News from Across the Nation
Maganese, Iron & Lyme
April 2013- Scientists determined Borrelia require maganese (instead of iron like other bacteria) to survive. Read more by clicking here.
2011
It Looks Like Lyme, But It's Not
September 24, 2011 Ticks responsible for transmitting Lyme disease may carry an organism that can cause prolonged, relapsing illness in humans. A study to be released in October 2011, Humans infected with relapsing fever spirochete Borrelia miyamotoi, Russia, by Platonov AE, et al. states the infection is responsible for a relapsing disease that may last for months. No tests are commercially available, and a curative treatment protocol, if one exists, has yet to be established. More here...
https://sites.google.com/site/virginialyme/tick-borne-diseases/borrelia-miyamotoi
Remember....
Please let us never forget those who have passed away after suffering from Lyme and tick borne diseases. The National Lyme Disease Memorial Site- www.LymeMemorial.org
Virginia Memorial
https://sites.google.com/site/virginialyme/memorial-site
CDC & IDSA - The Hypocritical Oath?
The CDC's recent letter to patients confirms the fact that the CDC opposes treatment options for sick Lyme patients, with the lame excuse that there is no data to support any other treatment recommendations than its own. Not only do the CDC and its partner, the Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), recommend against additional treatment that has helped tens of thousands of patients, the CDC and the IDSA’s cohort, the American Lyme Disease Foundation (ALDF), insist patients conduct their own scientific research studies to prove additional treatment is warranted. Read more...
Rub a Dub Dub Three Men in a Tub- Who Do You Think They Be?
The Butcher, the Baker and Candlestick Maker, along with their anonymous “independent working group” recently slopped together what they refer to as an ‘Independent Appraisal and Review of ILADS 2004 guidelines on Lyme disease’. The poorly written document- 7 years in the making- was most likely rejected by the British tabloids for being too bizarre, and rather than being tossed in the trash bin it ended up on a makeshift web page. The British Butcher, a non-treating Lyme illiterate professor with absolutely no scientific or clinical background, attempted to chew his way through well-established and successful American based Lyme disease Guidelines with the sole intent of discrediting them. Better luck next time.
Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA) Guidelines NOT Supported By High Quality Evidence
"More than half of the current recommendations of the IDSA are based on level III evidence only. Until more data from well-designed controlled clinical trials become available, physicians should remain cautious when using current guidelines as the sole source guiding patient care decisions."
ALERT! Triad Alcohol Prep Pads, Alcohol Swabs, and Alcohol Swabsticks: Recall Due to Potential Microbial Contamination
01/06/2011- Triad Group, a manufacturer of over-the-counter products and FDA notified healthcare professionals and patients of the recall involving all lots of alcohol prep pads, alcohol swabs, and alcohol swabsticks manufactured by Triad but sold as private labels at the consumer level. This recall has been initiated due to concerns about potential contamination of the products with Bacillus cereus.
Winona, Minnesota- Influenced by the near-by Mayo Clinic and Infectious Diseases Society of America (IDSA), Winona Health officials are preparing to vote on eliminating the option for patients to obtain potentially life-saving treatment if they have been infected with Lyme and tick borne diseases. They plan to adopt the highly contested IDSA Lyme disease treatment guidelines, authored by Gary Wormser, et al. The IDSA guideline development process was investigated by the Attorney General in Connecticut who found the authors to be "extremely biased" and "riddled with conflicts of interest". The Winona Daily News reports,"If Winona Health adopts the guidelines, they would bar doctors from treating Lyme disease with antibiotics beyond the initial 28-day treatment period."
Take a Tick to Lunch, Literally...
NIH, Bethesda Maryland- A division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)- National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID) is looking for volunteers to take a couple dozen ticks to lunch, your treat! Program Director, Linden Hu, of Tufts University School of Medicine is recruiting Lyme patients willing to attach 20-30 live ticks to themselves for a period of 4-6 days. Should you volunteer for this tax-payer funded study, for your valiant effort you will be rewarded with a punch biopsy of the skin, a blood draw and an invitation to return a month later for another blood draw. The good news- after having dined with, slept with and possibly spent a night on the town with your new tick friends, participants can at least be assured they will get a follow-up phone call two months later.
Poster Boys for Ethical Activism?
Journal of Medical Ethics- When a group of federal employees and doctors recommend against treating patients who are sick, or brutally harass them for years on end in an attempt to silence and discredit them, then publish on how others should be ethical when they are called on the carpet for their poor code of ethics, it makes people wonder who taught the ethics classes at Johns Hopkins, the devil himself? Referring to volunteers, chronically ill patients and their doctors as, "disorganized, antagonistic, vindictive, back-biting, fratricidal groups, conspiracy nuts, and any number of certified mental patients acting as self-appointed Movement spokespersons" would most likely get you a seat facing the corner in a manners class, as well as a failing grade in ethics. It is amazing that one of the authors, a Hopkins researcher (Dumler), publicly speaks about how he feels when he and his best buds were under fire by the Attorney General for a number of offenses and whines, "...the intimidation, the negative comments have really got to stop," then does nothing about the horrendous walloping of innocent patients that has been ongoing for over 15 years by his friend and coauthor- and then can't wait to slap his name and credentials on this ethics "lecture" he helped prepare to chastise the victims again.