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080211/OPINION/802110302/1004
or http://tinyurl.com/38286w

Victoria Wilcox, 17, is boldly going where many teens have not gone
before. Because she's been diagnosed with a debilitating case of Lyme
disease, which can often leave her nauseated, weak, confused and
fatigued, Victoria has had to grow up fast. Spending more than a month
in the hospital at once would have anyone thinking that her glass is
half-empty, but this teen has instead decided to view the situation in
a more positive light.

Victoria says, "I am thankful for the people it has brought into my
life and some things that it has brought to me." And, as a matter of
fact, Victoria has focused all of her positive energy and her
gratitude into the organization of a Lyme disease walk with her
friend, Sarah Lynch, which will occur on June 7.

With the help of friends, family and others who are affected by Lyme,
Victoria is hoping that this walk will raise awareness about the
disease itself and its prevention. Victoria's Web site,
http://www.lymewalk.org, contains all the information regarding the
walk, Victoria's own story about her struggle with Lyme disease and
how the public can show its support.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/38286w

Letters:
Use the web form:
http://www.stargazette.com/misc/forms/letterstoeditor.html

[blimeyitslymie]

The newest issue of the Lyme Times http://www.LymeTimes.org/ has just been published (Winter '07) issue. Among other things, this issue has articles on the following topics:

-- Lyme's impact on estrogen and the adrenals.

-- Report on Dr. Fallon's study on extended treatment at Columbia University.

-- Lyme and autism spectrum disorder.

-- An excellent article explaining the different issues with lab testing.

-- Dr. Burrrascano's Lyme Disease Registry Program.

-- Elliott Pollack's passionate argument in support of Dr. Charles Jones before the Connecticut Medical Board.

PAST ISSUES OF THE LYME TIMES ARE AVAILABLE, including ones on Integrative Medicine and Alternative Medicine.

Please contact Marisa at mnayfach@yahoo.com if you would like additional information about joining CALDA so you can obtain these issues, or go to http://www.LymeTimes.org/

[blimeyitslymie]

"Tick saliva is a potential source for novel pharmacological agents
that could be useful for clinical practice."

- -

Salivating for Knowledge: Potential Pharmacological Agents in Tick Saliva
citation:
Hovius JWR, Levi M, Fikrig E (2008) Salivating for Knowledge:
Potential Pharmacological Agents in Tick Saliva. PLoS Med 5(2): e43

http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050043

Published: February 12, 2008

Copyright: © 2008 Hovius et al. This is an open-access article
distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source
are credited.

"The incidence of tick-borne diseases has drastically increased over
the past few years, resulting in a marked increase in research on
tick–host–pathogen interactions. As a result, the knowledge on
molecules present in tick saliva and their function has significantly
expanded.

Ticks are obligate hematophagous ectoparasites, and hundreds of tick
species are distributed worldwide. While taking a blood meal, ticks
are attached to their host for several days and introduce saliva into
the host skin.

Like saliva from other hematophagous animals, such as mosquitoes,
flies, leeches, and nematode species, tick saliva contains a wide
range of physiologically active molecules that are crucial for
attachment to the host or for the transmission of pathogens, and that
interact with host processes, including coagulation and fibrinolysis,
immunity and inflammation, and angiogenesis.

In this article, we discuss molecules in tick saliva that have been
intensively studied in vitro or in animal models for human diseases,
and that, due to their specificity, are potential future anticoagulant
or immunosuppressive agents. We also discuss how immunologically
targeting specific tick salivary proteins could prevent the
transmission of tick-borne pathogens from the tick to the host."

The complete article:
http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.0050043

[blimeyitslymie]

Complement Split Products C3a and C4a Are Early Markers of Acute Lyme
Disease in Tick Bite Patients in the United States.
Int Arch Allergy Immunol. 2008 Feb 13;146(3):255-261
[Epub ahead of print]
Shoemaker RC, Giclas PC, Crowder C, House D, Glovsky MM.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18270493?dopt=Abstract

Background: Current laboratory markers do not readily detect acute
Lyme disease. We assessed the utility of complement and its split
products as markers of Lyme disease in patients shortly after a tick
bite.

Methods: Thirty-one consecutive acute Lyme disease patients, 14 with
and 17 without erythema migrans (EM) skin rash, seen by a physician
within 96 h of a tick bite were matched with 24 consecutive tick bite
patients without Lyme disease symptoms and 46 healthy control subjects.

Complement and split products measured included factor B, Bb, C4, C3c,
C3a(des Arg), C4a(des Arg), C1q- and C3d-containing immune complexes,
and C2. Results: C2, C4, C3 and factor B levels were within normal
ranges in all groups. C3a and C4a levels were significantly higher in
acute Lyme disease patients than in tick bite and healthy control
groups (both p < 0.001).

All acute Lyme disease patients, regardless of EM, had elevated levels
of C3a or C4a. Few tick bite controls had elevated levels of C3a
(2/20) or C4a (5/24) and only 1 of the healthy control subjects had
elevated C3a (0/46) or C4a (1/32).

Conclusions: These findings suggest that C3a and C4a may be useful
markers of Lyme disease in patients seen shortly after tick bite, even
in those without EM.

Copyright (c) 2008 S. Karger AG, Basel.

PMID: 18270493

[blimeyitslymie]

Development of hepatitis B virus capsids into a whole-chain protein
antigen display platform: New particulate Lyme disease vaccines

International Journal of Medical Microbiology
Volume 298, Issues 1-2, 3 January 2008, Pages 135-142
Special Issue: New Vaccination Strategies

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmm.2007.08.002

Michael Nassal, Claudia Skamel, Maren Vogel, Peter A. Kratz, Thomas
Stehle, Reinhard Wallich and Markus M. Simon

Abstract

The immunogenicity of peptides and small protein fragments can be
considerably enhanced by their presentation on particulate carriers
such as capsid-like particles (CLPs) from hepatitis B virus (HBV).

HBV CLPs are icosahedral nanoparticles formed by 90 or 120 core
protein dimers. Insertions into the immunodominant c/e1 B cell
epitope, a surface-exposed loop on the HBV capsid protein, are
especially immunogenic.

Here we investigated whether the HBV core protein can be exploited as
a vaccine carrier for whole-chain protein antigens, using two
clinically relevant proteins derived from a bacterial human pathogen,
the Lyme disease agent Borrelia burgdorferi. For this purpose we
analyzed CLP formation by core fusions with the entire 255-amino-acid
ectodomain of outer surface lipoprotein A (OspA), and with two
distinct, 189 amino acid long variants of the dimeric OspC (OspCa,
OspCb) of B. burgdorferi.

OspA appropriately inserted into the HBV core protein yielded a
multimerization-competent fusion protein, termed coreOspA. Although
only partially assembling into regular CLPs, coreOspA induced
antibodies to OspA, including the Ig isotype profile and specificity
for the protective epitope "LA-2", with an efficiency similar to that
of recombinant lipidated OspA, the first generation vaccine against
Lyme disease.

Moreover, coreOspA actively and passively protected mice against
subsequent challenge with B. burgdorferi. Fusions with the two OspC
variants were found to efficiently form regular CLPs, most probably by
OspC dimerization across different core protein dimers.

In mice, both coreOspC preparations induced high-titered antibody
responses to the homologous but also to the heterologous OspC variant,
which conferred protection against challenge with B. burgdorferi.

The data demonstrate the principal applicability of HBV CLPs to act as
potent immunomodulator even for structurally complex full-length
polypeptide chains, and thus open new avenues for novel vaccine designs.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijmm.2007.08.002

[blimeyitslymie]

LAKE ALFRED | A struggling laboratory here is learning it may require more than building a better mousetrap to get the world beating a path to its door.

RICK RUNION | THE LEDGER
CENTRAL FLORIDA RESEARCH board member Clarence Boswell, left, and president Tom Long, at the Lake Alfred office on Monday.



Lake Alfred Facility World Renowned After developing an improved diagnostic test for Lyme disease, Central Florida Research Inc. in Lake Alfred is still waiting for a crowd at its doorstep.

"These last seven months, nobody in this business has gotten paid," said Tom Long, 55, the lab's executive director. "The revenue has been just enough to cover our expenses."

The staff has shrunk from eight people to three in the past year, Long said. He hopes the new diagnostic tool, called a "Lyme Antigen Test," will make Central Florida Research profitable.

The lab staff developed the antigen test under the direction of its medical director, Clifford Threlkeld, a pathologist and also lab director for the Heart of Florida Regional Medical Center in Davenport. Central Florida Research has applied for a patent, which it hopes to get in 2009.

"I do think it will be successful," Threlkeld said. "It's not the be-all-to-end-all, but it definitely adds to what's out there."

Lyme is a bacterial disease most commonly spread through the bite of a deer tick. In its early stages, the disease causes flu-like symptoms, including fever, fatigue and muscle or joint pain.

Left untreated, the bacteria can cause chronic problems in the heart and nervous system, including cardiac inflammation and paralysis. It can be fatal.

Because Lyme disease shares symptoms with other illnesses, it's very difficult to diagnose.

Even when doctors suspect a patient might have Lyme, the most widely used diagnostic tool, a blood test called a "Western blot," is accurate less than half the time, said Nick Harris, the owner of IGeneX Labs in Palo Alto, Calif., the leading U.S. lab for Western blot screening.

That high rate of "false negatives" - people who test negative despite having the disease - also causes problems for Lyme sufferers, said Lori Hoerl of the Florida Lyme Advocacy Group in Jacksonville, who has the disease.

If a doctor later diagnoses Lyme disease, insurance companies will use a negative Western blot to deny paying for treatment, she said.

The Central Florida Research test represents an improvement because it detects the actual presence of the Lyme bacteria, said Pat Phillips, its lab director. The Western blot detects only antibodies, or substances the body produces in reaction to the bacteria.

The Lyme Antigen Test has proven to be about 90 percent accurate, Long said.

The lab finished development of the test a year ago, he said, but it took seven months to get state and federal licensing to perform it. Since then, Central Florida Research has been trying to spread the word among front-line doctors who treat the disease.

Besides word of mouth, the lab team has an information booth it has taken to medical conferences and seminars, such as a Jan. 19 event in St. Peterburg, he said.

Central Florida Research does about 10 to 20 tests a day, but it has the capacity to do 100 tests, Long said. It charges $250 per test, slightly higher than a typical lab fee.

The lab's Web site, www.centralfloridaresearch.com, also has helped market the test, he added. It's gotten referrals worldwide, including Chile, England, France and Germany.

From a personal standpoint, the results have been satisfying. A Winter Haven woman in her 30s had led an active, vibrant life until last year, when chronic fatigue forced her to drop out of graduate school, Long said. Previous tests were negative, but the antigen test showed she did have the Lyme bacteria.

"She's gotten her life back. She's back in graduate school," he said.

A 60-year-old woman from Chile also had been battling pain and fatigue for years but tested negative for Lyme, Long said. She's undergoing successful treatment after the antigen test proved positive.

Despite the state and federal certifications and the clinical results, Long, Hoerl and Threlkeld agreed Central Florida Research needs to gain the trust of the medical community before the test becomes widely accepted.

Long said he believes the small Lake Alfred lab can develop the same high regard enjoyed by Harris' IGeneX Labs.

"He's developed a reputation," Long added. "There's room in the marketplace for another company."

[ Kevin Bouffard can be reached at kevin.bouffard@theledger.com or at 863-802-7591. ]

[blimeyitslymie]

"[Judith] Weeg said her organization is asking the state to ensure
mandatory insurance coverage for Lyme disease patients, many of whom
exhaust their life savings dealing with the illness; further physician
education; and a defined reporting system so that numbers accurately
reflect the disease's incidence."

"She has organized a local support group for those suffering from Lyme
disease. [Lisa] Mott said the next meeting is Tuesday, March 18, from
7-9 p.m. at Council Bluffs Fire Station 4, located at 2111 Green View
Road. For more information, call (712) 366-4501."

The Lyme Disease Association of Iowa can be contacted at P.O. Box 86,
Story City, IA 50248, (515) 432-3628 and/or ticktalk2@mchsi.com

- -

Lyme disease victims want state action
Tom McMahon, Staff Writer
February 21, 2008
The Daily Nonpareil, Council Bluffs, Iowa
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19318338&BRD=2703&PAG=461&dept_id=555106&rfi=6
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2dxraj

The Lyme Disease Association of Iowa recently met with Lieutenant
Governor Patty Judge and the state's director of public health, Tom
Newton, to discuss the lack of education in the state about what
Judith Weeg, co-director of the LDA of IA, calls "a silent epidemic."

Weeg, once a health educator with the Centers for Disease Control and
a Lyme disease victim, said early diagnosis and treatment is critical
to its cure. Several of those who met with Judge and Newton had no
such luck.

She said LDA members described tortures they endured, such as being
placed in mental hospitals, before Lyme disease was diagnosed. Others
developed cancer from the ongoing destruction of their immune systems.

Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/2dxraj

Letters:
Letters must include the writer's name, address and telephone number.

Hold letters to a maximum of 400 words. Longer letters may be
shortened for space reasons.

Send letters to Your Views at The Daily Nonpareil, Box 797, Council
Bluffs, IA, 51502. Letters may also be faxed to (712) 325-5776 or
e-mailed to:
editorial@nonpareilonline.com

[blimeyitslymie]

"This information has become a media hit, but it has been slightly
distorted. So far we have just a prototype of the vaccine, and only on
the basis of preclinical trials' results we will seek a strategic
partner for the production," said Weigl.

- -

Czech producer may have Lyme vaccine in 7 years
By Czech Press Agency, CTK / Published 21 February 2008
The Prague Daily Monitor, Prague, Czech Republic
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/278/czech_national_news/18967/

Olomouc, North Moravia, Feb 20 (CTK) - The development of a vaccine
against Lyme disease (borreliosis) will take at least seven years
though scientists from the Olomouc-based institute already have its
formula, Evzen Weigl, head of the Immunology Institute of Olomouc
university, told reporters Wednesday.

The vaccine is being developed by a five-member research team in
Olomouc in cooperation with colleagues from the Bioveta pharmaceutical
company in Ivanovice, south Moravia.

Bioveta director Libor Bittner told the Ekonom weekly in January that
the vaccine is being tested in the Czech Republic and Germany and the
results of the tests are expected by July.

"This information has become a media hit, but it has been slightly
distorted. So far we have just a prototype of the vaccine, and only on
the basis of preclinical trials' results we will seek a strategic
partner for the production," said Weigl.

He added that a veterinary version of the vaccine was planned first.

Full Story:
http://www.praguemonitor.com/en/278/czech_national_news/18967/

Letters: editor@praguemonitor.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Sign up to help with inaugural Lyme walk

Star-Gazette, Elmira/Corning, New York
February 21, 2008

http://www.stargazettenews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080221/UPDATE/302210020
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2yujvk

The area's first walk for Lyme Disease will be held from 1 to 6 p.m.
June 7, 2008 at the Holding Point Recreation Complex at the Center,
190 Wygant Road in Horseheads.

The walk, called "Lyme Walk: for Those Who Can't," is being organized
by two Horseheads teenagers (one of whom has Lyme Disease) and is
sponsored by the Corning/Finger Lakes Chapter of the Lyme Disease
Association.

Since the event is solely to create awareness of the disease, there is
no walk registration fee. People can make donations or raise money
through sponsors if they choose. Pre-registration for the walk is from
April 11 through May 16. All those who pre-register will have the
option to receive a T-shirt for $10.

For more information, visit http://www.lymewalk.org/

[blimeyitslymie]

The study found the average rate of infection of ticks in Bethel,
Easton, Greenwich, Newtown and Redding was 60 percent."

"Sesto is cautious in interpreting the data and said she couldn't make
an assumption there will be more cases of Lyme Disease. But she said
the study shows there is a serious health concern for Fairfield County
residents."

- -

Study: Ticks with Lyme Disease up
Friday, February 22, 2008
The Wilton Villager, Wilton, Connecticut
http://www.wiltonvillager.com/wilton_templates/wilton_story/291051720885970.php
or:
http://tinyurl.com/2e4s8f

By FRANK MacEACHERN, fmaceachern@thestamfordtimes.com

WILTON — The state should move on combating Lyme Disease said a Wilton
official after a study revealed high rates of infected ticks in
Fairfield County sparking concerns about an increased rate of Lyme
Disease this year.

"The state has got to get together on this. They're pretty fragmented
on the issue," said Patricia Sesto, Wilton's environmental affairs
director. "The state has a West Nile virus strategy even though it's
far less prevalent than Lyme Disease."

Sesto is also chair of the Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management
Alliance (FCMDMA) which sponsored the study by University of New Haven
assistant professor of biology and environmental science, Dr. Eva
Sapi. Sapi could not be reached for contact by press time.

The alliance is asking the state, including the departments of public
health and environmental protection, to work together to educate
people Lyme Disease.

Full Story:
http://tinyurl.com/2e4s8f

Letters: No easy to find procedure. You could contact the reporter,
FRANK MacEACHERN, fmaceachern@thestamfordtimes.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Research Foundation for Tick-Borne Diseases to Fund Studies of
Neurological and Immunological Mechanisms in Lyme Disease

http://www.primenewswire.com/newsroom/news.html?d=136913

WILTON, Connecticut, Feb. 22, 2008 (PRIME NEWSWIRE) -- The National
Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases, Inc. (NRFTD), the nation's only
non-profit organization dedicated primarily to funding scientific
research in the rapidly expanding field of tick-borne infections, has
announced the award of four grants totaling $344,000 for basic and
translational research in Lyme disease. The two largest projects will
focus on the pathogenesis of the illness. "Our goal this year was to
fund research with maximum translational value to patients," said Carl
Brenner of the NRFTD's Research Board. "Special emphasis was placed on
proposals that showed particular promise for accelerating the transfer
of findings to clinical application."

Grant winners were selected following a rigorous peer-review process
by the NRFTD's distinguished Scientific Advisory Board using
guidelines akin to those established by the National Institutes of
Health. In addition to selecting projects that adhere to the highest
standards of quality, the likelihood that a project's results will
lead to additional long term funding by the National Institutes of
Health, National Science Foundation or other scientific or biomedical
agencies is factored strongly into the NRFTD proposal evaluation process.

Leo J. Shea, III, Ph.D., Chairman of the NRFTD Board of Directors
said, "We take pride in knowing that our organization has funded more
research grants at prestigious scientific institutions than any other
non-government organization in the field of Lyme and other tick-borne
diseases. The world-wide scientific community and our supporters have
recognized the NRFTD's unparalleled contributions to the field of
scientific research and the goal of finding a cure for these dreaded
diseases."

Dr. Mark Wooten of the University of Toledo in Ohio has been awarded a
two year NRFTD grant to examine the interactions between Borrelia
burgdorferi, the causative agent of Lyme disease, and mouse skin
cells. Dr. Wooten's laboratory has developed a technique to directly
assess these interactions in vivo -- that is, in live mice. Because
the B. burgdorferi bacterium is adapted to specific host organisms,
studies performed in "test tubes" do not accurately reflect the true
nature of this pathogen's interplay with host immune cells. The
studies will use novel fluorescent mouse strains, fluorescent bacteria
and powerful microscopic techniques to visualize how B. burgdorferi
interacts with immunological cells directly within the skin tissues of
living mice and in real time. This innovative approach should help
identify the critical events that allow the bacteria to escape immune
clearance, thus providing a potential target for curative treatments.

Among the most devastating manifestations of Lyme disease are its
neurologic complications. When invading the central nervous system
(CNS), B. burgdorferi must first cross the blood-brain barrier, a
specialized group of capillaries that act as the body's first line of
defense against CNS invasion. The barrier is comprised of specialized
blood vessel cells called "brain microvascular endothelial cells," or
BMECs. Dr. Dennis Grab of Johns Hopkins University in Maryland has
been awarded an NRFTD grant to study the mechanisms by which the
pathogen evades these defenses. Dr. Grab and colleagues have evidence
that B. burgdorferi causes BMECs to release enzymes that break down
the connections holding the endothelial cells together, thus allowing
the blood-brain barrier to be breached. This grant will allow Dr. Grab
to discover which enzymes are released and the role they play in
helping the bacterium cross capillaries and enter the brain. Armed
with this knowledge, researchers may then be able to design therapies
that prevent CNS invasion by the Lyme bacterium, thus significantly
reducing the morbidity associated with Lyme disease.

Also receiving an NRFTD grant award is Dr. Linden Hu of Tufts-New
England Medical Center, who will study the way B. burgdorferi responds
and adapts to challenges posed by its different host environments. In
nature, the Lyme organism is transmitted primarily between ticks and
small mammals, and over millions of years has evolved to survive
successfully in both. However, the mechanisms by which B. burgdorferi
recognizes its environment and prepares for transition between the two
types of hosts have not been well understood. Although it is known
that the microbe shifts its outer surface proteins in response to
changes in its environment, it has not been clear what signals the
organism uses to trigger this change in protein expression. Dr. Hu has
identified specific host hormones that appear to have a key role in
this process, and will perform studies to elucidate the precise
mechanisms that enable it. Understanding the elements critical to host
adaptation may lead to new strategies for disrupting the ability of
the organism to survive in its natural hosts, thus reducing
transmission to humans.

NRFTD has funded an additional project focused on potentially reducing
B. Burgdorferi infection in the wild. There are several types of
animals, including different rodents, shrews, and birds, that are
reservoirs for B. burgdorferi. Dr. Alan Barbour of the University of
California at Irvine has been awarded a grant by NRFTD to develop
techniques for precisely identifying the sources of tick infection
with B. burgdorferi in nature. Dr. Barbour is presently compiling a
database of proteins associated with specific host species, and the
NRFTD grant will help him determine the most informative and sensitive
targets for further development of specific assays. Researchers will
then be able to detect blood components in the tick and determine
where they came from -- that is, identify what animals a tick fed on
months earlier. Once this is accomplished, disease prevention efforts
that focus on natural reservoirs of infection can be initiated.

In addition to providing funds for these four projects, NRFTD also
donated $3000 in support of the 2008 Gordon Conference on the Biology
of Spirochetes, held in Venice, California on January 20-25, 2008. The
Biology of Spirochetes conferences, which are held every two years,
bring together international scientists from diverse research
disciplines to exchange information, present findings and foster
future collaborations in the study of spirochetal bacteria, which
include the causative agents of Lyme disease and relapsing fever.
Special emphasis is placed on new techniques for genetic manipulation,
which aid in studies of the physiology, structure, pathogenesis and
immunobiology of these microbes. NRFTD funds were used to support the
attendance of several conference participants from remote locales.

Dr. Shea said, "It is especially gratifying to know that the NRFTD was
selected from among all Lyme organizations and asked to participate in
Gordon Conference. Our selection is de facto evidence that scientists
from around the world recognize the singular contribution the NRFTD is
making in the field of Lyme and other tick-borne diseases."

About the National Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases, Inc.

The NRFTD is a nonprofit, tax exempt organization devoted strictly to
raising funds in support of scientific research on tick-borne
diseases. It aims to advance scientific understanding of these
complicated infections by sponsoring innovative research at premier
institutions throughout the world.

The NRFTD was founded in 1999 to address the complex and critical
research questions raised by thousands of patients afflicted with
emerging tick-borne diseases, including Lyme disease, relapsing fever,
anaplasmosis, babesiosis, and ehrlichiosis. The need for answers has
grown markedly as Lyme disease continues to spread throughout the
country and as other tick-borne infections have been recognized as
public health threats.

For more information about the NRFTD, or to make a tax-deductible
donation, please visit http://www.nrftd.org/

CONTACT: National Research Fund for Tick-Borne Diseases, Inc.
Leo J. Shea III, Ph.D.
800.728.7147
info@nrftd.org

[blimeyitslymie]

"Here, we show that both DbpA and DbpB are critical for the overall
virulence of B. burgdorferi in the murine host."

- -

Both Decorin-Binding Proteins A and B Are Critical for the Overall
Virulence of Borrelia burgdorferi
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/IAI.00897-07

Infection and Immunity, March 2008, p. 1239-1246, Vol. 76, No. 3

Yanlin Shi, Qilong Xu, Kristy McShan, and Fang Ting Liang

Department of Pathobiological Sciences, Louisiana State University,
Baton Rouge, Louisiana 70803.

Both decorin-binding proteins (Dbps) A and B of the Lyme disease
spirochete Borrelia burgdorferi bind decorin and g*****aminoglycans,
two important building blocks of proteoglycans that are abundantly
found in the extracellular matrix (ECM) and connective tissues as well
as on cell surfaces of mammals.

As an extracellular pathogen, B. burgdorferi resides primarily in the
ECM and connective tissues and between host cells during mammalian
infection. The interactions of B. burgdorferi with these host ligands
mediated by DbpA and DbpB potentially influence various aspects of
infection.

Here, we show that both DbpA and DbpB are critical for the overall
virulence of B. burgdorferi in the murine host. Disruption of the
dbpBA locus led to nearly a 10(4)-fold increase in the 50% infectious
dose (ID50). Complementation of the mutant with either dbpA or dbpB
reduced the ID50 from over 10(4) to roughly 10(3) organisms.

Deletion of the dbpBA locus affected colonization in all tissues of
infected mice. The lack of dbpA alone precluded the pathogen from
colonizing the heart tissue, and B. burgdorferi deficient for DbpB was
recovered only from 42% of the heart specimens of infected mice.

Although B. burgdorferi lacking either dbpA or dbpB was consistently
grown from joint specimens of almost all infected mice, it generated
bacterial loads significantly lower than the control. The deficiency
for either DbpA or DbpB did not reduce the bacterial load in skin, but
lack of both significantly did.

Taken together, the study indicates that neither DbpA nor DbpB is
essential for mammalian infection but both are critical for the
overall virulence of B. burgdorferi.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/IAI.00897-07

[blimeyitslymie]

Viable Borrelia burgdorferi Enhances Interleukin-10 Production and
Suppresses Activation of Murine Macrophages

John J. Lazarus, Maria A. Kay, Akisha L. McCarter, and R. Mark Wooten
Infection and Immunity, March 2008, p. 1153-1162, Vol. 76, No. 3

Department of Medical Microbiology and Immunology, University of
Toledo Health Science Campus, Toledo, Ohio 43614

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/IAI.01404-07

Although capable of eliciting strong innate and adaptive immune
responses, Borrelia burgdorferi (Bb) often evades immune clearance
through largely unknown mechanisms. Our previous studies determined
that infected IL-10(-/-) mice show significantly lower Bb levels than
wild type (B6) mice, and that IL-10 inhibits innate immune responses
critical for controlling Bb infection.

To determine whether virulent Bb preferentially enhances IL-10
production, we developed an in vitro co-culture medium (RPMI.B) in
which both Bb and primary macrophages (MØs) remain viable. Bb grew at
similar rates and was able to regulate expression of immunoreactive
proteins with similar kinetics in RPMI.B as bacteria grown in
traditional BSK medium; in contrast, Bb cultured in conventional
tissue culture medium (RPMI) rapidly lost viability.

Co-culture of viable Bb (RPMI.B) with MØs resulted in a more rapid and
significant increase in IL-10 transcripts and secreted protein than
co-cultures with non-viable Bb (RPMI), which corresponded with
decreased production of proinflammatory cytokines.

Addition of live Bb to MØs in RPMI.B also elicited substantially
higher IL-10 levels than did heat-killed bacteria, confirming that
increased IL-10 production was not inherent to co-culture in RPMI.B.

Transfer of supernatants from Bb-stimulated MØs onto naïve MØ cultures
resulted in suppressed activation upon subsequent stimulation with
different bacterial agonists, and this suppression was obviated by
IL-10-specific antibody.

In vivo analyses determined that murine skin samples exhibited a
substantial upregulation of IL-10 within 24h of Bb injection.
Together, these results suggest that viable Bb can suppress early MØ
responses during infection by causing increased release of IL-10.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/IAI.01404-07

[blimeyitslymie]

Markers of exposure to spotted fever rickettsiae in patients with
chronic illness, including fatigue, in two Australian populations

N. Unsworth(1), S. Graves1, C. Nguyen(1), G. Kemp()2, J. Graham(3) and
J. Stenos(1)

http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/hcm149v1

QJM Advance Access published online on February 19, 2008
QJM, doi:10.1093/qjmed/hcm149
From the (1)Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory, Barwon
Biomedical Research, Geelong,
(2)The Burke Road Medical Centre, Camberwell, and
(3)The School of Medicine, Flinders University, Adelaide, Australia

Address correspondence to:
Dr S. Graves, Australian Rickettsial Reference Laboratory,
Barwon Biomedical Research,
The Geelong Hospital, Geelong, Victoria, Australia 3220
email: Stephen.Graves@hnehealth.nsw.gov.au

Received 23 June 2007 and in revised form 4 October 2007

*Abstract*

Background: Some investigators believe that a proportion of
chronically unwell patients, many with fatigue, have an underlying
rickettsial disease.

Aim: To investigate the prevalence of markers of rickettsial infection
in patients with chronic illnesses.

Design: Observational study.

Methods: A 526 patient cohort with chronic illnesses from Melbourne,
Australia and 400 control patients from Newcastle, Australia were
assessed using serology, culture and PCR for the detection of
rickettsiae. Rickettsial serology was performed on another cohort of
581 chronically unwell patients (and 34 non-fatigued patients from the
same practice) from Adelaide, Australia.

Results: Of the Melbourne patient cohort, 14/526 (3%) were real-time
PCR positive for rickettsial DNA compared to none of the 400 control
patients (P < 0.001). Of these 14 patients, Rickettsia honei strain
`marmionii' was detected in 5 and isolated from 2.

Rickettsaemia was seasonal, with more in winter (8/145; P < 0.03) and
less in spring (0/143; P < 0.03). Positive rickettsial serology titres
of >=1:256 were seen in 206 (39%) patients. Of the Adelaide patient
cohort, 238/581 (41%) had positive rickettsial antibodies titres. Of
the 34 control sera, 5 (15%) were serologically positive (P < 0.002).
Both Melbourne and Adelaide patient cohorts had significantly higher
seropositivity than the Newcastle control cohort (3/399; P < 0.0001).

Conclusions: In patients with chronic illness, rickettsial DNA in
peripheral blood and/or rickettsial seropositivity may represent
exposure to rickettsiae or underlying rickettsial diseases. It is not
known whether the presence of rickettsiae is causally related to the
patients' chronic illnesses, or reactivation of a latent rickettsial
infection.

http://qjmed.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/content/abstract/hcm149v1

Copyright ©2008 Association of Physicians of Great Britain and Ireland

[blimeyitslymie]

TICK-BORNE ILLNESS
Patients, doctors debate Lyme:
Some say it's vastly underreported; others call it easily cured
Posted on Wed, Feb. 20, 2008
Charlotte News & Observer, Charlotte, North Carolina

http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/501274.html

by JEAN P. FISHER
Raleigh - Even as mounting evidence suggests the state may harbor more
tick-borne illness than records indicate, patients with symptoms that
match Lyme say doctors continue to turn deaf ears to their complaints.

Dave Tierney of Cary thinks that's what happened to him. Plagued with
unexplained fatigue, muscle aches, eye pain and other problems for
years, Tierney was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis last year. In
June, he left his job as a pilot with Delta Airlines and began getting
long-term disability benefits.

But after researching his symptoms on the Internet, Tierney became
convinced he had chronic Lyme disease. An infectious disease doctor
and a specialized laboratory test confirmed it. After three months of
intravenous antibiotics, his symptoms are much improved.

"I could have been on MS medicine for the rest of my life," said
Tierney, who returned to work this month.

Full Story:
http://www.charlotte.com/local/story/501274.html

Letters:
opinion@charlotteobserver.com

[blimeyitslymie]

"It wasn't until she saw the test results from California that she
finally had confirmation she was suffering with the disease."

- -

Lyme disease sufferer spent years being misdiagnosed

BY CAIT MCINTYRE
The News, Serving Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada
Last updated at 7:36 AM on February 15, 2008

http://www.ngnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=108527&sc=49

Brenda Sterling-Goodwin believes she contracted Lyme disease about 10
years ago. Back then, she was a cat groomer and a veterinary technician.

Doctors in Nova Scotia doubted her condition. One neurologist told her
she had multiple sclerosis. It's common, she says, for people with
Lyme disease to be misdiagnosed as having multiple sclerosis, lupus,
arthritis, or other illnesses with similar symptoms.

It wasn't until she saw the test results from California that she
finally had confirmation she was suffering with the disease.

Full Story:
http://www.ngnews.ca/index.cfm?sid=108527&sc=49

Letters, use web form:
http://www.ngnews.ca/index.cfm?pid=586

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.newstime s.com/ci_ 8366011?source= most_viewed

Black-legged adult tick infection at 60 percent
County Lyme disease study examines insects in Bethel, Newtown, Redding
By Robert Miller Staff Writer
Article Last Updated: 02/26/2008 10:52:52 AM EST

More than half -- 60 percent -- of the adult black-legged ticks in
Fairfield County may be infected with Lyme disease bacteria -- a much
higher rate than customarily thought, a new study has found.

This does not necessarily foretell an increase in human cases in the
region. People can see and remove adult ticks more readily than tiny
nymphal ticks -- which are most responsible for the spread of Lyme
disease to humans.

But it does add another reason for people to be on the alert against
tick bites in spring, summer and fall.

"It may be that just as people wear sunscreen and wear bicycle safety
helmets, they'll have to make preventive steps against ticks part of
their daily routine,'' Jennifer Reid, of the Ridgefield Lyme Disease
Task Force, said Monday.

The study is part of the ongoing work of the Fairfield County
Municipal Deer Management Alliance -- a 14-town organization
dedicated to controlling the number of white-tailed deer in the
region.

Deer play an important part in the life cycle of black-legged ticks --
aka deer ticks -- by providing them their last blood meal.

"Deer are the last place they feed as adults,'' said Kirby Stafford,
an entomologist and tick expert at the Connecticut Agricultural
Experiment Station in New Haven.

The study looked at tick populations in five towns -- Bethel, Easton,
Greenwich, Newtown and Redding. Eva Sapi, assistant professor of
biology and environmental sciences at the University of New Haven,
collected the ticks near schools, playgrounds and picnic areas in the
town.The study found about 60 percent of the adult ticks collected
had the Lyme bacteria -- at least a third more than previous studies.

"We used to say ticks had a 38 percent infection rate,'' said Dr.
Georgina Scholl of Redding, research chairman of the alliance. "Now
it's up to 60 percent.''

Stafford said that number is high, but not surprising.

"It's a little higher than what we've seen, but it depends on where
you do the collecting,' ' Stafford said.

That's because adult ticks have had an extra chance to pick up the
bacteria, he said.

The two-year life-cycle of a black-legged tick is this:

Adult female ticks lay their eggs in the spring. "Each female lays
about 3,000 eggs," Stafford said.

The eggs hatch in the summer and the tiny larval ticks get their
first blood meal, often on small rodents (like white-footed mice)
that are reservoirs of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease --
Borellia burgdorferi.

After that meal, larval ticks become inactive until the next spring,
when as nymphal ticks they feed again. If they carry Lyme bacteria
and they bite a human, they can spread the bacteria.

"About 90 to 95 percent of human transmission is caused by nymphal
ticks," Stafford said. "They're so tiny, people don't notice them."

The ticks feed one more time as adults -- for the females this meal,
often on deer, helps them lay eggs in the spring. Adult ticks --
while more easily spotted -- can also spread the Lyme bacteria to
humans if they're infected.

White-tailed deer aren't Lyme bacteria reservoirs like white-footed
mice are. But they -- along with humans, birds and other mammals --
provide adult ticks with a readily available source for blood meals.
The deer also carry ticks around with them as they browse the
landscape, spreading the ticks as they go.

And the state does not lack for deer. Howard Kilpatrick, a wildlife
biologist with the state Department of Environmental Protection, said
the latest fly-over count in the state turned up about 67,000 deer.
Kilpatrick said such counts probably sight only half the deer.

"We estimate there are between 120,000 and 130,000 deer in the
state," he said. Some of the highest concentrations are in Fairfield
County, where it's hard to hunt and where suburban plantings provide
deer with food.

While hunting removes some deer from the scene, Kilpatrick said the
number of deer killed in the state has declined in the past two
years. Good acorn crops left the deer scattered in the woods with
lots of food available.

"If there's a good acorn crop, the hunters' success rate goes down,"
Kilpatrick said.

But he said hunters are killing more deer in Fairfield County than in
the past. That's important in a place where the numbers of deer and
the number of humans with Lyme disease are high.

Scholl, of the municipal deer alliance, believes that Lyme disease
rates can be reduced by lowering the number of deer to a balanced
level. She also believes in the importance of taking immediate steps
to prevent the disease.

"We always say in medicine that prevention of disease is better than
cure,'' Scholl said.

Contact Robert Miller

at bmiller@newstimes. com

[blimeyitslymie]

Nov 29th 2007 | PARIS
>From The Economist print edition

Some people are more prone to infection than others. One answer could
be to dose them with the molecules that their immune systems cannot
make
LOUIS PASTEUR, the 19th-century French microbiologist and chemist, is
credited with confirming that microbes cause disease. When studying
ailing silkworms, he made two vital observations. The first was that
la flacherie, as the worms' illness was called, was contagious. This
led to the germ theory of disease and, ultimately, to the development
of antibiotics to treat infectious illnesses in people. In all the
excitement over germs, however, his second observation got
overlooked: la flacherie was passed from parent to offspring. Almost
150 years later, the idea that susceptibility to infectious disease
can be inherited is finally coming of age. A meeting held last week
at the Pasteur Institute in Paris heard how the next generation of
drugs will target not the microbial agents of infectious illness but
their human hosts.

To this end, researchers are studying how different versions of
certain genes could cause some people to succumb to infection whereas
others are left relatively unscathed. They thus hope to explain not
only why some people can be infested with virulent microbes without
contracting a disease (whereas others become ill even though they are
less infected) but also why such patterns run in families and in
ethnic groups.

To read the rest, go to

http://www.economis t.com/science/ displaystory. cfm?story_ id=10205154

[blimeyitslymie]

Some people think the push toward universal health insurance coverage
will mean heavier reliance on practice guidelines. Lyme patients know
what it's like to have care dictated by a hostile set of guidelines.
This is a subject our community should be talking about in the months
before the election. Maybe we can persuade the candidates that
guidelines-driven healthcare is not in our best interests.

Find out about and compare the candidates' plans at www.health08. org.
health08.org is part of a broad effort by the Kaiser Family
Foundation to provide a central hub for resources and information
about health policy issues in the 2008 election.

Read this article from National Voter, a publication of the League
of Women Voters.
pm

Federal Health Coverage Programs:
Building Blocks for Coverage of the Uninsured

By Diane Rowland and Adele Shartzer

As the 2008 presidential campaign gears up, health care reform is
ranked just below Iraq as a public priority. Thus,it has become a top
issue for candidates to address. Filling the gaps in coverage that
leave millions uninsured, constraining rising health care costs, and
improving the quality of care are the goals of reform efforts.
The health care system in the United States is under a lot of
pressure. In 2006, 47 million Americans lacked health insurance
coverage. Health care costs continue to rise faster than inflation
and wages, with premiums increasing 78 percent since 2001.
Roughly half (54 percent) of all Americans get their health coverage
through their employers, and a smaller share purchase coverage
directly. Together Medicare and Medicaid provide publicly-sponsored
coverage to one in four Americans who are elderly,
disabled or low-income (income less than twice the poverty level,
roughly $40,000 for a family of four). Building on this coverage
to assist the 16 percent of Americans who are uninsured is a key
component of reform.This article reviews the role of public programs
as building blocks for coverage of the diverse group of people that
are uninsured.

Read the rest at:

http://www.lwv. org/AM/Template. cfm?
Section=Current_ Issue&CONTENTID= 10514&TEMPLATE= /CM/ContentDispl ay.cfm

OR

http://tinyurl. com/2ytwyq

[blimeyitslymie]

Below is a link to an excellent Fox news report on Lyme disease from
Lynchburg, Virginia (TV station WSET). It is a three part series, The
Lyme Disease Controversy- on video. And note the information they
still have on their website on Lyme disease- good job!

A big thanks to Fox News (AGAIN) and the reporter, Noreen Turyn. I
surely hope she feels better soon. You might want to take a minute to
drop the station a note of thanks! It's a rare day when we get this
type of coverage.

Email station:
lyme@wset.com

Watch video:
http://cfc.wset. com/external. cfm?p=lyme& menu=news

[blimeyitslymie]

January 22, 2008 10:25 AM Eastern Time
Tick-borne Diseases Are Found in All 50 States
Ticks are on the rise and on the move – posing an increased risk to
people and pets

ORLANDO, Fla.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Veterinarian s and industry experts
concerned with the spread of tick-borne diseases announced today the
results of a disturbing study that found tick populations are not
only increasing in number, but also in reach across the United
States. The results, presented during the 2008 North American
Veterinary Conference (NAVC) in Orlando, were part of a voluntary
national veterinary reporting system that was developed by IDEXX
Laboratories of Westbrook, Maine. The data uncovered the presence of
at least three tick-borne diseases, Lyme disease (Borrelia
burgdorferi) , anaplasmosis (Anaplasma phagocytophilum) and
ehrlichiosis (E.canis), in every state in the country. All three tick-
borne diseases can cause mild to severe health complications and even
death in humans and dogs, if left untreated.

"This information is important because it indicates the significant
degree to which people and pets are being exposed to tick-borne
diseases, and therefore, the risk of developing some very serious
illnesses," said Susan E. Little, DVM, PhD, Dipl. EVPC, Center for
Veterinary Health Sciences at Oklahoma State University. "As
veterinarians, we need to incorporate this information into our
practice, continuing to stress the need for year-round tick control
in dogs and the importance of routinely screening for ticks and tick-
borne diseases."

These commonly recognized diseases in dogs could cause multiple
health problems. Lyme disease, commonly associated with both people
and canines, can often present with fever, weight loss, arthritis and
nausea in dogs. In people, if the disease is untreated, it can lead
to medical problems such as neurological damage, heart complications
and arthritis.

A recently recognized disease spread by ticks, anaplasmosis, can
cause mild to severe illnesses in dogs and has been known to cause
death in people. In ehrlichiosis, signs are very similar to
anaplasmosis and include potential neurological complications. Among
people, 13 percent of ehrlichiosis cases being reported are in
children.

Common ticks of dogs in North America causing the biggest problem
include the American dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis), the black-
legged tick or "deer tick" (Ixodes scapularis in the East, pacificus
in the West), and the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus).

To better understand where these problem ticks are migrating, the
testing results of domestic dogs from thousands of veterinary
practices across the United States during the time period of 2001 to
mid-2007 were compiled in collaboration with scientists at IDEXX in a
national prevalence study. Test results were generated from IDEXX's
reference laboratory network as well as from millions of SNAP® 3Dx®
and SNAP® 4Dx® reported results. SNAP 4Dx allows for the immediate
detection of exposure to Lyme borreliosis, ehrlichiosis and
anaplasmosis as well as heartworm disease. Results uncovered the
following:

Table 1. Percentage of Positive Test Results for Lyme disease,
anaplasmosis and ehrlichiosis

Region
Lyme disease

Anaplasmosis

Ehrlichiosis

Co-infection

Northeast
11.6%

5.5%

0.3%

1.4%

Southeast
1.0%

0.5%

1.3%

0.1%

Midwest
4.0%

6.7%

0.4%

2.0%

West
1.4%

4.5%

0.6%

0.8%

Nationwide
5.1%

4.8%

0.6%

1.3%


Positive tests for Lyme disease were highest in the Northeast, while
positive results for anaplasmosis was highest in the Midwest. In the
Southeast, ehrlichiosis has been most widely reported.

Of particular interest to researchers, was that the number of Lyme
positive dogs in Connecticut (where 18 percent of the dogs were
reported to test positive for Lyme) were from 50- to more than 200-
fold greater than those in the southeastern border states of Texas,
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida. Also surprising was the
high prevalence level of infection detected in the western states of
southern California, Arizona and New Mexico.

"This is of serious concern to veterinarians, " said Dwight D. Bowman,
M.S., Ph.D., Department of Microbiology and Immunology, College of
Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University. "It tells us ticks are on
the move and raising the risk of infection from tick-borne illnesses
to regions where they are not only unfamiliar with these diseases and
symptoms, but also perhaps unfamiliar with how to prevent illness and
protect their pets."

Ticks and Travel

Exposure to urban wildlife and a high incidence of Lyme disease in
the northeastern states was expected based on the number of human
cases reported. However, dogs testing positive to Lyme disease
exposure were also found in the southeastern United States.

"We noticed a surprising number of cases in the South," said Michael
W. Dryden, DVM, Kansas State University College of Veterinary
Medicine. "One explanation may be the continual urbanization of
America, which is adding to the problem of tick migration in places
where we haven't seen prevalence in the past."

In the South, the rate of ehrlichia positive dogs was more than twice
the national average. Cases of ehrlichiosis due to the E. canis
pathogen are considered more common in the southern U.S. where
infestations of the brown dog tick are also more commonly seen,
although in the absence of effective control programs, the brown dog
tick can survive indoors in kennels and homes - virtually anywhere
there are dogs. The report also found cases of heartworm in the South
that was detected in more than 3 million dogs in 48 states. Evidence
of at least one agent was found in dogs from every state considered.

What Pet Owners Can Do

Because displaced wildlife often find refuge and seek food in
suburban areas, people and pets more often come into contact with the
most common species of urban wildlife like raccoons, skunks or
opossums. Exposure to urban wildlife may pose serious health risks to
humans and their pets. More information about tick migration, images
of various species of ticks and maps where positive results have
occurred, can be found on www.dogsandticks. com.

The Companion Animal Parasite Council (CAPC) recommends year-round
heartworm, flea and tick preventatives for the life of your dog, for
all areas of the country. Industry experts also stress the importance
of testing for co-infection if you are living in an at-risk area, or
you travel to high tick-borne disease prevalence areas with your
pets.

"CAPC is very pleased to be the organization charged with
disseminating this very important information, " said Michael Paul,
DVM, executive director of CAPC. "While it is disturbing that the
incidence of these diseases is as high and their distribution as wide
as was uncovered, it is important to realize that increased awareness
will lead to greater testing surveillance. Year-round use of safe and
effective tick control products available from veterinarians as
advocated by CAPC, will do much to reduce the clinical incidence of
these diseases."

About the CAPC

The mission of the Companion Animal Parasite Council is to foster
animal and human health, while preserving the human-animal bond,
through recommendations for the diagnosis and year-round management
of parasitic infections in dogs and cats. The CAPC is an independent
council of veterinarians and other animal health care professionals
established to create guidelines for the optimal control of internal
and external parasites that threaten the health of pets and people.
Its membership represents broad expertise in parasitology, human
medicine, public health, veterinary law, private practice and
association leadership. For more information about the CAPC, please
visit www.capcvet. org

http://www.business wire.com/ portal/site/ home/index. jsp?epi-
content=NEWS_ VIEW_POPUP_ TYPE&newsId= 20080122006084& ndmHsc=v2* A11996244
00000*B120229659300 0*DgroupByDate* J2*L1*N1000837* Zlyme&newsLang= en&bea
nID=202776713& viewID=news_ view_popup

Then one doctor said she and a local vet are doing a community
education presentation on "Protecting People and Pets from Lyme."
Teaming with a vet makes it a little easier to do this type of
education because the vet validates that the problem is real and
growing, she said.

Another pointed out that vets do a great job of tracking TBD, better
than the CDC:

http://www.dogsandt icks.com/ US-map-lyme- disease-dogs/ index.html

and animals don't get labeled with fibromyalgia or malingering.

Another warned us not to count on the SNAP tests to be any better
than the human ELISA. Her dog was vaccinated yearly and had neg
tests. When the dog seemed sick she had the vet do Western blots.
It demonstrated the vaccine effect but also evidence of "wild"
exposure despite the neg SNAPs and the vaccine.

[blimeyitslymie]

"[Eva] Haughie said she supports the use of the 4-Poster program, but
other solutions should be considered as well, since research shows
that deer aren't the only tick carriers. Shrews and mice are known to
carry infected ticks. "There is no cookbook answer to this," she said.

- -

Tackling Ticks & Lyme Disease,
Romaine Pushes For $$ For 4-Poster Program
Suffolk Life, Riverhead, New York

http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19336677&BRD=1776&PAG=461&dept_id=6365&rfi=6
or: http://tinyurl.com/yrhdyc

By: Robert Wargas
February 27, 2008

County Legislator Ed Romaine (R-Riverhead) has declared war on Lyme
disease, taking the fight to Shelter Island by asking the county for
$155,000 to kick off a four-year tick eradication project there.
The bid comes a year after Romaine secured $155,000 from the county to
establish a Tick Management Task Force in an effort to prevent Lyme
disease and other tick-related illnesses. He's now asking for the same
amount this year to continue efforts in controlling this problem.

The project has two parts: a study with Cornell Cooperative Extension
that will assess the deer population and an elimination phase that
will target ticks on deer through use of the "4-Poster" program.
Though the focus is Shelter Island, the project will extend to other
tick-ridden areas like Fire Island and the village of North Haven.

Romaine said he plans to ask the county for $155,000 each year to
continue the project. If successful, the efforts could reduce the tick
population by as much as 90% over the next three years, he said.
"I think this is a reasonable request," he said.

"The amount of tick-borne diseases out here is incredible."
The 4-Poster program works by luring deer to feeding stations filled
with corn feed. In order to eat the corn, a deer must pass its head
through chemical-soaked applicators, coating its head and neck with a
tickicide that kills attached ticks and wards off others.

Most ticks congregate around a deer's head and neck, according to the
Shelter Island Deer and Tick Committee. Because 95% of adult female
ticks feed on deer before laying their eggs, killing them at that
stage reduces repopulation.

Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/yrhdyc

Letters:
news@suffolklife.com

[blimeyitslymie]

"When a person tests positive in the U.S. after they have tested
negative in B.C. they have an almost impossible time getting treatment
because doctors in B.C. are told the U.S. tests are not to be
trusted," said Wilson.

- -

Doctors failing to treat Lyme disease: B.C. victim's family

Victim's group says hundreds are suffering needlessly

Last Updated: Monday, February 25, 2008 | 6:49 PM ET
CBC News, Canadian Broadcasting Centre, Toronto, Canada
http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2008/02/25/bc-lymedisease.html
or: http://tinyurl.com/2h9gm5

The parents of a young woman diagnosed with Lyme disease are speaking
out against the B.C. health system because, they said, doctors have
failed to properly treat their daughter, causing her to become much
sicker than she might have been otherwise.

"Our health-care providers are very biased about this disease. They
don't want to acknowledge it," said Jay McQuhae, the woman's father.
"You are helpless. Your hands are tied. You can do nothing but just
sit there and watch your daughter deteriorate."

Marie McQuhae, 23, believes she may have contracted Lyme disease when
she was bitten by a tick while hiking the West Coast Trail a few years
ago. She remembers a rash on her lower leg, which she didn't think too
much about at the time. Over the last three years, McQuhae said she's
had all the classic symptoms listed in the B.C. Health Guide.

Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/2h9gm5

Share your thoughts and read what others have to say
Your View - British Columbia
Is the B.C. health system equipped to diagnose and treat Lyme disease?
http://www.cbc.ca/news/yourview/bc/2008/02/is_the_bc_health_system_equipp.html
or: http://tinyurl.com/yruvex

[blimeyitslymie]

VIDEO: Kathy Tomlinson reports for CBC's Go Public (Runs 3:10)

February 27, 2008
CBC-TV, Canadian Broadcasting Centre Television, Toronto, Ontario

http://www.cbc.ca/mrl3/8752/bc/ondemand****eo/bc-080227-gp-lyme-TOMLINSON.wmv

or: http://tinyurl.com/2re8f5

Windows Media Video

This is the companion video to message 4161
Doctors failing to treat Lyme disease: B.C. victim's family

http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LymeInfo/message/4161

[blimeyitslymie]

Serological and Molecular Prevalence of Borrelia burgdorferi,
Anaplasma phagocytophilum, and Ehrlichia Species in Dogs from Minnesota

Melissa J. Beall, Ramaswamy Chandrashekar, Matthew D. Eberts, Katie E.
Cyr, Pedro Paulo V.P. Diniz, Celine Mainville, Barbara C. Hegarty,
John M. Crawford, Edward B. Breitschwerdt.

Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases.
Published February 27, 2008 online ahead of print.
doi:10.1089/vbz.2007.0236.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2007.0236

A population of 731 naturally exposed pet dogs examined at a private
practice in Baxter, Minnesota, an area endemic for Lyme disease and
anaplasmosis, was tested by serological and molecular methods for
evidence of exposure to or infection with selected vector-borne pathogens.

Serum samples were tested by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA)
for Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia burgdorferi, and Ehrlichia
canis antibodies and for Dirofilaria immitis antigen. Blood samples
from 273 dogs were also analyzed by polymerase chain reaction (PCR)
for Anaplasma and Ehrlichia species DNA.

Based on the owner history and the attending veterinarian's physical
examination findings, dogs exhibiting illness compatible with
anaplasmosis or borreliosis were considered clinical cases, and their
results were compared to the healthy dog population.

Antibodies to only A. phagocytophilum were detected in 217 (29%) dogs;
to only B. burgdorferi, in 80 (11%) dogs; and seroreactivity to both
organisms, in 188 (25%) dogs.

Of 89 suspected cases of canine anaplasmosis or borreliosis, A.
phagocytophilum or B. burgdorferi antibodies were detected in 22 dogs
(25%) and 8 dogs (9%) respectively, whereas antibodies to both
organisms were found in 38 dogs (43%).

Ehrlichia canis antibodies and D. immitis antigen were each detected
in 11 (1.5%) dogs. Anaplasma phagocytophilum DNA was amplified from 7
of 222 (3%) healthy dogs and 19 of 51 (37%) clinical cases.

Seroreactivity to both A. phagocytophilum and B. burgdorferi was
detected more frequently in suspected cases of anaplasmosis and/or
borreliosis than seroreactivity to either organism alone.

Based on PCR testing, A. phagocytophilum DNA was more prevalent in
suspected cases of anaplasmosis or borreliosis than in healthy dogs
from the same region.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2007.0236

[blimeyitslymie]

Journal of Neuropsychiatry & Clinical Neurosciences 20:0iv-6, February
2008

Windows to the Brain

Acute and Chronic Lyme Disease: Controversies for Neuropsychiatry

Robin A. Hurley, M.D. and Katherine H. Taber, Ph.D.

Full Text:
http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/20/1/iv?ct=ct
or: http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20.1.iv

*Conclusions*

In conclusion, tick-borne diseases have been identified since the
early 20th century. The last 20 years have brought a more complete
picture of the most commonly presenting acute tic-borne illnesses.

Diagnostic triads and treatment recommendations have been published.
More controversial are the answers to those patients who develop
nonspecific and lingering neuropsychiatric symptoms postinfection.

Questions remain as to whether or not these symptoms are a direct
result of continued hidden infection or a result of a different
secondary process (e.g., psychological reaction, inflammatory cascade
induction, autoimmune). It is, however, prudent for the practicing
clinician to be aware of Lyme disease in the differential for patients
with new-onset neuropsychiatric symptoms in an endemic area.

Awareness is particularly necessary if the patient also has an absence
of a known psychiatric history, presence of fatigue and/or chronic
musculoskeletal pain, nonspecific inflammatory white matter disease on
standard imaging or hypometabolism/hypoperfusion on functional imaging.

Full Text:
http://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/full/20/1/iv?ct=ct

or: http://dx.doi.org/10.1176/appi.neuropsych.20.1.iv

[blimeyitslymie]

Persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi Following Antibiotic Treatment in Mice

Antimicrobial Agents and Chemotherapy,
published online ahead of print on 3 March 2008

http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01050-07

Emir Hodzic, Sunlian Feng, Kevin Holden, Kimberly J. Freet, and
Stephen W. Barthold

*Abstract*

The effectiveness of antibiotic treatment was examined in a mouse
model of Lyme borreliosis.

Mice were treated with ceftriaxone or saline for one month, commencing
during the early (3 weeks) or chronic (4 months) stages of infection
with Borrelia burgdorferi. Tissues from mice were tested for infection
by culture, polymerase chain reaction (PCR), xenodiagnosis, and
transplantation of allografts at 1 and 3 months after completion of
treatment. In addition, tissues were examined for spirochetes by
immunohistochemistry.

In contrast to saline-treated mice, mice treated with antibiotic were
consistently culture-negative, but tissues from some of the mice
remained PCR-positive, and spirochetes could be visualized in
collagen-rich tissues. Furthermore, when some of the antibiotic
treated mice were fed upon by Ixodes scapularis ticks (xenodiagnosis),
spirochetes were acquired by the ticks, based upon PCR, and ticks from
those cohorts transmitted spirochetes to naïve SCID mice, which became
PCR-positive, but culture-negative.

Results indicated that following antibiotic treatment, mice remained
infected with non-dividing but infectious spirochetes, particularly
when antibiotic treatment was commenced during the chronic stage of
infection.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1128/AAC.01050-07
Copyright © 2008 by the American Society for Microbiology.

[blimeyitslymie]

Public Health Alert, a free monthly publication investigating Lyme
disease and chronic illness, is now online with it's April 2008 issue.

Explore the current issue here:
http://www.publichealthalert.org/
and then click on the phrase "In This Issue".

It's always a good read with many excellent contributors.

[blimeyitslymie]

Chronic Lyme: An Evidence-Based Review
by Stephen Phillips, MD


At the link below, you can find a 40 slide presentation Dr. Phillips
of The International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society (ILADS) is
sharing with anyone requiring documentation of the existence of
chronic Lyme disease.

It can be printed out for use.

http://www.ilads.org/Presentation_ChronicLyme.html

[blimeyitslymie]

A profile of Stephen Barthold, author of a recently published study,
"Persistence of Borrelia burgdorferi Following Antibiotic Treatment in
Mice", http://health.groups.yahoo.com/group/LymeInfo/message/4165

- -

LINKING HUMAN ANIMAL BIOMEDICAL RESEARCH TO BENEFIT BOTH
UCDavis Medicine, Spring 2008

A University of California-Davis School of Medicine publication for
alumni, friends and physicians

http://www.ucdmc.ucdavis.edu/ucdavismedicine/issues/Spring2008/features/3.html
or: http://tinyurl.com/yp29jv

No one knew what Lyme disease was when Stephen Barthold's daughter
was diagnosed with it in 1978. At the time, Barthold and his family
were living in Connecticut, the state where the cause of the tickborne
disease would be identified four years later.

While a course of antibiotics for an unrelated infection cured his
daughter, the father remained intrigued. Today, with 30 years of
research and more than 100 papers on Lyme disease under his belt,
Barthold, a veterinary pathologist with a joint appointment in the
schools of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, is recognized as one of
the leading authorities on how the Lyme bacterium interacts with the
hosts it infects.

...

But, says Barthold, "our work has shown that in the absence of
antibiotic treatment, 100 percent of animals infected with Lyme
bacteria remain infected even though they have a perfectly functional
immune response."

Working with mice, Barthold has found that the bacteria, Borrelia
burgdorferi, "literally integrate themselves into collagen tissue.
They colonize little spots here and there: one joint, but not another;
nervous tissue; the heart. It varies from individual to individual,
which explains the disease's highly variable clinical manifestations."

In a study to be published later this year, Barthold outlines his
discovery that even after long-term antibiotic treatment, bacteria
hidden in collagen tissue are still viable and infectious. "We're
trying to be careful in what we claim," he says, "but these findings
will be controversial."

Full Story:
http://tinyurl.com/yp29jv

[blimeyitslymie]

Another mention of the independent film 'Lymelife' which is slated to
begin shooting this week in New Jersey.

- -

Alec Baldwin steps into 'Lymelife'
Emma Roberts joins cast of indie dramedy
By TATIANA SIEGEL
Variety.com
Posted: Mon., Mar. 3, 2008, 8:00pm PT
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981791.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

Alec Baldwin and Emma Roberts have boarded Derick and Steven Martini's
indie dramedy 'Lymelife'.

Cynthia Nixon, Rory Culkin, Kieran Culkin, Jill Hennessy and Timothy
Hutton are also joining the cast.

Martin Scorsese and Leonard Loventhal exec produce the project, which
starts shooting next week in New Jersey.

Set in late '70s Long Island, the coming-of-age story follows two
families who fall apart when precarious relationships, real estate
problems and Lyme disease converge in the heart of suburbia. The
Martini brothers also penned the screenplay.

...

"It's a very personal story, and it's something I've been trying to
get made for five years," said Derick Martini, who developed
'Lymelife' under Robert Redford at the 2001 Sundance Filmmakers Lab.
"I've done a lot in the meantime, but (the story) has always nagged at
me. It's a terrific feeling to finally see it through to its fruition."

Full story:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117981791.html?categoryid=13&cs=1

View the Internet Movie database listing for 'Lymelife' here
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1192426/

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme disease patient part of landmark case
The Index-Journal, Greenwood, South Carolina
http://www.indexjournal.com/articles/2008/03/10/news/news03.txt

By CHRIS TRAINOR/Index-Journal staff writer
Sunday, March 9, 2008 11:49 PM EDT

For nearly six years now, Greenwood's Phil Wood has suffered from Lyme
disease.

The trick has been in trying to get certain people, namely, his former
employer's insurance company, to believe it.

Wood was formerly a timber buyer for Canal Wood. Not surprisingly, the
job often carried him into forests and other wooded areas. As is the
case with anyone in that industry, coming into contact with ticks was
a common occurrence.

"You can ask anyone who does it, it's not uncommon to pull three,
four, five ticks a day off yourself," Wood said last week.

...

Aside from the physical battles Wood has endured, he and his attorney,
Greenwood's Bill Thomason, have also been participating in protracted
legal battles to help Wood gain the workers' compensation and health
care benefits he needs to fight the disease he contracted on his
former job.

The battle essentially began in February 2005, when Canal Wood sent
Wood to a doctor in Charleston for an opinion. Wood had filed for
workers' compensation benefits in December 2004.

That doctor, Ludwig Lettau, reportedly suggested -- after what
Thomason referred to as a "cursory examination"-- that Wood had a
sleeping disorder.

"He said there was no such thing as Lyme disease in humans in the
state of South Carolina," Wood said.

Wood was then denied further health care benefits for treatment,
though he continued to work for Canal Wood, requiring the help of an
assistant.

Thomason said many members of Infectious Disease Society, which aids
numerous insurance companies, still do not recognize Lyme in humans in
this state.

Wood later visited one of the nation's foremost Lyme specialists,
Connecticut's Dr. Steven Phillips. Phillips, as Jemsek had done
earlier, diagnosed Wood with the disease.

Complete story:
http://www.indexjournal.com/articles/2008/03/10/news/news03.txt

Letters to the Editor:
bcollins@indexjournal.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme Disease Researchers Launch Part Two of Audio Interview Series
with Lyme Experts

Lyme Disease researchers launch part two of a series of audio
interviews with Lyme experts. Physicians, researchers and health care
practitioners will discuss symptoms, diagnoses and treatment. The
online interview series provides medical experts a platform for
reaching patients and others affected by Lyme disease.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/?751994

Asheville, NC (PRWEB) March 10, 2008 -- Lyme Disease researchers
announce part two of a multi-part audio interview series with Lyme
experts. Listeners can hear Lyme-literate physicians, health
practitioners and others in the Lyme community speak about prevention,
symptoms, diagnoses and treatment. The online interview series,
created by the Lyme Disease Research Database, provides health experts
with a platform for reaching patients and others affected by the
disease. Learn about the expert audio interview series --
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme_expert_interview_series.html

"Lyme disease causes so many symptoms, and it's probably a root cause
for a lot of diseases that are considered incurable by conventional
medicine," says W. Lee Cowden, MD, in part one of the online interview
series.

Renowned physician and medical researcher Cowden, and master herbalist
and psychotherapist Stephen Harrod Buhner, author of 'Healing Lyme:
Natural Healing and Prevention of Borreliosis and its Coinfections'
are two of the experts included in the first part of the series. Learn
more about Lyme disease symptoms --
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme-disease-symptoms.html

The interview series gives listeners the opportunity to learn the
latest about symptoms, protocols and treatments of the disease
directly from Lyme-literate doctors and health care practitioners
themselves. Others include Naturopathic doctor Tod Thoring, and Jean
Reist, RN. Both treat patients who have been diagnosed with Lyme
disease. Dr. Thoring addresses the role of stress, and Jean Reist
discusses the importance of lymph system drainage. She suggests ways
to keep the lymph draining properly, an action which, Reist says,
helps patients from having to deal with the healing crisis known as
the Herxheimer reaction.

Experts invited to speak in part two represent a broad range of
medical and health perspectives, from conventional pharmaceutical
approaches to integrative therapies that include herbal protocols and
other alternative healing methods. Keep up-to-date with Lyme disease
topics with the LDRD blog --
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme_disease_blog.html

About LDRD (lyme-disease-research-database.com):
Private health and wellness advocates have been gathering information
on conventional and integrative approaches to educate the public on
Lyme disease since 2005.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/?751994

[blimeyitslymie]

Preparing For Lyme Disease Season: Get Set For Spring -- and Keep Your
Family Safe

April marks the official start of tick season, and ticks are the most
common carriers of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/3/prweb746414.htm

Greenwich, CT (PRWEB) March 7, 2008 -- With spring just around the
corner, most of us are looking forward to spending more time outdoors
-- not to the threat caused by disease-spreading parasites. But April
marks the official start of tick season, and ticks are the most common
carriers of the bacteria that causes Lyme disease.

"Although Lyme disease is a year-round problem, ticks are most active
in the spring and early summer," says Debbie Siciliano, co-president
and co-founder of Time for Lyme, Inc. (timeforlyme.org), a research,
education and advocacy network and affiliate of the Lyme Disease
Association, which together have endowed the Lyme and Tick-Borne
Diseases Research Center at Columbia University Medical in New York
City, the first of its kind dedicated to the study of chronic Lyme
disease. "And unfortunately, these ticks are often found in private
backyards and gardens -- just the places where many of us want to be
come springtime."

Cases of Lyme disease have been reported in virtually every state,
although the Northeastern, Great Lakes, and Pacific Northwest areas
are particularly troublesome. "If you live or vacation in these
places, you're more likely to meet up with an infected tick,"
Siciliano says. "You're also more vulnerable if you like to hike in
wooded or grassy areas -- places where ticks thrive."

To get ready for Lyme season, Siciliano recommends controlling the
ticks around your home, then taking steps to protect yourself and your
family. Here are some steps to consider:

*Use Pesticides*
A pesticide designed to kill ticks, called an acaricide, can make a
big dent in tick populations. In fact, a single, well-timed
application can reduce tick populations by 68 to 100%, according to
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The Environmental
Protection Agency and individual states determine the legal use of
pesticides, so check with your local authorities, and talk with local
health officials about the best time to apply acaricide. You also can
hire a professional to apply pesticides around your home to reduce the
tick population.

*Banish the Bugs*
Beyond the chemicals, you can use landscaping techniques to create a
tick-safe zone around your house. "Ticks thrive in humid, wooded
areas, but they don't last long in sunny, dry environments," Siciliano
says. To keep them away from your home, prune trees and shrubs, clear
away leaf litter, brush and tall grass, and let your lawn dry between
waterings. Get rid of mulch beds and keep firewood stacked in a dry
place. And put down a strip of wood chips or gravel between lawns and
wooded areas to prevent ticks from moving in.

*Discourage Deer*
Sure, they're cute, but deer can carry some nasty stowaways, Siciliano
says. They typically carry the adult female ticks that can drop off
and lay thousands of eggs on your property. So don't feed them on your
property, and put up a fence or barrier to keep them off your yard.
Get rid of the birdfeeders -- or at least be sure to clean up any
spilled birdfeed before it attracts deer. You also can add
deer-resistant plants to your garden (talk to the experts at your
local nursery for suggestions).

*Mind the Mice*
Deer ticks also love to settle on mice and other rodents, so you might
consider taking steps to control them there, too. Bait boxes, such as
the Maxforce Tick Management System and Damminix Tick Tubes, treat
wild rodents with acaricide and have been shown to reduce ticks around
homes by more than 50 percent. The treatment is similar to products
used to control fleas and ticks on pets; it doesn't harm the mouse,
just the ticks, although you should use caution, as you would with any
other chemicals, and store the product where the dogs and kids can't
reach it.

*Protect Your Pets*
Cats and dogs that venture outside can pick up ticks and bring them
home to you, says Siciliano. Schedule an appointment now to talk to
your veterinarian about appropriate tick repellants (Frontline and Top
Spot are two popular options), and get into the habit of checking Fido
or Fluffy for ticks every time he comes inside. "The Lyme-carrying
ticks can be as small as a poppy seed, so you've got to be especially
careful when checking a furry dog or cat," Siciliano says. "Using
appropriate veterinary tick repellants makes it much less likely that
your pet will bring ticks home."

*Stock Up*
Before April rolls around, consider stocking your medicine cabinet
with the tick repellant and insecticide products you'll use to protect
yourself and your family, Siciliano says. You'll want an insect
repellent containing 20 to 30 percent DEET, which you'll apply to
exposed skin and clothing (check with your doctor about the
appropriate use of DEET). CDC recommends products containing active
ingredients which have been registered with US Environmental
Protection Agency (EPA) for use as insect repellents on skin or
clothing. You'll also want to buy a product containing permethrin, an
insecticide that you apply to clothing. "Remember that DEET is a
repellant, so it won't kill the ticks," Siciliano says. "Permethrin
kills ticks on your clothing, but it won't have any effect on bugs
that don't land on your clothes," Siciliano says. "That's why it's
best to keep both permethrin and DEET products on hand and use them
together."

*About Time for Lyme*
Time For Lyme is an organization dedicated to eliminating the
devastating effects of Lyme disease and other tick-borne illness. Our
mission is to prevent the spread of disease, develop definitive
diagnostic tools and effective treatments, and to ultimately find a
cure for tick-borne illness by supporting research, education, and the
acquisition and dissemination of information. In addition, we will
continue to act as advocates for Lyme disease sufferers and their
families through support of legislative reform on the federal, state
and local levels. For more information on our organization, please
visit http://www.timeforlyme.org.

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/3/prweb746414.htm

[blimeyitslymie]

"The average infection rate of ticks collected from multiple sites was
60%."

- -

Study finds many Lyme disease-infected ticks
March 5, 2008
The Ridgefield Press, Ridgefield, Connecticut
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/29918.shtml

Discovery of hundreds to thousands of larval ticks on school
properties and in municipal parks in Fairfield County last summer has
sparked concern over a worsening threat of Lyme disease this year,
said the Fairfield County Municipal Deer Management Alliance.

Preliminary results released at the February meeting of the Alliance
of tick collections performed in Bethel, Easton, Greenwich, Newtown
and Redding as part of a 14-town study coordinated by the Alliance and
funded by participating towns, revealed high numbers of infected adult
ticks.

The average infection rate of ticks collected from multiple sites was 60%.

Dr. Eva Sapi, assistant professor of biology and environmental science
at the University of New Haven, is analyzing both the number of ticks
found in each of the participating towns and the proportion of those
ticks that carry the bacteria that cause Lyme disease. "All the ticks
were collected from sites very close to playgrounds and picnic areas,
as close as a few yards," said Dr. Sapi.

"Increasing winter survival of deer, and reduced hunting in the
suburbs is contributing to the growing populations of ticks in our
towns," explained Dr. Georgina Scholl, research chair of the alliance.
"The crucial role of high deer numbers in supporting tick populations
and consequently perpetuating the Lyme epidemic is not understood by
many residents," she said.

Full story:
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/29918.shtml

Letters:
newsroom@acorn-online.com

[blimeyitslymie]

"[W]e demonstrate that this protein [ospD] is not required for B.
burgdorferi survival and infectivity in either the mouse or tick.

Tightly Regulated Surface Protein of Borrelia burgdorferi is Not
Essential to the Mouse-Tick Infectious Cycle

Infection and Immunity accepts,
published online ahead of print on 10 March 2008

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/IAI.00714-07

Philip E. Stewart*, Aaron Bestor, Jonah N. Cullen, and Patricia A. Rosa

Laboratory of Zoonotic Pathogens, Rocky Mountain Laboratories,
National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, National
Institutes of Health, 903 South 4th St., Hamilton, Montana 59840

* To whom correspondence should be addressed: pestewart@niaid.nih.gov

*Abstract*
Borrelia burgdorferi synthesizes a variety of differentially regulated
outer surface lipoproteins in the tick vector and in vertebrate hosts.
Among these is OspD, a protein that is highly induced in vitro by
conditions that mimic the tick environment.

Using genetically engineered strains deleted for ospD, we demonstrate
that this protein is not required for B. burgdorferi survival and
infectivity in either the mouse or tick. However, examination of both
transcript levels and protein expression indicates that OspD
expression is limited to a discrete window of time during B.
burgdorferi replication within the tick.

This timeframe corresponds to tick detachment from the host following
feeding, and expression of OspD continues during the tick digestion of
the bloodmeal, but is low or undetectable after the tick has molted.
The high level of OspD production correlates to the highest cell
densities that B. burgdorferi is known to reach in vivo. Although
non-essential to the infectious cycle of B. burgdorferi, the tight
regulation of expression suggests a beneficial contribution of OspD to
the spirochete during bacterial replication within the tick midgut.

Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the
Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/IAI.00714-07

[blimeyitslymie]

From the Open Eye Picture Crew,
http://www.openeyepictures.com/underourskin/

Thursday March 13, 2008

"We just received the very good news that a major U.S. film festival
has accepted our film as a world premiere! (Because the roster of
films has not yet been announced, we cannot divulge the name of the
festival. This will be forthcoming.) Unfortunately, this means we
cannot host a screening of the film prior to the festival world
premiere. Doing so would make the film ineligible for the festival.
So, we are forced to postpone our sneak preview--which we are now
calling a "community premiere and launch party"--until Monday, May
12th. Same time. Same place.

You can find updated information about the rescheduled event below. Be
sure to act soon, because tickets are selling quickly. For more
information about the event and to purchase tickets, click here:
http://www.turnthecorner.org/UnderOurSkin2008/

Thank you for your patience with this unexpected but auspicious
change. As you can see, already the film is making a buzz. We look
forward to turning the buzz into a roar!"

[blimeyitslymie]

"Until about three years ago, one out of three or four grant requests
to NIH were funded. Now that figure is closer to one in 10, said Akira
Takashima, chair of UT's medical microbiology and immunology department.

"You have to be so lucky or you should be so good," he said."

- -

UT expands research of Lyme disease
Grants, Technology to Bolster Study of Ailment

Article published Monday, March 31, 2008
By MEGHAN GILBERT
STAFF WRITER, The Toledo Blade, Toledo, Ohio
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080331/NEWS21/803310348
or:
http://tinyurl.com/32cxex

"Research at the University of Toledo medical school, the former
Medical College of Ohio, is being undertaken to expose the bacteria's
tricks for more accurate diagnosis and treatment of the disease. More
than 20,000 cases are reported each year, with others likely going
undiagnosed.

Mark Wooten, an assistant professor of medical microbiology and
immunology at UT, has recently received four grants totaling nearly $3
million over four years for his studies." ...

"It's one of those bugs that's been hard to study," Mr. Wooten said.
"We're getting answers that aren't correct."

The traditional way of studying the disease in a test tube is
inaccurate because the bacteria do not act the way they do in animals.
So to get better information, researchers need to study the actual
animal carriers of the disease, such as mice.

With a high-tech multiphoton microscope on the health science campus
acquired two years ago, researchers can get three-dimensional images
and follow the progression of Lyme disease. By looking at a mouse
under anesthesia with the microscope, researchers can track the
infection. That's made easier by the way the mice are engineered -
bacteria glow red and immune cells glow green.

If the researchers can see how the bacteria can evade the first line
of defense in the skin and why and how the bacteria show up sometimes
months later after hiding out in human tissue, they can come up with
better ways to treat the illness, Mr. Wooten said."

Letters:
letters@theblade.com

The Toledo Blade
541 N. Superior Street
Toledo, OH 43660

[blimeyitslymie]

"There is undoubtedly a problem with people being told they have ME or
chronic fatigue syndrome, when it's actually Lyme disease.

"I feel it is irresponsible of doctors to simply ignore it."

ME, the acronym for myalgic encephalitis, another name for chronic
fatigue syndrome.

- -

ME, the crippling illness you can catch just by going for a walk
By LOIS ROGERS
Daily Mail, London, UK

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=552310&in_page_id=1774
or: http://tinyurl.com/374e2y

Sarah Warren thought she was coming down with flu.

After a marathon weekend of biking and running in the summer of 2005,
the superfit primary school teacher assumed she'd overdone it.

...

Sarah, who lives in Colchester, Essex, returned to her GP and saw a
locum who suspected an immune system disorder.

He referred her to a chronic disease clinic attached to her local
hospital and at first thought she might be one of Britain's estimated
250,000 sufferers of myalgic encephalitis (ME), otherwise known as
chronic fatigue syndrome.

"By this point I was so ill I couldn't think straight," says Sarah.

"The doctors test for ME by ruling out other illnesses, so I had blood
tests for leukaemia, lupus, anaemia, thyroid function - you name it.

"But even after all the tests, they couldn't confirm what was wrong
and started looking for psychological factors.

"That annoyed me even more. I didn't worry that I had anything
sinister, but I was desperate to find out what was wrong."

Unbeknown to Sarah - and her medical team - she was actually suffering
from Lyme disease, a little understood condition which is spread by
bloodsucking ticks carrying the borrelia bacteria.

Complete Story: http://tinyurl.com/374e2y

Letters: letters@dailymail.co.uk

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme Disease: An Unnecessary 'epidemic' That Could Be Stemmed By
Control Of The Deer Herd
The New London Day, New London, Connecticut
Published on 4/6/2008
http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=b933cf5b-eba9-453b-9d8e-d154c7a906b1
or: http://tinyurl.com/4rhbs9

Editorial written by Peter Knight, a resident of Westport and a member
of the Connecticut Coalition to Eradicate Lyme Disease.
http://www.EradicateLymeDisease.org/

Winston Churchill famously remarked to Franklin D. Roosevelt that
Hitler's war ought to be called "the Unnecessary War" because
responsible governments of the democracies could so easily have
prevented it, had they acted in time. Connecticut's decades old Lyme
disease epidemic can be accurately called "the Unnecessary Epidemic"
because it too could have been nipped in the bud.

From 1996-2006 there have been 29,000 reported cases of Lyme in
Connecticut, the majority among children and many with tragic,
long-term effects. A great many more cases go unreported or are
misdiagnosed. A more realistic number of cases is 29,000 a year.

The root cause of Connecticut's epidemic is an unnatural,
environmentally destructive, population explosion of deer. The deer
are not infected with the disease themselves, but they feed, transport
and disperse the deer ticks that pass it on to humans. Just one
tick-infested deer can facilitate the delivery of about 1 million deer
tick eggs that it scatters as it walks through our backyards, parks,
playgrounds, meadows and playing fields. The eggs hatch and turn into
ticks that then infect their victims.

What to do?

Controlling the deer population, which means culling the herd, has
ended Lyme epidemics in towns in three New England states. No other
method has reduced Lyme case numbers, either in New England or
elsewhere. When deer populations are reduced to around 10 per square
mile, the deer ticks that spread Lyme and other diseases become
locally extinct. It takes a lot of deer to keep the tick species
reproducing successfully in an area. But when there are no ticks left,
there is no Lyme disease.

Much of the work that led to this understanding was done here by our
own Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station, funded by our own
state government. We now need a policy to let people know about this
research and why it should lead to legislation to control the deer
population.

The Connecticut Coalition to Eradicate Lyme Disease was recently
formed for just this reason. It is supported by the Connecticut
Audubon Society, Merritt Parkway Conservancy, seven of Connecticut's
regional councils of government representing more than 70 towns, plus
emergency physicians, pediatricians, Lyme disease task forces,
veterinarians, and many others.

But what may seem obvious to most people is not so to others. Some
believe that ticks do not need large numbers of deer for survival but
can live just as well on other animals. Others claim that deer
management only works on islands; or that it doesn't work at all and
tick numbers go up instead of down when deer numbers decline. Even
more far fetched is the notion that all the white-footed mice, mammals
and songbirds in Connecticut would have to be killed to end Lyme
disease. None of this is true. The towns that are now free of their
epidemics liberated themselves by controlling deer numbers, nothing
else. And the animals and birds are all thriving and do not sustain
the deer tick populations. And yes, you can control deer populations
on the mainland. That too has been demonstrated in a large suburban
community but it takes public understanding of the need and the benefits.

According to a recent joint publication of the Connecticut Department
of Public Health, Yale University and the Centers for Disease Control
and Prevention, current attempts at prevention of Lyme disease through
"personal protection" such as "inspecting one's body for ticks" and
"using tick killing chemicals on one's property" were "not found to be
an effective strategy to prevent Lyme disease." These measures failed
to stop the growth or spread of the Lyme disease epidemic.

As the good news about prevention becomes more widely known, the next
steps should include a public airing of the alternatives that confront
us: Do we act now to control deer numbers and the incidence of Lyme
disease? Or do we let both continue to rise inexorably?

We believe it is time for the state Department of Public Health and
the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to develop a new
strategy and to provide a reliable source of information based upon
the work of our state research scientists with 25 years of experience
in Connecticut.

We hope that Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the state legislators will lead the
effort to make this possible. A bill (HB 5852: An Act To Control Lyme
Disease) sponsored by the Environment Committee and the Connecticut
Coalition to Eradicate Lyme Disease is currently under review in
Hartford. It needs the support of citizens and of legislators alike.

Franklin Roosevelt espoused four essential human freedoms. He might
have added a fifth — "freedom from avoidable disease — anywhere."

Source: http://tinyurl.com/4rhbs9

Letters, use the secure form found here:
https://campus.theday.com/frm_letters.aspx

Or snail mail:
Letters to the Editor
The Day, P.O. Box 1231
New London, CT 06320

[blimeyitslymie]

New Maine Made Tick Tactic® - first aid kit helps victims of tick bites

As the threat of Lyme disease approaches this spring, this handy,
inexpensive tick defense kit could actually save lives.

http://www.rapidpressrelease.com/press%2Drelease/Pets/005362.asp

Portland, Maine, 25, 2008 — Tick Tactic®, a new product made by
Maine-based Lyme Alert, is a pocket-sized kit designed to address an
alarming health threat to people and animals; Lyme disease. It is
estimated that 30-60% of deer ticks carry Lyme disease and other
dangerous co-infections. Every year, hundreds of people don't even
realize they were bitten by a deer tick until it's too late and they
become very ill. The Tick Tactic® tick identification and removal kit
is a unique new solution that can help people protect themselves,
their family members and their pets from being stricken with this
serious disease.

Cleverly packaged in a three-inch metal "mints-style" tin, Tick
Tactic® offers a complete source of tips and tools to identify tick
bites and remove them correctly. It includes a "How To" booklet, deer
tick identification guidelines, tweezers, alcohol disinfectant,
magnifier, bag for tick disposal or sending to a testing facility,
pencil, a symptom record and resources for learning about Lyme
disease. Using tweezers is the only known way to successfully remove
ticks.

Tick Tactic® is the first in a line of Lyme Alert Lyme disease
education and support products created by two Lyme disease survivors,
Mo Babicki and Jane Honeck, both from Maine. "We developed Tick
Tactic® to help prevent more people from suffering the way I have,"
said Ms. Babicki. "We must create more awareness about this
debilitating, painful disease spreading across the United States and
throughout the world. We must help people take measures to stop ticks
from infecting them�or someone they love."

New Maine-made Tick Tactic® first aid kit helps victims of tick bites

Lyme disease can cause rashes, extreme fatigue, headaches, heart
conditions, and neurological impairments. If Lyme disease is detected
early, treatment can ease suffering and the costs of diagnosis,
treatment and ultimately human capital can be diminished.

Tick Tactic® is manufactured in Richmond, Maine and is offered at the
suggested retail price of $5.99. It is small enough to keep on hand
anywhere, including the home medicine cabinet, kids' backpacks, glove
compartments, purses, golf bags, camping equipment, and just about
anywhere else.

Tick Tactic® can be found in convenience stores throughout New England
and New York, and it's also available online for immediate shipping.
Visit http://www.lymealert.com for details.

To learn more about Tick Tactic®, please contact Jane Honeck in the
Portland office, Lyme Alert, Inc., 50 Portland Pier, Suite 200,
Portland, Maine 04101. Phone: 207-347-4992, email: info@LymeAlert.com

Mo Babicki 207-737-2205 for the Richmond office. Lyme Alert, Inc., 50
Portland Pier, Suite 200, Portland, Maine 04101. Phone: 207-347-4992,
email: info@LymeAlert.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Medical Doctor Discusses Link Between Lyme Disease and Alzheimer's on
'Interviews with Experts' Series

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/04/prweb852784.htm

Alan MacDonald, MD, discusses the connection between Lyme Disease and
Alzheimer's on the 'Interviews with Experts' series. Lyme is sometimes
misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's disease, as the two share symptoms.
Research also yields discovery of biofilms, a form of defense taken by
the Lyme bacteria. The interview series provides medical experts a
platform for talking directly to people affected by Lyme about
diagnosis, symptoms and treatment of Lyme disease.

Asheville, NC (PRWEB) April 14, 2008 -- Alan MacDonald, MD, talks
about his research into the link between Lyme disease and Alzheimer's
in the audio series 'Interviews with Experts,' on the Lyme Disease
Research Database. Lyme is sometimes misdiagnosed as Alzheimer's, as
the two diseases share common symptoms. Recent research also includes
the discovery of biofilms, another of the stealth forms taken by the
Lyme bacteria. The interview series provides medical experts an online
platform for reaching people affected by Lyme.

Read the interview transcript.

http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/alan-macdonald-transcription.html

Dr. MacDonald discusses his research in a well-documented case study
at Stony Brook Hospital, which showed spirochetal DNA in the brain
tissue of a man who was diagnosed with Lyme and eventually succumbed
to Alzheimer's disease, therefore "connecting the link between Lyme
disease and Alzheimer's in some patients," he says.

He also describes the recent discovery of biofilms, which hide and
protect colonies of spirochetes. Biofilms are one of the various
stealth forms taken by Borrelia burgdorferi bacteria to evade antibiotics.

"It helps to understand that a group of spirochetes with the DNA and
the potential to cause disease can exist without having a single
spiral form at all, but they have other diverse forms as they unite
into a colony to survive under adverse conditions," says Dr.
MacDonald, who will present a summary of his research into biofilms at
the 3rd Annual Lyme Disease Symposium at New Haven University,
Connecticut on May 17.

The 'Interviews with Experts' series, available online at the Lyme
Disease Research Database, provides health experts with a platform for
reaching patients and others affected by the disease. In other
interviews, renowned physician and medical researcher Dr. Lee Cowden
discusses his Lyme protocol, and master herbalist Stephen Harrod
Buhner talks about the politics of Lyme and his book, Healing Lyme:
Natural Healing and Prevention of Borreliosis and its Coinfections.

Learn more about the Lyme expert audio interview series-

http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme_expert_interview_series.html

For additional information on the Lyme Disease Research Database,
visit www.lyme-disease-research-database.com. Access to the cutting
edge news from experts on Lyme disease is available immediately.

Learn more about Lym disease symptoms.

http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme-disease-symptoms.html

Private health and wellness advocates have been gathering information
on conventional and integrative approaches to heal from Lyme disease
since 2005.

###

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/04/prweb852784.htm

Contact Information
SUZANNE ARTHUR
lyme Disease Research Database
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme disease underreported, experts say
By Bonnie McMeans
For The Philadelphia Inquirer, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

http://www.philly.com/inquirer/local/pa/chester/nabes/20080413_Lyme_disease_underreported__experts_say.h tml
or: http://tinyurl.com/6pt3xy

Posted on Sun, April 13, 2008

Chester County ranked second in the state in 2006, with 459 reported
cases, after Montgomery County, with 461 cases, according the
Pennsylvania Department of Health.

Stephen Ostroff, an epidemiologist with the state health department,
said Chester County ranks high for Lyme disease because of the number
of suburban communities popping up in rural areas, where deer, mice
and ticks abound. Deer and mice carry the ticks that spread the disease.

"The highest-risk situation is around the home if the property backs
up against woods," Ostroff said, "and there is a lot of that in
Chester County."

According to the Chester County Health Department, there were 524
confirmed cases of Lyme disease in 2007 (through Oct. 31) with most of
the cases occurring in the eastern part of the county, including East
and West Pikeland, Charlestown, Tredyffrin and Willistown Townships,
among others.

But Doug Fearn, president of the Lyme Disease Association of
Southeastern Pennsylvania, believes the actual number is in the
thousands. "The CDC estimates only one out of 10 cases gets reported,"
he said, "so if you multiply 500 cases by 10, you get 5,000 new cases
per year, and that's a conservative estimate."

Some cases of Lyme disease do not get reported because the patient's
symptoms do not meet the surveillance criteria established by the CDC,
namely a bull's-eye rash or a positive blood test, Ostroff said.

Fearn agrees. "The bar is set too high," he said.

Full Story:
http://tinyurl.com/6pt3xy

Letters: Inquirer.Letters@phillynews.com

[blimeyitslymie]

*Must read* The physician association most responsible for the current
plight of Lyme suffers all over the world now wants to stop a piece of
U. S. legislation which has the best chance of turning this around.


- -

The California Lyme Disease Association, the national Lyme Disease
Association and Time for Lyme distributed the following press release
on April 9, 2008, regarding the IDSA's recent attempt to kill federal
legislation that would provide funding for Lyme research and give
patients a voice in research needs. To help get this bill passed in
the Senate and House, see instructions below the release.

Lyme Disease Physicians and Patients
Expose Research Group's Ploy to Silence Them

Already caught up in an anti-trust investigation, IDSA opposes
research bill in order to maintain monopoly over Lyme diagnosis and
treatment options

Washington, DC - Physicians specializing in treating chronic Lyme
disease and a national coalition of Lyme disease patients and their
families today accused a medical research group of trying to exercise
monopoly control over research on Lyme and tick-borne diseases.

"We're very disappointed," said Pat Smith, president of the national
Lyme Disease Association (LDA), responding to a letter to Congress by
the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) that seeks to deny
patients a voice regarding the research needed to better understand
the disease.

Lyme disease is a serious bacterial infection that develops from the
bite of an infected tick. The disease is often misdiagnosed or goes
untreated, causing many patients to suffer persistent health problems,
including neurological disorders, crippling muscle and joint pain,
disabling fatigue, psychological disorders, and even death. Even when
Lyme disease is caught early and treated with a short course of
antibiotics, the debilitating symptoms can persist and require
additional longer-term treatment.

In March, IDSA wrote Congress attacking the Lyme and Tick-Borne
Disease Prevention, Education and Research Act of 2007, introduced by
Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Bart Stupak (D-MI) in the House, and
Christopher Dodd (D-CT), Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
in the Senate. The broadly supported bipartisan bill calls for
acceleration of Lyme disease research and creates a new federal
advisory committee made up of the full range of scientific viewpoints
on Lyme, including a seat for patient advocacy groups.

The IDSA is currently under investigation by the Connecticut Attorney
General for abuse of monopoly power and exclusionary conduct in
formulating its Lyme disease guidelines, which were developed by a
panel that held significant commercial interests in diagnostic tests,
vaccines, and consulting arrangements. In its letter to Congress
opposing the Lyme Bill, the IDSA failed to mention this ongoing
investigation.

IDSA researchers have virtually controlled Lyme disease research for
the past 30 years amidst ongoing controversy surrounding its
guidelines, which deny patients the right to treatment options and
undermine the ability of physicians to use their clinical discretion
in treating patients. IDSA provides private health insurance
companies with the basis for denying long-term treatment for chronic
Lyme disease.

The California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA), national Lyme Disease
Association (LDA) and Time for Lyme (TFL) are non-profit organizations
that were founded by individuals who had personal experience with Lyme
disease, in order to address the lack of research, education and
support services available for this newly emerging infection.

If the IDSA gets its way, this bill will die without ever having a
public hearing. If you don't want that to happen, here's what to do:

Right now, the bill is stalled in two Congressional subcommittees (one
in House, one in the Senate.) If the committee chairmen do not release
the measures for a vote, the Lyme bills will die. We would then have
to wait until next year to start the process all over again.

Click here for a list of states with members on the committees:

http://www.lymediseaseassociation.org/HR741/HR741.html#Actions

If your state is listed, click for contact information. Urge your
representatives to contact their committee chairmen and request a
hearing for the Lyme disease bill. (S 1708/HR 741) If it is a senator
on your list, have him/her contact Senator Edward Kennedy (MA),
chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee.
If it is a member of the House, have him/her contact Congressman Frank
Pallone (NJ), chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health Subcommittee.

Phone your representatives in their DC offices during regular business
hours. It's quick and easy. The staff will tally all calls they receive.

If your state is not listed, see "other actions needed by individuals"
at the above link.

Actual bill text:

http://thomas.loc.gov/home/thomas.html

Click Bill # and type S 1708 or HR 741

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme disease makes heavy push over New Hampshire border
The Daily News of Newburyport, Newburyport, MA
By Charles Frost, Staff writer
Published: April 11, 2008 06:08 am

http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_102060858.html

Northeastern Massachusetts has long been plagued by Lyme
disease-carrying ticks, but a recent study in Southern New Hampshire
shows the problem is spreading rapidly over the state border.

The New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services released
data this week that indicated more than 50 percent of ticks tested
last fall in Rockingham County — which includes communities such as
Seabrook, Hampton and Portsmouth — were carriers of Lyme disease.
That's almost twice as many as experts had initially predicted.

Since 2004, the number of confirmed cases of humans contracting Lyme
disease in Rockingham County had nearly quadrupled, from 103 in 2004
to 389 last year.

While the disease can be treated with antibiotics, it also can lead to
serious illness or death if not diagnosed and treated quickly.

Full story:
http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_102060858.html

Letters
Use the form here:
http://www.newburyportnews.com/contactus/local_story_015132154.html

Alternately you can fax your letter to (978) 687-6045 or mail it to:

Letters to the editor
The Eagle-Tribune
P.O. Box 100
Lawrence, MA 01842

[blimeyitslymie]

"The problem of both [Babesiosis and Anaplasmosis] is that certain
people with underlying health conditions are at risk of dying if not
treated," said Matyas, who added that there is a debate over whether
Lyme disease can kill. "From our perspective, we consider the whole
state to be a potential risk for all three (Lyme disease, babesiosis
and anaplasmosis)."

- -

Two other tick-borne diseases less risky here
By Charles Frost, Staff writer
The Daily News of Newburyport, Newburyport, MA
Published: April 11, 2008 06:08 am

http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_102060834.html

When a group from the University of Massachusetts Amherst conducted
tests of ticks for Lyme disease last fall in New Hampshire, they also
tested for two emerging tick-borne diseases, babesiosis and anaplasmosis.

Dr. Bela Matyas, medical director of the epidemiology program for the
Massachusetts State Health Department, said the risk of these two
bacterial diseases is similar to Lyme disease, but the difference is
that they are much less common, occurring at about one-hundredth the
rate. He noted that there are parts of the state where those two
diseases are prevalent, including the Nantucket area, Barnstable and
Berkshire, but not in Essex County.

Full Story:
http://www.newburyportnews.com/punews/local_story_102060834.html

Letters
Use the form here:
http://www.newburyportnews.com/contactus/local_story_015132154.html

Alternately you can fax your letter to (978) 687-6045 or mail it to:

Letters to the editor
The Eagle-Tribune
P.O. Box 100
Lawrence, MA 01842

[blimeyitslymie]

Following it's world premiere on Sat. April 26, 2008, Under Our Skin
will have four additional screenings including one on Sunday evening
which will be followed by a "Behind the Screens" Panel
discussion with Director, Andy Abrahams Wilson, Amy Tan, Dr. Richard
Horowitz and a moderator yet to be announced.

- Rick

- -

Film description from the Tribeca website:

Under Our Skin, directed by Andy Abrahams Wilson.
World Premiere, Documentary.

Arguably the most overlooked and misdiagnosed ailment currently
verging on epidemic throughout the United States, Lyme disease and the
shocking controversies surrounding its identification and treatment
are the focus of this provocative and often terrifying documentary.

UNDER OUR SKIN Tribeca Screening Schedule

Saturday, April 26, 7:00 pm
World Premiere
AMC Village VII, Theater 2
66 Third Avenue (at 11th Street)
New York

Sunday, April 27, 6:30 pm
"Behind the Screens" Panel & Screening
(with Amy Tan, Dr. Richard Horowitz, Andy Abrahams Wilson, and
moderator TBA)
Directors Guild of America (DGA) Theater
110 West 57th Street (Between 6th & 7th Avenue)
New York

Monday, April 28, 5:00 pm
Village East Cinemas, Theater 7
181 Second Avenue (at 12th Street)
New York

Thursday, May 1, 2:00 pm
Village East Cinemas, Theater 6
181 Second Avenue (at 12th Street)
New York

Friday, May 2, 6:00 pm
Village East Cinemas, Theater 2
181 Second Avenue (at 12th Street)
New York

To Purchase Tickets:
http://www.tribecafilmfestival.org/filmguide/Under_Our_Skin.html

For Film Information:
http://www.underourskin/

[blimeyitslymie]

"These results confirmed that mice in southern Maryland were
persistently infected with multiple variants of B. burgdorferi
throughout the transmission season."

- -

Presence of Multiple Variants of Borrelia burgdorferi in the Natural
Reservoir Peromyscus leucopus Throughout a Transmission Season

Katherine I. Swanson, Douglas E. Norris. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic
Diseases. 2008 Apr 9 (Epub ahead of print.) doi:10.1089/vbz.2007.0222.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2007.0222

*Abstract*

White-footed mice (Peromyscus leucopus) serve as the principal
reservoir for Borrelia burgdorferi and have been shown to remain
infected for life.

Complex infections with multiple genetic variants of B. burgdorferi
occur in mice through multiple exposures to infected ticks or through
exposure to ticks infected with multiple variants of B. burgdorferi.

Using a combination of cloning and single strand conformation
polymorphism (SSCP), B. burgdorferi ospC variation was assessed in
serial samples collected from individual P. leucopus during a single
transmission season.

In individuals with ospC variation, at least seven ospC variants were
recognized at each time point. One to four of these variants
predominated at each time point; however, the predominant variants
seldom remained consistent in an individual mouse throughout the
entire sampling period. These results confirmed that mice in southern
Maryland were persistently infected with multiple variants of B.
burgdorferi throughout the transmission season.

However, the presence of multiple ospC variants and the fluctuations
in the frequency of these variants indicates that either new ospC
variants are regularly introduced to this mouse population and
predominate while the existing infections are cleared, or that the
variation detected in the genetic profile at different time points
reflects a complex mixture of B. burgdorferi populations whose
relative frequencies may continually change.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2007.0222

[blimeyitslymie]

Significantly Improved Detection of Early Lyme Disease by Peptide
ELISA Based on the Borreliacidal Antibody Epitope of Borrelia
burgdorferi OspC

Jobe DA, Lovrich SD, Asp KE, Mathiason MA, Albrecht SE, Schell RF,
Callister SM*

Microbiology Research Laboratory, and Department of Medical Research,
Gundersen Lutheran Medical Foundation and Section of Infectious
Diseases, Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, La Crosse, Wisconsin
54601 and Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene, Madison, Wisconsin 53706

* To whom correspondence should be addressed. Email:
SMCallis@gundluth.org.

Clinical and Vaccine Immunology published online ahead of print on 16
April 2008

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/CVI.00079-08

*Abstract*

Highly specific borreliacidal antibodies are induced by infection with
Borrelia burgdorferi, and the immunodominant response during early
Lyme disease is specific for an epitope within the 7 amino acids
nearest the C-terminus of OspC.

We evaluated the ability of an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay
(ELISA) based on a synthetic peptide (OspC7) that matched the region
to detect the response and compared the sensitivity during early Lyme
disease to an FDA-approved Western blot. When the OD value was
adjusted to 98% specificity based on the results from testing normal
or uncharacterized sera (n = 236) or sera from patients with blood
factors or illnesses that commonly produce antibodies that cross-react
with B. burgdorferi antigens (n = 77), 115 (73%) of 157 sera from
patients likely to have early Lyme disease were positive for
immunoglobulin (IgM) antibodies and 17 (11%) also had IgG antibodies.

In addition, the IgM ELISA reactivities and the titers of antibodies
detected by a flow cytometric borreliacidal antibody test correlated
closely (r = 0.646). Moreover, the IgM ELISA was significantly more
sensitive (p < 0.001) than the Western blot.

The findings therefore confirmed the peptide IgM ELISA detected OspC
borreliacidal antibodies and provided strong evidence the test can
eliminate the necessity for confirming early Lyme disease by a
supplementary test such as Western blot.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1128/CVI.00079-08

Copyright (c) 2008, American Society for Microbiology and/or the
Listed Authors/Institutions. All Rights Reserved.

[blimeyitslymie]

The Workers' Compensation Commission ruled in his favor, ruling that
his tick bites "occurred while he was working" and later confirming
that "there is substantial evidence that ... the organism that causes
Lyme disease is present in South Carolina."

- -

Guest Column: We Aren't Insulated From Lyme's Dangers
By Kathleen Liporace
Kathleen Liporace is a patient and physician advocate and began a
Greenville Lyme disease support group a year ago. Readers may contact
her at greenvillelyme@bellsouth.net

The Greenville News, Greenville, South Carolina
April 18, 2008
http://greenvilleonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080418/OPINION/804180313/1004/NEWS01
or: http://tinyurl.com/5k6nl5

Phil Wood was an energetic South Carolinian before contracting Lyme
disease while employed as a timber buyer. His duties included cruising
tracts of land on foot to assess the value of timber for purchasing.
As a timber buyer, Wood faced a risk largely unknown in South Carolina
-- Lyme disease, an affliction that can be caused by the bite of a tick.

As is typical for advanced cases of Lyme borreliosis, or Lyme disease,
Wood suffered multiple unremitting physical issues. The symptoms
included swelling; confusion; tingling and numbness of the hands;
migraines; headaches; dizziness; muscle, joint and chest pain; ringing
of the ears; nausea; fever; and unrelenting fatigue. He also had to
have his gallbladder removed, which is common for Lyme sufferers.

Because he contracted this disease while working, Wood's health
insurer left him without coverage, and told him his case should be
covered by workers' compensation. Wood filed for workers' comp late in
2004 and again the following spring, when he requested a workers'
compensation hearing. The Workers' Compensation Commission ruled in
his favor, ruling that his tick bites "occurred while he was working"
and later confirming that "there is substantial evidence that ... the
organism that causes Lyme disease is present in South Carolina."

While most people do not contract Lyme disease at work, Wood's case is
typical of many chronic Lyme patients, whose illnesses are hard to
diagnose, difficult to treat and often not believed.

This decision holds promise for those in South Carolina who suffer
from chronic Lyme disease. It attests to the authenticity of Lyme, and
it underscores the necessity of long-term treatment for chronic Lyme
disease. That's important because many insurers now limit treatment to
30 days, resulting in extensive out-of-pocket costs for the continued,
long-term treatment of this multi-systemic condition.

Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/5k6nl5

Letters:
letters@greenvillenews.com

Letters to the Editor
PO Box 1688
Greenville, SC 29602

Fax: (864) 298-4805

[blimeyitslymie]

A few words from Pat Smith, LDA President.

- -

Dear Lyme Community,

Your support has been overwhelming. You are taking the time to contact
Washington and letting them know you are out there, and you will be
heard. Believe me, if they did not know before, they know now. We have
heard that 200-300 calls/hour were coming in & one office received
over 2,000 calls by late Fri. afternoon.

What is DC's response? I was contacted today by the Energy & Commerce
Committee Office and told we have incorrect information on our Urgent
flyer, and we need to stop the calls, because it is unfair to
committee chairs and E&C - their phone lines are tied up. I told him
if he wanted to know what unfair was, I would tell him. I did. I told
him about IDSA preventing you from getting a diagnosis with its
guidelines, I told him about your inability to get treatment, about
children being removed form families for the crime of having them
treated for Lyme by a licensed physician. I told him the stranglehold
IDSA has on this disease and how they promulgate only the science they
have accepted as real and how Congress was choosing to listen to
IDSA's voice and not yours. I said, this is America, a place where
diverse views can be expressed everywhere on anything, but not on Lyme
disease.

I told him how every other major disease has a patient voice in the
process, Lyme does not. I told them Lyme patients are not "uneducated"
as some have attempted to portray them. They are very smart and
include people from all walks of life including professionals. They
know their disease, and they are tired of IDSA telling them they are
not improving with antibiotic treatment when they know they are. They
know IDSA is trying to take away the only opportunity they have for a
voice in their fight to regain control of their lives by defeating
this disease. I said these people do not need me to draw the lines for
them and connect the dots.

I told them patients have lost their patience. They sat by and waited
while Congress said war was a priority, while Congress said West Nile
was priority, while Congress said the economy was priority, and
"Martian Fever in Timbuktu" was a priority. They've waited 10 years to
have their bill heard. They do not want to wait any more. And like
AIDS was many years ago, Lyme is now --patients are increasing in
numbers, yet have few doctors willing to run the political risk of
treating them. Global warming is increasing Lyme disease cases.
People are becoming afraid to venture outdoors in many areas. And CDC
case numbers are only the tip of the iceberg. If he were content to
listen to CDC numbers, he would be sadly misinformed. Numbers of
tick-borne disease cases far surpass that. Patients were not going
away, in fact, their numbers are rising. Public health is not doing
its job concerning Lyme disease, and I said that is why I remain
involved, I could not turn my back on these patients.

On the call, I was given no indication or hint of any kind that
anything would be done with the bill at all. When I asked what
information on the flyer on our website was incorrect, I was told the
part about Energy & Commerce is making up a list of the only health
bills to be heard NOW. He said that is incorrect. I told him we were
told that by someone at the office there. He said that is not true
(LDA stands by its source) and that we are not helping the cause by
making these phone calls. When I asked what would help the cause, I
got no answer.

He said they got the message. I disagreed. If they got the message, I
said, they would have the bill scheduled, since we are almost a year
and a half into the session and you have nothing on your Health
Subcommittee agenda. No hints or assurances that anything could or
would be done were given. Again he said I should tell patients to
stop the calls. I said I could not do that, patients have heard all
over the Hill that E&C refuses to schedule a hearing due to IDSA
pressure. He never responded to that nor made any reference to that as
being incorrect on our flyer (Flyer says IDSA is dictating public
policy and your health. Because of its interference, we cannot get a
hearing on the Lyme bill.)

We had a lengthy discussion. He said my comments would be relayed
back, and I said I would tell everyone what he said about the
information on the flyer being incorrect and that I would also say we
heard differently, but that I would not tell patients they had to stop
calling. They want action and have been patient for the 10 years bills
have been in Congress, and I have no right to tell them they should
stop calling because some offices were inconvenienced. Try living
with Lyme for 20 years or caring for a family member with the disease.
Bottom line, for me, a healthy person in the fight for 20 years, I
would not tell patients something I did not feel was justified, nor
would I desert or mislead Lyme patients fighting for their rights and
their lives.

Pat Smith, LDA President

[blimeyitslymie]

Faced with big tick season, town gets grant
Ridgefield Press, Ridgefield, Connecticut
By Jenny Cox
April 25, 2008

http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/32531.shtml

A $50,000 state grant for a "full-scale Lyme disease prevention
program" in town will come just in time, Health Director Ed Briggs
said this week.

And the message will be "blast" the disease.

"We really need it this year, because we have a higher density of deer
ticks, and I think it will be valuable to get new information out," he
said.

The grant will be used to hire a professional Lyme disease educator in
a Health Department program that will be used as a model for other
Fairfield County towns, he said.

...

The message for all Ridgefielders — but particularly for parents — is
simple, Ms. Reid said. "The theme is B.L.A.S.T. — a positive but
powerful acronym," she said. "B stands for bathe, soon after you've
been outside. My recommendation would be to use a loofah. L is for
look your body over every day. You're looking for ticks but also for
any sort of rashes. The good thing is, the faster you get the tick off
or the faster you get treated, the better your chances. A stands for
applying repellent. That's a personal decision, but repellent put onto
clothing, even sprayed the night before, is an excellent way to ward
off ticks. S stands for spray your yards for ticks. T is for treat
your pets for ticks, because you want your pets to be safe, but also
because cats and dogs bring ticks into houses."

Full story:
http://www.acorn-online.com/news/publish/ridgefield/32531.shtml

Letters:
newsroom@acorn-online.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme disease mission
April 27 2008 by Sarah Robertson
Sunday Sun, Newcastle upon Tyne, England, UK

http://www.sundaysun.co.uk/news/north-east-news/2008/04/27/lyme-disease-mission-79310-20827701/
or: http://tinyurl.com/3fe8x8

A woman who suffered "six years of hell" after medics failed to
correctly diagnose her symptoms as Lyme disease is trying to raise
awareness of the illness in the North.

Ellie Marshall, 47, said doctors don't know enough about the
debilitating blood disease that can cause paralysis, blindness and
even death.

The mother-of-two swapped GPs in a bid to find out what was causing
her astonishing list of symptoms, and saw various consultants, who
performed a hysterectomy in a bid to cure her mystery illness.

Full story:
http://tinyurl.com/3fe8x8

Write to the Sunday Sun at:
Groat Market,
Newcastle upon Tyne, NE1 1ED.
or Email: Colin.Patterson@ncjmedia.co.uk

[blimeyitslymie]

Carmel Valley girl keeps fighting Lyme disease
Malady so rare it's often not diagnosed
By LAITH AGHA
Monterey Herald, Monterey, California

http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_9073106
Article Last Updated: 04/27/2008 01:39:30 AM PDT

Taylor deRegt is not totally immobilized by Lyme disease. She
successfully competes in high school rodeo and is just finishing a
year as a high school rodeo queen.

But it's not easy for the Carmel Valley girl, who turns 17 today. She
misses about a week of school each month because the disease saps her
energy. Because her condition went misdiagnosed for more than four
years, she has suffered a slew of health conditions that continue to
plague her.

...

Janine Talty, a doctor of osteopathy in Watsonville who regularly
treats sufferers of Lyme, said symptoms are often misdiagnosed as the
results of chronic fatigue syndrome or fibromyalgia. Talty, the doctor
who finally detected that deRegt had Lyme, said West Coast doctors
often dismiss Lyme as a potential sources of a patient's ailments.

"It's really amazing how doctors are just not willing to learn about
this disease," Talty said. "Doctors don't want to deal with this
because it is a whole 'nother medical specialty."

...

While Talty does not consider herself a Lyme expert, she learned
enough about the disease while attending medical conferences in the
last few years to correlate it with mystery illnesses she was
encountering in some patients.

"I selected 17 patients that, once you put your 'Lyme glasses' on,
kind of fit," Talty said. Of that group, 15 came up positive for Lyme,
including Michelle Long, 52, of Seaside.

Complete Story:
http://www.montereyherald.com/local/ci_9073106

Letters:
mheditor@montereyherald.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme Disease Symptoms Discussed on 'Interviews with Experts' Series

Ginger Savely, RN, FNP, discusses Lyme Disease symptoms on the audio
'Interviews with Experts' series. Savely treats patients with Lyme at
her clinic in San Francisco, CA. She also addresses the distinctions
between the IDSA and ILADS guidelines for the treatment of Lyme
disease. The interview series offers medical experts such as Savely an
opportunity to talk directly to people affected by the illness about
Lyme disease symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme_disease_blog_files/two-approaches-to-lyme-symptoms.html
or: http://tinyurl.com/3vrg7s

Asheville, NC (PRWEB) April 28, 2008 -- Ginger Savely, RN, FNP,
discusses Lyme Disease symptoms and the challenge of diagnosing Lyme
on the audio 'Interviews with Experts' series. Savely treats patients
with Lyme and other tick borne diseases at her clinic in San
Francisco, CA. She also talks about the reasons she follows the
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, or ILADS,
guidelines for Lyme disease treatment, instead of those of the
Infectious Disease Society of America, the IDSA. The audio interview
series provides Lyme specialists such as Savely a platform for talking
to people about Lyme disease symptoms, diagnosis and treatment.

Lyme disease symptoms are tricky to diagnose in part because not
everyone reacts the same to infection, which may lie dormant for an
unknown amount of time. Lyme symptoms, taken individually, may plague
many people at some time in their life, according to Savely. However,
the severity and quantity of the symptoms may contribute to the
suspicion of an underlying Lyme infection.
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme-disease-symptoms.html

"Everybody has had fatigue, everybody's had headaches, everyone's
probably had some pains here and there in their life," she says. "But
when these symptoms become overwhelming and the person becomes
incapacitated, then that's something you need to really look into."

Savely talks about the distinctions between the two major standards of
care for Lyme disease symptoms, and discusses why she follows the
ILADS' Lyme disease treatment guidelines.

"I treat according to what works, and not according to the IDSA
cookbook approach. That doesn't work. There are people who relapse
very quickly, and are in worse shape than they ever were before they
ever started treatment," she says, although acknowledging that in some
cases it might be sufficient. "You have a tick bite, you catch it
right away, I'd say sure, I give a month of doxycycline. Although I
must say that even those come back with a chronic presentation later.
Even that isn't a guarantee, even if you get treated right away."

The 'Interviews with Experts' series, available online at the Lyme
Disease Research Database, offer health experts a way to reach people
affected by Lyme disease. In other interviews, Raphael Stricker, MD,
talks about Lyme disease treatment, and medical researcher Alan
MacDonald, MD, discusses scientific studies investigating a link
between Lyme and Alzheimer's disease.

For additional information on the Lyme Disease Research Database,
visit
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com/lyme_disease_research_press.html

Access to the cutting edge news from experts on Lyme disease is
available immediately.

Private health and wellness advocates have been gathering information
on conventional and integrative approaches to heal from Lyme disease
since 2005.

###

Contact Information
SUZANNE ARTHUR
lyme Disease Research Database
http://www.lyme-disease-research-database.com
(828) 713-0078

[blimeyitslymie]

Experts sound the alert for deer ticks and Lyme disease
By Joao Ferreira
New Bedford Standard-Times, New Bedford, Massachusetts
April 28, 2008 6:00 AM
http://www.southcoasttoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080428/NEWS/804280343/1018/OPINION
or: http://tinyurl.com/6k6e8q

At this time of the year David Simser goes into the woods and drags a
white flag through the leaf litter.

He examines the flag every 30 seconds.

Mr. Simser works with the Cape Cod Collaborative Extension's deer tick
project.

Through his work, he has found out that about 20 percent of the tiny
nymphs found in the state carry Lyme disease, compared to 50 percent
of adult ticks.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/6k6e8q

Letters:
letters@s-t.com

- -

Lyme disease on the increase
By Peter Reuell
The MetroWest Daily News, Framingham, Massachusetts
Posted Nov 29, 2007 @ 01:17 AM
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x227942512

The number of cases of Lyme disease in Massachusetts has exploded in
recent years, increasing in some counties by more than 80 percent,
public health authorities said yesterday.

The steep increase in cases has sparked a new effort by state health
authorities to stress preventive measures people should take to avoid
contracting the illness.

"We have seen those numbers increase over the past couple years,"
Department of Public Health spokeswoman Donna Rheaume said yesterday.
"We really want to stress prevention...particularly if you live in a
county where there is a lot of wooded areas."

Complete Story:
http://www.metrowestdailynews.com/homepage/x227942512

Letters:
mdnletters@cnc.com

[blimeyitslymie]

"To deal with the deer issue, budget-strapped governments have
encouraged local residents and police, who are qualified hunters, to
participate in suburban culling efforts, with little cost to taxpayers."

- -

Deer hunts expand in suburban Morris County
by Lawrence Ragonese
Monday April 28, 2008, 10:51 AM
Star-Ledger, Morristown Green, Morristown, New Jersey
http://www.nj.com/morristown/news/index.ssf/2008/04/deer_hunts_expand_in_suburban.html
or: http://tinyurl.com/5kxb66

"There are just too many deer," said John Mallon, chairman of the
Mendham Township Wildlife Management Committee. "They are defoliating
the forest, we are losing habitat for native birds and animals, and
there are too many deer-car crashes."

In Mountain Lakes there were no deer-car accidents reported in the
past year, said Edwards. At Fosterfields Living Historical Farm in
Morris Township deer no longer ravaging crops, said David Helmer,
executive director of the county park commission. He also said there
is evidence the forest at Lewis Morris County Park in Morris and
Mendham townships is showing signs of regenerating.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/5kxb66

Letters:
jwillse@starledger.com

[blimeyitslymie]

Blogger AMPeters of The Film Panel Notetaker shares her notes from the
panel discussion following the April 27, 2008 screening of "Under Our
Skin" at the Tribeca Film Festival.

- -

Tribeca Film Festival - Behind the Screens
"Under Our Skin"- April 27, 2008

http://www.thefilmpanelnotetaker.com/2008/04/tribeca-film-festival-behind-screens.html
or: http://tinyurl.com/4oplas

Here's a snippet of her review of the film:

"I went into this film super curious about what the heck I would need
to know about Lyme disease. I knew about the ticks and the New England
infections. I thought it wasn't necessarily that huge of a problem…
People could identify the bulls-eye rash, get the pills and get over
it, right?

The film started with gorgeous imagery and introduced me to sufferers
who all said in one way or another that they went to many doctors,
were considered crazy or attention-starved, dropped from their
insurance, misdiagnosed and misunderstood. We met some victims, heard
from doctors and medical researchers, and the sad state of the health
care system in the United States was reinforced. Then we, the
audience, were left feeling appalled and disturbed that we aren't more
aggressive about this little Spirochaete costing people their lives."

Read the rest of the discussion which followed the movie:
http://tinyurl.com/4oplas

It's a blog, and as I understand it, you can add your comments as long
as you're registered with blogger.

[blimeyitslymie]

The May/June 2008 issue of Psychology Today magazine has six pages
from the forthcoming book from St. Martin's Press, Cure Unknown:
Inside the Lyme Epidemic. Copyright (c) 2OO8 by Pamela Weintraub.

Pamela has given permission for everyone to download the article (in
..pdf format) from here:
http://cureunknown..com/magazine/imitator.pdf

[blimeyitslymie]

I just point out where this stuff can be found. Nothing more. If you
get very agitated from reading one-sided reviews of Lyme disease from
several of the same IDSA folks, go no further.
You've been warned.

- -

Infectious Disease Clinics of North America
Volume 22, Issue 2, Pages 195-380 (June 2008)
Tick-borne Diseases, Part I: Lyme Disease
Edited by Jonathan A. Edlow, MD

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08915520

The entire issue is devoted to Lyme disease with other tick-borne
diseases to follow, I can only assume, at some later date.

From a sampling of the abstracts available, you'll read:

In a chapter on Nervous System Lyme Disease by "world reknown author"
John J. Halperin we get, "Lyme disease affects the nervous system in
about 10% to 15% of infected individuals... In severe cases, 2 to 4
weeks of parenteral therapy is necessary. All available evidence
indicates that treatment of more than 4 weeks' duration carries
substantial risk but minimal if any additional benefit."

Another chapter written by Henry M Feder, Jr. on Lyme Disease in
Children devotes an entire section to "The Internet and chronic Lyme
disease in children".

Another chapter on Lyme Arthritis claims "Arthritis is one of the most
prominent features of Lyme disease, the tick-borne illness caused by
Borrelia burgdorferi." Lyme Arthritis is complex and needs further study.

Other chapters cover:
Biology of Ticks, Biology of Infection with Borrelia burgdorferi,
Erythema Migrans, Lyme Carditis, Lyme Disease: Laboratory Issues,
Lyme Disease—European Perspective, Chronic Lyme Disease: A Review, and
STARI, or Masters Disease: Lone Star Tick–Vectored Lyme-like Illness .

Review the abstracts from here:
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/journal/08915520

Copyright © 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

[blimeyitslymie]

Attorney General Richard "Blumenthal launched an anti-trust
investigation in 2006 to determine if members of the respected
Infectious Diseases Society of America had let financial interests
influence its guidelines for treating the disease, which is named for
the Connecticut town where it was first identified."

- -

Lyme Disease Treatment Guidelines To Be Reviewed

By HILARY WALDMAN | The Hartford Courant
1:10 PM EDT, May 1, 2008

http://www.courant.com/news/custom/topnews/hcu-lymedisease-0501,0,2205579.story
or: http://tinyurl.com/4n4ex3

The controversial treatment guidelines for Lyme Disease will be
subjected to an independent review under an agreement announced today
between Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal and the
organization the sets the guidelines.

The treatment standards came under sharp criticism after experts
concluded that in most cases Lyme Disease is simple to treat and that
a 30-day course of oral antibiotics should be sufficient to cure it.
Advocates on the other side of the highly contentious debate argue
that the researchers ignored conflicting evidence that Lyme Disease is
difficult to diagnose, can persist for years and require treatment
with antibiotics, sometimes intravenously, for six months or longer.

Complete story:
http://tinyurl.com/4n4ex3

Letters:
letters@courant.com

Copyright © 2008, The Hartford Courant

[blimeyitslymie]

Connecticut Attorney General's Office

Press Release

Attorney General's Investigation Reveals Flawed Lyme Disease Guideline Process, IDSA Agrees To Reassess Guidelines, Install Independent Arbiter

May 1, 2008
Attorney General Richard Blumenthal today announced that his antitrust investigation has uncovered serious flaws in the Infectious Diseases Society of America's (IDSA) process for writing its 2006 Lyme disease guidelines and the IDSA has agreed to reassess them with the assistance of an outside arbiter.

The IDSA guidelines have sweeping and significant impacts on Lyme disease medical care. They are commonly applied by insurance companies in restricting coverage for long-term antibiotic treatment or other medical care and also strongly influence physician treatment decisions.

Insurance companies have denied coverage for long-term antibiotic treatment relying on these guidelines as justification. The guidelines are also widely cited for conclusions that chronic Lyme disease is nonexistent.

"This agreement vindicates my investigation -- finding undisclosed financial interests and forcing a reassessment of IDSA guidelines," Blumenthal said. "My office uncovered undisclosed financial interests held by several of the most powerful IDSA panelists. The IDSA's guideline panel improperly ignored or minimized consideration of alternative medical opinion and evidence regarding chronic Lyme disease, potentially raising serious questions about whether the recommendations reflected all relevant science.

"The IDSA's Lyme guideline process lacked important procedural safeguards requiring complete reevaluation of the 2006 Lyme disease guidelines -- in effect a comprehensive reassessment through a new panel. The new panel will accept and analyze all evidence, including divergent opinion. An independent neutral ombudsman -- expert in medical ethics and conflicts of interest, selected by both the IDSA and my office -- will assess the new panel for conflicts of interests and ensure its integrity."

Blumenthal's findings include the following:

* The IDSA failed to conduct a conflicts of interest review for any of the panelists prior to their appointment to the 2006 Lyme disease guideline panel;

* Subsequent disclosures demonstrate that several of the 2006 Lyme disease panelists had conflicts of interest;

* The IDSA failed to follow its own procedures for appointing the 2006 panel chairman and members, enabling the chairman, who held a bias regarding the existence of chronic Lyme, to handpick a likeminded panel without scrutiny by or formal approval of the IDSA's oversight committee;

* The IDSA's 2000 and 2006 Lyme disease panels refused to accept or meaningfully consider information regarding the existence of chronic Lyme disease, once removing a panelist from the 2000 panel who dissented from the group's position on chronic Lyme disease to achieve "consensus";

* The IDSA blocked appointment of scientists and physicians with divergent views on chronic Lyme who sought to serve on the 2006 guidelines panel by informing them that the panel was fully staffed, even though it was later expanded;

* The IDSA portrayed another medical association's Lyme disease guidelines as corroborating its own when it knew that the two panels shared several authors, including the chairmen of both groups, and were working on guidelines at the same time. In allowing its panelists to serve on both groups at the same time, IDSA violated its own conflicts of interest policy.

IDSA has reached an agreement with Blumenthal's office calling for creation of a review panel to thoroughly scrutinize the 2006 Lyme disease guidelines and update or revise them if necessary. The panel -- comprised of individuals without conflicts of interest -- will comprehensively review medical and scientific evidence and hold a scientific hearing to provide a forum for additional evidence. It will then determine whether each recommendation in the 2006 Lyme disease guidelines is justified by the evidence or needs revision or updating.

Blumenthal added, "The IDSA's 2006 Lyme disease guideline panel undercut its credibility by allowing individuals with financial interests -- in drug companies, Lyme disease diagnostic tests, patents and consulting arrangements with insurance companies -- to exclude divergent medical evidence and opinion. In today's healthcare system, clinical practice guidelines have tremendous influence on the marketing of medical services and products, insurance reimbursements and treatment decisions. As a result, medical societies that publish such guidelines have a legal and moral duty to use exacting safeguards and scientific standards.

"Our investigation was always about the IDSA's guidelines process -- not the science. IDSA should be recognized for its cooperation and agreement to address the serious concerns raised by my office. Our agreement with IDSA ensures that a new, conflicts-free panel will collect and review all pertinent information, reassess each recommendation and make necessary changes.

"This Action Plan -- incorporating a conflicts screen by an independent neutral expert and a public hearing to receive additional evidence -- can serve as a model for all medical organizations and societies that publish medical guidelines. This review should strengthen the public's confidence in such critical standards."

THE GUIDELINE REVIEW PROCESS

Under its agreement with the Attorney General's Office, the IDSA will create a review panel of eight to 12 members, none of whom served on the 2006 IDSA guideline panel. The IDSA must conduct an open application process and consider all applicants.

The agreement calls for the ombudsman selected by Blumenthal's office and the IDSA to ensure that the review panel and its chairperson are free of conflicts of interest.

Blumenthal and IDSA agreed to appoint Dr. Howard A. Brody as the ombudsman. Dr. Brody is a recognized expert and author on medical ethics and conflicts of interest and the director of the Institute for Medical Humanities at the University of Texas Medical Branch. Brody authored the book, "Hooked: Ethics, the Medical Profession and the Pharmaceutical Industry."

To assure that the review panel obtains divergent information, the panel will conduct an open scientific hearing at which it will hear scientific and medical presentations from interested parties. The agreement requires the hearing to be broadcast live to the public on the Internet via the IDSA's website. The Attorney General's Office, Dr. Brody and the review panel will together finalize the list of presenters at the hearing.

Once it has collected information from its review and open hearing, the panel will assess the information and determine whether the data and evidence supports each of the recommendations in the 2006 Lyme disease guidelines.

The panel will then vote on each recommendation in the IDSA's 2006 Lyme disease guidelines on whether it is supported by the scientific evidence. At least 75 percent of panel members must vote to sustain each recommendation or it will be revised.

Once the panel has acted on each recommendation, it will have three options: make no changes, modify the guidelines in part or replace them entirely.

The panel's final report will be published on the IDSA's website.

ADDITIONAL FINDINGS OF BLUMENTHAL'S INVESTIGATION

IDSA convened panels in 2000 and 2006 to research and publish guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease. Blumenthal's office found that the IDSA disregarded a 2000 panel member who argued that chronic and persistent Lyme disease exists. The 2000 panel pressured the panelist to conform to the group consensus and removed him as an author when he refused.

IDSA sought to portray a second set of Lyme disease guidelines issued by the American Academy of Neurology (AAN) as independently corroborating its findings. In fact, IDSA knew that the two panels shared key members, including the respective panel chairmen and were working on both sets of guidelines a the same time -- a violation of IDSA's conflicts of interest policy.

The resulting IDSA and AAN guidelines not only reached the same conclusions regarding the non-existence of chronic Lyme disease, their reasoning at times used strikingly similar language. Both entities, for example, dubbed symptoms persisting after treatment "Post-Lyme Syndrome" and defined it the same way.

When IDSA learned of the improper links between its panel and the AAN's panel, instead of enforcing its conflict of interest policy, it aggressively sought the AAN's endorsement to "strengthen" its guidelines' impact. The AAN panel -- particularly members who also served on the IDSA panel -- worked equally hard to win AAN's backing of IDSA's conclusions.

The two entities sought to portray each other's guidelines as separate and independent when the facts call into question that contention.

The IDSA subsequently cited AAN's supposed independent corroboration of its findings as part of its attempts to defeat federal legislation to create a Lyme disease advisory committee and state legislation supporting antibiotic therapy for chronic Lyme disease.

In a step that the British Medical Journal deemed "unusual," the IDSA included in its Lyme guidelines a statement calling them "voluntary" with "the ultimate determination of their application to be made by the physician in light of each patient's individual circumstances." In fact, United Healthcare, Health Net, Blue Cross of California, Kaiser Foundation Health Plan and other insurers have used the guidelines as justification to deny reimbursement for long-term antibiotic treatment.

Blumenthal thanked members his office who worked on the investigation -- Assistant Attorney General Thomas Ryan, former Assistant Attorney General Steven Rutstein and Paralegal Lorraine Measer under the direction of Assistant Attorney General Michael Cole, Chief of the Attorney General's Antitrust Department.

To view the entire IDSA agreement, go to the Attorney General's website.

http://www.ct.gov/ag/cwp/view.asp?a=2795&q=414284

[blimeyitslymie]

Settlement Announced in Landmark Investigation of Lyme Disease Diagnosis and Treatment Guidelines



Patients' Rights Groups Applaud Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal's Settlement in Anti-trust Case Against Powerful Medical Society



Hartford, CT - Patients' rights groups today hailed Connecticut Attorney General Blumenthal's announcement of a settlement in a landmark antitrust investigation into the Lyme treatment guidelines of the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA).

"My office uncovered undisclosed financial interests held by several of the most powerful IDSA panelists," said Blumenthal. "The IDSA's guideline panel improperly ignored, or minimized, consideration of alternative medical opinion and evidence regarding chronic Lyme disease, potentially raising serious questions about whether the recommendations reflected all relevant science."

The groundbreaking settlement announced today forces a complete review of the IDSA guidelines by a new panel free from conflicts of interest, specifically excluding previous panel members. This panel will consider a range of scientific evidence in a public forum broadcast live over the internet and will be overseen by a specialist in financial conflicts of interest in medicine.

"This settlement makes it clear that the IDSA guideline development process was corrupted by a commercially driven panel that excluded evidence supporting longer term treatment of Lyme disease," said attorney Lorraine Johnson, Executive Director of the California Lyme Disease Association (CALDA). "This settlement allows suppressed scientific viewpoints and evidence to be heard, and it is promising news for patients."

This is the first-ever antitrust investigation against a medical society's guidelines development process.

"We congratulate Attorney General Blumenthal for exposing the IDSA's conflicts of interest and helping reduce the suffering of Lyme patients everywhere," said Pat Smith, president of the national Lyme Disease Association (LDA). Diane Blanchard, co-president of Time for Lyme in Connecticut agrees. "The IDSA guidelines are dangerous for patients who suffer longer-term Lyme symptoms that do not fall within the IDSA's narrow disease definition," Ms. Blanchard added.

The IDSA guidelines are treated as mandatory within the medical community. More than 50 physicians who use longer-term treatment approaches have been investigated or sanctioned by state medical boards. The guidelines can also result in financial problems for patients, since insurance companies refuse to reimburse for longer-term treatment and pharmacies may refuse to fill prescriptions.

The majority of individuals involved in the IDSA guidelines development process held direct or indirect commercial interests related to Lyme vaccines, patents, and/or test kits, and did not take the opinions or experiences of the competing Lyme groups into account.

While the announcement of a settlement comes as a huge relief to suffering Lyme patients, the case has much broader implications for a health care system that often contends with conflicts-of-interest in guideline processes - guidelines which are often used by insurance companies to limit diagnosis and treatment options.

"Today's settlement marks an important victory for all patients who suffer Lyme disease, but it is also a victory for anyone concerned about health care," said Johnson. "Commercially driven guidelines that limit patient treatment options are a major issue today in healthcare, and this decision marks an important step towards addressing it."

The national Lyme Disease Association, (LDA), CALDA, and Time for Lyme are non-profit organizations that were founded by individuals who had personal experience with Lyme disease, in order to address the lack of education and support services available for this newly emerging infection.

[blimeyitslymie]

Tick-Borne Diseases in North Carolina: Is "Rickettsia amblyommii" a
Possible Cause of Rickettsiosis Reported as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever?

Charles S. Apperson, Barry Engber, William L. Nicholson, Daniel G.
Mead, Jeffrey Engel, Michael J. Yabsley, Kathy Dail, Joey Johnson, D.
Wesley Watson. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases. ahead of print.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2007.0271

* Abstract *

Cases of Rocky Mountain spotted fever (RMSF) in North Carolina have
escalated markedly since 2000. In 2005, we identified a county in the
Piedmont region with high case numbers of RMSF.

We collected ticks and examined them for bacterial pathogens using
molecular methods to determine if a novel tick vector or spotted fever
group rickettsiae (SFGR) might be emerging. Amblyomma americanum, the
lone star tick, comprised 99.6% of 6,502 specimens collected in
suburban landscapes.

In contrast, Dermacentor variabilis, the American dog tick, a
principal vector of Rickettsia rickettsii, comprised <1% of the ticks
collected.

Eleven of 25 lone star tick pools tested were infected with
"Rickettsia amblyommii," an informally named SFGR. Sera from patients
from the same county who were presumptively diagnosed by local
physicians with a tick-borne illness were tested by an indirect
immunofluorescence antibody (IFA) assay to confirm clinical diagnoses.
Three of six patients classified as probable RMSF cases demonstrated a
fourfold or greater rise in IgG class antibody titers between paired
acute and convalescent sera to "R. amblyommii" antigens, but not to R.
rickettsii antigens.

White-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus, are preferred hosts of lone
star ticks. Blood samples collected from hunter-killed deer from the
same county were tested by IFA test for antibodies to Ehrlichia
chaffeensis and "R. amblyommii." Twenty-eight (87%) of 32 deer were
positive for antibodies to E. chaffeensis, but only 1 (3%) of the deer
exhibited antibodies to "R. amblyommii," suggesting that deer are not
the source of "R. amblyommii" infection for lone star ticks.

We propose that some cases of rickettsiosis reported as RMSF may have
been caused by "R. amblyommii" transmitted through the bite of A.
americanum.

http://dx.doi.org/10.1089/vbz.2007.0271

© 2008 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

[blimeyitslymie]

HEALTH: Does chronic Lyme Disease exist?
New England Cable News, Newton, Massachusetts
Thursday May 1, 2008

http://www.necn.com/Boston/Health/Does-chronic-Lyme-Disease-exist-/1209674818.html
or: http://tinyurl.com/5nrheq

Transcript snippet:
"Richard Blumenthal, D-CT Attorney General: "The insurance coverage
decisions, for example, relating to long term antibiotic care are
heavily influenced by these guidelines. Treatment decisions of
physicians based on conclusions as to whether there is chronic Lyme or
whether it is non existent."

The attorney general reached an agreement with the IDSA. It must now
take steps to make sure the panel looking at Lyme disease is unbiased
and considers all points of view.

Blumenthal's office did not have an opinion on the existence of
chronic Lyme.

View the video here:
http://tinyurl.com/5nrheq

© 2008 NECN and Sausage Labs. All Rights Reserved.

[blimeyitslymie]

Doug's Dicovery: Tick Season!
WGME, Channel 13, Portland, Maine
April 30, 2008

This link will take you to the latest episode of Doug's Discovery.
http://www.wgme.com/Features/DOUG_new.shtml

After this week, to view this video you'll have to scroll down the
page and look for the previous entries and find one titled "Tick Season".

"With 14 kinds of ticks in the state you'd think they'd be a problem -
but only one - the deer tick - poses significant risk. Lyme disease -
discovered in 1977 - can impact any Maine resident and it can be a
painful disease. For information on how to protect yourself against
Lyme disease follow the link to the website below."

http://www.mainelyticks.com/

Video here: http://www.wgme.com/Features/DOUG_new.shtml

Thanks again to Bob and Barb Maurais of Windham, Maine.

[blimeyitslymie]

Molecular Detection of Bartonella schoenbuchensis from Ectoparasites
of Deer in Massachusetts

Kotaro Matsumoto, Zenda L. Berrada, Elissa Klinger, Heidi K. Goethert,
Sam R. Telford, III. Vector-Borne and Zoonotic Diseases.
online ahead of print at:
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1089/vbz.2007.0244

* Abstract *

Deer keds (Lipoptena cervi) are thought to have been introduced into
New England from Europe during the 1800s. We sought to determine
whether L. cervi from Massachusetts deer contained evidence of
infection by Bartonella schoenbuchensis, which appears to be
maintained by L. cervi in Europe. Five of 6 keds were found to contain
B. schoenbuchensis DNA, and 2 deer ticks cofeeding on deer with such
keds did as well. The detection of Bartonella DNA in deer ticks
probably represents contamination by infected deer blood.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1089/vbz.2007.0244

©2008 Mary Ann Liebert, Inc.

[blimeyitslymie]

The first report of human illness associated with the Panola Mountain
Ehrlichia species: a case report
Will K Reeves, Amanda D Loftis, William L Nicholson, and Alan G Czarkowski

Journal of Medical Case Reports 2008, 2:139
http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1186/1752-1947-2-139

Published: 30 April 2008

Open Access Article
The complete article is available as a provisional PDF located here:
http://www.jmedicalcasereports.com/content/pdf/1752-1947-2-139.pdf

The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.

Abstract (provisional)

* Introduction *

Two species of Ehrlichia are known to cause human illness. Several
other species have been discovered in ticks and animals, and recent
reports suggest that some of these Ehrlichia species might be human
pathogens. We report here the first association of a recently
discovered pathogen, the Panola Mountain Ehrlichia species with a case
of human illness.

* Case presentation *

A 31-year-old man from Atlanta, Georgia (GA) in the United States of
America (USA) presented with a persistent sore neck of 3 weeks
duration following a tick bite. DNA from the Panola Mountain Ehrlichia
species which was recently discovered in a goat in Georgia, was
detected in an acute blood sample. Serologic testing was inconclusive.
Polymerase chain reaction tests for other tick-borne diseases found in
this region were negative. The patient rapidly improved in response to
doxycycline therapy.

* Conclusions *

Detection of Ehrlichia DNA in an acute blood sample meets the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention laboratory confirmation criteria
for ehrlichiosis, and response to doxycycline provides supporting
clinical evidence. The Panola Mountain Ehrlichia species an emerging
pathogen transmitted by ticks in the eastern USA, should be considered
as a possible cause of tick-borne illness in this region.

http://dx.doi.org/doi:10.1186/1752-1947-2-139

[blimeyitslymie]

Lyme disease patients say Pallone stalling bill's progress

By Michael Riley • STAFF WRITER • May 7, 2008
Asbury Park Press, Asbury Park, New Jersey

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080507/NEWS/80507082

More than 100 people -- all of them angry, many of them sick, and a
few in wheelchairs -- held a protest today outside Rep. Frank
Pallone's Long Branch district office.

Carrying signs with messages such as "Frank Pallone: My Child is
Waiting For You To Do the Right Thing" and chanting, among other
things, "Bring the Bill -- Up the Hill" and "Vote in the Bill For Lyme
-- We are All Out of Time," the crowd was upset with Pallone for what
people called his inaction on House Resolution 741.

...

Pallone, chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on
Health, issued a statement today saying he is awaiting an expert
review panel's recommendations before taking action.

That news did not please the protesters from New Jersey, Pennsylvania,
New York and Connecticut who think the bill should get a hearing.

...

"Congressman Pallone is deliberately ignoring tens of thousands of
sick patients nationwide," said Joan Wire, a Tinton Falls resident
whose 15-year-old son has been wheelchair-bound for two years due to
Lyme disease. "Other diseases have money and a federal focus, and
other diseases allow patients to be part of the process to find a cure
for their disease. It's our turn now."

Full story:
http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080507/NEWS/80507082

Letters to the Editor:
yourviews@app.com

Copyright © 2008 Asbury Park Press. All rights reserved.

[blimeyitslymie]

Conflicts Taint Science
Hartford Courant, Hartford, Connecticut
May 7, 2008

http://www.courant.com/news/opinion/editorials/hc-lymedisease.artmay07,0,7673953.story
or: http://tinyurl.com/69d695

Much of the mainstream medical establishment agrees with the
Infectious Disease Society of America's guidelines on Lyme disease,
which say that most cases can be cured with a month's worth of
antibiotics.

But the society undermined its own guidelines by filling the drafting
committee with experts who had a financial stake in companies
producing Lyme disease tests and treatments. The society also hurt its
case by blocking the appointment of a panelist with an opposing point
of view on Lyme disease.

...

Only a guideline process free of conflicts can produce a Lyme disease
assessment that is credible.

Full text: http://tinyurl.com/69d695

Letters to the Editor:
letters@courant.com

[blimeyitslymie]

From Pat Smith, President LDA

Behind the Scenes of the Pallone Decision: Congressman Frank Pallone
Prevents Patients from Receiving Lyme Treatment, Rubber Stamps IDSA,
Excludes Patients

Dear Lyme Community,

I apologize in advance for the length of this letter, but you need to
understand what is happening to you and why.

Last night, Congressman Christopher Smith, bill sponsor, and a friend
and leader to the Lyme community, called me to provide words of
encouragement after a very discouraging day. He told me to tell you
how sorry he is for everyone suffering out there and for what happened
that day and he asked that I tell you that he is "outraged" at this
bill decision. He said we must not give up, what we are doing is right
and just, and that he will never give up until this bill is passed, a
bill which he feels has the ability to go a long way to melding
research dollars and policy for Lyme disease. He is a bright light in
a world filled with those who lack substance and conscience.

What follows is the reason for his message. In an act reminiscent of
the ones IDSA has been rebuked for by Attorney General Blumenthal of
Connecticut, Congressman Frank Pallone, House Health Subcommittee
Chair, rubber stamped IDSA and its guidelines.

Shocked and saddened are two words that come to mind to describe how I
feel about what occurred yesterday in my own state, my own county.
The Chair of the very committee in the House of Representatives that
is charged with reviewing bills which affect the health of people
across this country today took an unprecedented step—he capitulated to
the powerful Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA). The IDSA
was under investigation by the Attorney General of Connecticut for a
year and a half, and it has been forced to scrutinize its Lyme
guidelines under the oversight of a specialist in conflicts of interest.

Rather than own up to the misconduct of its members, the IDSA is
publicly denying culpability in the matter. Rational people must
examine why a Society would settle if there were nothing to the AGs
allegations as this powerful Society claims. The Attorney General
found significant conflicts of interests for the panel member of the
guidelines, bias in the selection of participants, suppression of
scientific evidence, blocking of divergent viewpoints and foreclosure
of treatment options for patients. These are the types of findings
that a responsible medical society would take seriously and would
launch an internal investigation into the guidelines panel.

Rational people must also examine why Congressman Frank Pallone would
chose to endorse IDSA over patients nationwide, patients in NJ, and
his own constituents. Mr. Pallone has chosen no treatment for chronic
Lyme patients, no alternative treatments and no supplements. This is
the IDSA philosophy, the one whose development was investigated, whose
development was challenged, whose philosophy development was found by
the Attorney General to be riddled with conflicts of interest and
exclusionary conduct. Yet yesterday, during the protest outside his
Long Branch office, Mr. Pallone issued a press release saying he would
not post the Lyme bill until the IDSA convenes its new guidelines'
panel and issues a decision. This panel is part of the settlement
which was forced upon the IDSA by process and by threat of legal
action by the AG. After the new panel convenes and deliberates, Mr.
Pallone has given IDSA carte blanche to make its recommendations to
Congress about the Lyme bill, a bill which does not relate directly to
treatment but relates to monies for much needed research and a
much-needed voice for Lyme patients and treating physicians. What does
this mean to patients? He has knowingly placed the fox in charge of
the hen house, a fox already caught with chicken feathers dangling
from his mouth.

One might also wonder why IDSA was in DC on Friday after the AG
settlement with a lobbyist, their CEO, their lawyer and a new man on
their team, Dr Phillip Baker. Dr. Baker is the former NIH Lyme Disease
Program Officer on whose shift the Klempner study was approved,
terminated early, and subsequently touted as the kiss of death for all
extended antibiotic treatment for Lyme patients, although the
conclusions drawn by the authors were nothing more than a sham attempt
to halt treatment for patients. At a meeting I attended related to the
Klempner study, Dr. Baker allowed researchers who were anti chronic
Lyme to publicly trash treating physicians, researchers and even a
patient who was present, all in the name of science. It was so bad, I
wrote a letter to him when I arrived home expressing my horror at how
unprofessionally this government-sponsored meeting was run.

Industry interests continue to drive government. A primary example of
this "revolving door" between industry and government officials is
demonstrated by the fact that Dr. Baker is now advocating for the
IDSA. Given Baker's affiliation with the commercial interests of a
medical society, it is now clear that there never was anyone involved
in that Klempner study that viewed his job as protecting patients or
the public health.

How does this relate to what happened in NJ today? What we have here
is a cartel of vested interest masquerading under the banner of
science. This is not about patients, it is not about the greater
good, it is about greed. Patient health has been sacrificed by IDSA to
pave the way for those who hold patents, those who have an interest in
Lyme testing and vaccines, and those who have a consulting
relationship with insurance companies. Dr. Baker's now public
alignment with the commercial interests of the IDSA, and now it would
seem, patients' own elected representative's alignment, show how
powerful commercial interests in medicine can drive healthcare and
exclude the interests of patients, entirely.

We understand that the IDSA went to Washington the very day after the
Attorney General announced its findings of conflicts of interests,
suppression of scientific evidence, and denial of treatment options
for patients, and met with Mr. Pallone's Committee Members. What Mr.
Pallone has done is tell Lyme patients that their ability to have
research hinges on the decision of a private medical society that has
commercial interests in the results and that has been under
investigation for allowing its panel of researchers with extensive
commercial interests to corrupt its guidelines' panel. Essentially,
he is delegating public policy decision to a medical specialty society
whose guidelines are under scrutiny and that has evidenced a profound
lack of accountability and responsibility in policing the rampant
conflicts of interests of its panel members.

Yesterday, patients in wheel chairs, and IV drips, and mothers whose
children are out of school for years peacefully picketed Congressman
Pallone's office and carried signs and did chants at a protest
organized by the grass roots Lyme Rights Group. Reporters and radio
media attended and many interviews were conducted. Suddenly one
reporter on some silent cue left the patients to rush inside to pick
up a statement issued by Mr. Pallone's office. No one else was then
allowed to have the statement. I asked the reporter if I could borrow
it, and I read to a stunned crowd the news that essentially Pallone
supports and endorses the IDSA. I requested from his office a copy of
the release. They refused to provide it, telling me it was available
online. Obviously I had no access and again requested the document.
They told me they were not authorized to give me the document. But you
gave it to the reporter I said, well, they replied, that was
authorized. I reiterated, so the Congressman issued a public document
but would only provide it to a reporter—wouldn't even provide it to a
constituent who was right there. Silence followed.

While this transpired, that constituent of his was trying without
success to gain an appointment with Mr. Pallone, a process that began
months ago when Congress was on break. They refused then and now to
grant her a meeting. She asked what she could do to get this meeting
as her nephew is in a wheel chair due to Lyme. They could offer no
insights, so I suggested she join the IDSA. It seems that one must be
wealthy, powerful, and being investigated to gain the attention of Mr.
Pallone.

Most Lyme patients do not fit those categories. However patients have
something which IDSA does not have, they have numbers, commitment, no
vested interest to get in the way, and they now have a large combined
voice which stretches across this great country of ours. It is now
obvious to all that this voice must be raised loudly and often in DC,
NJ, CA, CT, MN, NY, PA, TX - every state of the union. All of us
nationwide need to start in NJ today. We need to be respectful, we
need to be angry, we need to be unrelenting in our quest to dismantle
this amoral cartel. We start by calling, faxing, visiting, emailing
Congressman Pallone's DC office. We must be relentless. We must let
them know that patients are out here. Patients will not tolerate being
ignored. Patients will not rest until Mr. Pallone puts their health
above moneyed interest. No stone can be left unturned.

If we allow IDSA to manipulate us through its representative in
Congress (Mr. Pallone), in a year we will find ourselves in an
untenable position. Congress will not only have turned its back on us
entirely, but the IDSA will get a bill of its choice, a political plum
that they have "earned" in some manner which we have yet to uncover,
but we will. Meantime, tens of thousands more people will become sick
and tens of thousands of those already sick will be further banished
to obscurity as they await their death sentence without treatment.

This message is long, but you need to understand, your plight as a
Lyme patient has now been placed in jeopardy again with a casual but
deliberate action taken by Mr. Pallone to revoke any rights you may
have had to treatment. The time for action is today, tomorrow and all
the tomorrows to come until we find out what is really behind this
great Lyme cover-up that denies you, the patient, a basic human right
- the right to be treated for your disease.

Pat Smith President LDA

[blimeyitslymie]

Download and read the Proclamation of Lyme Disease Awareness Month from Wisconsin Governor Doyle here:
http://www.sewill.org/images/proclamationMay2007.pdf

- -

Lyme Disease Cases Rise in Wisconsin
May is Lyme Disease Awareness Month
May 09, 2008
CONTACT: Stephanie Marquis, DHFS, 608-266-1683

http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/news/PressReleases/2008/050908lyme.htm

MADISON -- State health officials today marked Lyme Disease Awareness Month by reporting a significant increase in the number of reported Lyme disease cases in Wisconsin.

“In Wisconsin residents, 1,819 cases of Lyme disease were reported in 2007—a significant increase over reported cases in 2006,” said Dr. Sheri Johnson, State Health Officer. She noted there were 1,456 cases in 2006.

Johnson added that the 2007 figure could rise, because the Division of Public Health has not yet received final reports of cases from 2007.

“While Lyme disease has been reported in many areas around Wisconsin, most cases in 2007 occurred in the northwestern and west central regions of the state,” Johnson said.

“We remind everyone to be on the lookout for ticks that can cause Lyme disease, and to take steps to protect themselves,” Johnson said. “In Wisconsin, most people who develop Lyme disease are exposed to infected ticks between May and August. The greatest risk of developing the illness is during June and July.”

Lyme disease is caused by a bacteria carried by small ticks called deer ticks, which are found in many parts of the U.S., including Wisconsin. The disease can cause debilitating arthritis as well as serious heart and nervous system problems.

The disease is treated with antibiotics, and is more easily treated when detected early. One early symptom of Lyme disease is a characteristic “bulls-eye” rash known as erythema migrans (EM) usually 3 days to 30 days after the bite of an infected tick. The EM rash consists of a reddened area, often with a clear area in the middle, at the original site of the tick bite. The rash typically expands in size to cover a large area (usually greater than two inches) over a period of days or weeks, or may even appear in several places on other parts of the body.

“An infected tick has to be attached to a person’s skin for at least 24 hours before it can transmit the Lyme disease bacteria. Most people infected with Lyme disease will develop the EM rash but not everyone develops the skin rash,” Johnson said. “It’s important to consult a physician immediately if you have been bitten by a deer tick and are developing symptoms such as fever, headache, chills, pain in the muscles or joints, enlarged lymph nodes, or facial paralysis.”

There are some preventive measures people can take to avoid tick bites and reduce the chance of getting Lyme disease. These precautions include:

• Avoid wooded and bushy areas with high grass and lots of leaf litter since ticks prefer these areas. If you do go into areas like this, try to stay in the center of a cleared trail to avoid contact with overgrown grass, and brush.

• Use effective tick repellants and apply according to the label instructions. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends that adults use repellants with 20-30% DEET on exposed skin and clothing to prevent tick bites. Repellants that contain permethrin can also be applied to clothing.

• Wear clothes that will help to shield you from ticks. Long-sleeved shirts and long pants are best. Tuck your pants into the top of your socks or boots, to create a “tick barrier.” Light-colored clothing will make any ticks easier to spot.

• Landscape homes and recreational areas to reduce the number of ticks and create tick-safe zones by using woodchips or gravel along the border between lawn and wooded area. It is also important to continue to remove leaf litter, clear tall grass and brush around the houses through out the summer.

• Check frequently for ticks, and remove them promptly. Ticks actually have to bite you and remain attached for at least 24 hours to transmit Lyme disease. Deer ticks are small and may be difficult to find, so tick checks must be done on all parts of the body carefully and thoroughly.

• Remove attached ticks slowly and gently, using a thin-bladed pair of tweezers. Avoid folk remedies like petroleum jelly, nail polish remover or burning matches – they are not a safe or effective way to remove ticks.

Protect your pets from tick bites by checking your dog or cat for ticks before allowing them inside. While there is a vaccine available for pets to prevent Lyme disease, it will not stop the animal from bringing ticks into the home. Speak to your veterinarian about topical tick repellant available for pets.

For more information go to: http://dhfs.wisconsin.gov/communicable/LymeDisease/

[blimeyitslymie]

Society to review Lyme disease guidelines
By STEVE NERY News Editor

The Star-Democrat, Easton, Maryland
http://www.stardem.com/articles/2008/05/11/news/32096.txt

Published: Sunday, May 11, 2008 5:24 PM CDT

The Infectious Diseases Society of America has agreed to reassess its
controversial Lyme disease diagnostic and treatment guidelines after
an antitrust investigation uncovered serious flaws with them,
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal announced May 1.

The IDSA guidelines were under fire from Lyme disease patient advocacy
groups, including vocal groups in Maryland, for restricting long-term
care and denying the existence of chronic Lyme disease. Blumenthal's
move also could affect Congressional bills, now stuck in committees,
that aim to develop better testing and treatment for the tick-borne
ailment.

"My office uncovered undisclosed financial interests held by several
of the most powerful IDSA panelists," Blumenthal said in a statement.
"The IDSA's guidelines improperly ignored or minimized consideration
of alternative medical opinion and evidence regarding chronic Lyme
disease, potentially raising relevant questions about whether the
recommendations reflected all relevant science."
According to the IDSA guidelines, patients should receive antibiotics
for no more than four weeks.

"United Healthcare, Health Net, Blue Cross of California, Kaiser
Foundation Health Plan and other insurers have used the guidelines as
justification to deny reimbursement for long-term antibiotic
treatment," according to Blumenthal's release.

Blumenthal's investigation resulted in several findings, including:

The IDSA failed to conduct a conflict of interest review for any of
the panelists on the 2006 panel. Several of them had conflicts of
interest, involving relationships with drug companies, diagnostic
tests, patents and consulting arrangements with insurance companies.

• The chairman, who had a bias against the existence of chronic Lyme,
was allowed to handpick the other members of the panel.

• In 2000, the group removed a panelist who dissented from the
position of the others on chronic Lyme disease to achieve consensus.

• The panel blocked the appointments of others by saying was it was
already fully staffed, even though more members were later added.

• The IDSA portrayed the American Academy of Neurology's guidelines as
corroborating its own even though it knew both groups shared several
authors.

Complete story:
http://www.stardem.com/articles/2008/05/11/news/32096.txt

[blimeyitslymie]

Protesters ask Pallone to support Lyme bill
Pallone awaiting panel's recommendations on Lyme disease
BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer

The Hub, Red Bank, New Jersey
May 15, 2008

http://hub.gmnews.com/news/2008/0515/Front_page/028.html

LONG BRANCH - Protesters gathered outside Congressman Frank Pallone
Jr.'s office on Broadway in Long Branch last week to call attention to
a Lyme disease bill currently being considered by the Legislature.

...

Pallone is the chairman of the Energy and Commerce Health
Subcommittee, which has control over the health legislation in the House.

"Congressman Pallone . . . has not listened to the patients," said
Joan Wire, a New Jersey resident whose 15-year-old son has been
wheelchair-bound for two years due to Lyme disease. "Other diseases
have money and a federal focus, and other diseases allow patients to
be part of the process to find a cure for their disease. Mr. Pallone
has outright ignored our sick children."

...

In a letter to [Connecticut Attorney Richard] Blumenthal, Pallone
wrote, "There appear to be some strong differences of opinion in the
treatment of Lyme disease and I appreciate that all interested
stakeholders will have an opportunity to have their points of view
heard through planned public presentations and submission of
information as part of the review panel."

"I am committed to working with my colleagues in Congress to take the
appropriate action to assist in the prevention, diagnosis and
treatment of this devastating disease," Pallone said. "At a time when
significant disagreements exist on treatment, I am hopeful that the
panel's final recommendations will give us guidance on how best to
proceed so that we can help all of those suffering from Lyme disease."

Complete story: http://hub.gmnews.com/news/2008/0515/Front_page/028.html

Letters: hubeditor@gmnews.com

Copyright 2000 - 2008 Greater Media Newspapers

[blimeyitslymie]

New Book, "The Lyme Disease Survival Guide" Provides Strategies for
Healing
Press Release: May 15, 2008

http://www.prweb.com/releases/2008/5/prweb943104.htm

Denver, CO (PRWEB) May 15, 2008 -- A new book, 'The Lyme Disease
Survival Guide', provides a single, comprehensive resource that
describes conventional and alternative treatments, plus real-world,
practical solutions for dealing with the lifestyle and emotional
difficulties of this now-epidemic disease.

According to the CDC, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Lyme
Disease is the fastest-growing infectious disease in the U.S., with
more than 20,000 new cases reported each year. The CDC estimates,
however, that only one in ten cases is reported, which means that
there are at least 200,000 new cases each year. Lyme Disease can be
treated successfully with antibiotics when - and if - it is caught
early. If it goes undiagnosed, then it becomes a multi-symptom,
multi-system illness that wreaks havoc upon nearly all of a sufferer's
tissues and organs.

Once this happens, Lyme Disease becomes chronic and difficult to
diagnose. It may masquerade as a variety of other illnesses, and most
physicians do not know how to effectively treat it. It devastates
nearly every aspect of a sufferer's existence, and ILADS, the
International Lyme and Associated Diseases Society, estimates that
most chronic Lyme disease sufferers experience a level of disability
equal to that of a person who has suffered from a recent heart attack.
Existing books on Lyme disease offer few solutions for coping with the
difficult life circumstances faced by chronic Lyme disease sufferers.

For those who have been recently diagnosed, 'The Lyme Disease Survival
Guide' gives them a good "first resource" to understand what they are
up against and start looking for answers. For those who have been
struggling with the effects of the disease for some time, the book can
provide new treatment solutions as well as insights into how to cope
with the disease.

About the Author

'The Lyme Disease Survival Guide' was written by Connie Strasheim, a
former flight attendant who suffers from chronic Lyme Disease and who
had to quit her high-flying job when the disease started to affect her
ability to work. Ms. Strasheim, determined to "get her life back"
after she became severely ill, began writing a blog called "Lyme
Bytes." (http://www.lymebytes.blogspot.com/), where she revealed the
results of her extensive research into various coping and healing
strategies.

Ms. Strasheim's writing style and the knowledge she conveyed in the
blog attracted the attention of a publisher, Bryan Rosner, the founder
of BioMed Publishing Group. Mr. Rosner asked her to organize her
findings and articles into a book. Ms. Strasheim completed the book
while living near the rain forest in Costa Rica (she speaks fluent
Spanish), a place she had moved to, in part, to find healing. The
book's forward is written by Dr. James Schaller, M.D., a Lyme-literate
physician and author of over twenty-five books, including several on
Lyme disease co-infections.

'The Lyme Disease Survival Guide' covers:

* Physical strategies for healing Lyme Disease, including ten primary
protocols for healing, detoxification, supplements, adjunct or
supportive therapies, testing methods, and ways to discern whether a
protocol is working.

* Lifestyle strategies for healing Lyme Disease, including: how to
optimize life circumstances while dealing with the effects of Lyme
Disease, information on diet and exercise, how to live mindfully,
manage relationships, finances, work and travel.

* Emotional strategies for healing Lyme Disease, including how to
eliminate the devastating mental symptoms of Lyme Disease. Some of the
most common and troubling symptoms, for instance, are the loss of the
sufferer's short-term memory, and "brain fog," both of which make
everyday tasks a challenge - if not impossible. Cognitive and
physiological strategies address both the conscious and subconscious
mind, and harness the power of belief, thought and words for healing
through visualization, prayer and other techniques for achieving wellness.

An appendix suggests the role of God in healing, and is based on Ms.
Strasheim's personal struggles with - but ultimate belief in - a God
who heals.

The complete title of the book, "The Lyme Disease Survival Guide:
Physical, Lifestyle, and Emotional Strategies for Healing, with a Dash
of Humor to Light the Way", reflects the scope and depth of coping and
healing strategies covered in this new book, and the book's endearing
and helpful writing style. Ms. Strasheim has managed to maintain her
sense of humor as she has struggled with Lyme; her wit and spirit are
evident throughout the book. The style is conversational, even as she
describes the more complex scientific and medical findings and approaches.

For an interview with Connie Strasheim, for more information about the
book, or to request a review copy, contact Connie9824 @ msn.com at:
303-800-6782 or 303-949-3347.

The Lyme Disease Survival Guide is published by BioMed Publishing
Group. It is available via a PayPal link on Ms. Strasheim's blog at:
http://www.lymebytes.blogspot.com/ As well, you can contact Ms.
Strasheim at the above-mentioned e-mail address and/or phone numbers.
The new book will retail for $25.95. ISBN # 978-0-9763797-4-4-52595

###

Contact Information
Connie Strasheim
Connie Strasheim
http://www.lymebytes.blogspot.com
303-800-6782

[blimeyitslymie]

http://www.lymeinfo.net/ now has a new webpage devoted to several
videos related to Lyme disease.

The new webpage is here:
http://www.lymeinfo.net****eos.html
You can browse several videos, including:

• The trailer for the new Lyme disease feature-length documentary
"Under Our Skin" which is a must-see for everyone.

• Interviews with musician and Lyme patient Daryl Hall (of Hall &
Oates) who shares his personal battle with Lyme disease and associated
infections.

• News clips and other segments describing personal experiences with
Lyme.

• Several videos on tick-borne illnesses in pets, with a general
focus on prevention.

All these videos can be accessed here:
http://www.lymeinfo.net****eos.html