Posted: Monday, March 19, 2007 1:00 am

By KONRAD SUROWIEC

Staff Writer

ANNAPOLIS — Better guidelines are needed to diagnose and treat Lyme disease, a medical doctor and three others promoting greater public awareness about the disease told the Eastern Shore delegation Friday.

The delegation heard from Dr. Kenneth Singleton; Mark Asher and Kathy Franklin, who both are recovering from Lyme disease; and Pamela Andrews, whose daughter is recovering from the disease.

“We really don’t have a good test for Lyme disease,” said Singleton, a Towson medical doctor who specializes in treating patients with Lyme disease. A large percentage of his patients are from the Eastern Shore.

Singleton said doctors need more training on detecting Lyme disease in people who have it. He said another problem is that ticks are “nasty little critters” who transmit other infections besides Lyme disease.

Franklin, a psychotherapist, said her battle with Lyme disease began five years ago, and she also had malaria. Symptoms included rashes, vomiting, drenching sweats, memory and hearing problems, and a tremendous pressure in her head. She had to take all kinds of medicine and had thousands of dollars in out of pocket expenses.

“I feel like I lost my sanity for a period of time. … I was in a profound depression,” Franklin said.

Franklin takes antibiotics. She said on good days, she has 90 percent of her health back, but it’s down to about 30 percent on bad days.

The symptoms, at their worst, are hideous, said Asher, a radio navigation engineer at Johns Hopkins University, who got Lyme disease in 2004. He said he had cardiac arrhythmia and difficulty breathing.

Andrews, of Salisbury, said her daughter had all the classic signs of Lyme disease, but all her tests came back negative. Her daughter is doing better, thanks to Singleton, said Andrews. In 2003, she helped start the Lyme Disease Association of the Eastern Shore. Andrews said she has gotten calls from many ill people who are “languishing in bed” because medical professionals don’t know what’s wrong with them.

House Bill 836, which had a hearing March 13 before the Health and Government Operations Committee, would require the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene to promote a public awareness campaign on preventing Lyme disease and other tick-born illnesses.

Free informational materials would be distributed to health clinics, schools, the forest and park service and other organizations. Educational materials containing the “latest consensus guidelines for diagnosis and treatment of Lyme disease” would be distributed to health care providers.

Andrews has concerns about the guidelines referred to in the bill, saying a 28-day treatment program of antibiotics won’t cure Lyme disease.

Lyme disease is caused by a slow growing organism, and the disease might take 10 months to develop, said Singleton. To stop treatment after one month is ridiculous, he said. He said there are three forms of Lyme disease, and multiple antibiotics are used to treat each form.

“Twenty-eight days for long-term Lyme won’t cure. I can guarantee you that,” Singleton said.

Del. David Rudolph, D-34B-Cecil, said there are conflicting views among medical professionals on how to treat Lyme disease. He said people who support Singleton’s approach might represent 20 to 30 percent of medical professionals, while 70 to 80 percent support a different approach.

“I support what you’re saying. … But there’s a lot of people on the other side,” said Rudolph.

Rudolph and Del. Page Elmore, R-38A-Wicomico, are two of the 19 delegates sponsoring HB 836.

Link Here- http://www.stardem.com/news/article_d610faa1-a37d-5f2e-85ed-7ebfc3422e9f.html