Lyme Misdiagnosed As
ALS - Lou Gehrig's Disease
Some Lyme literate neurologists have been able to assist people with ALS presentations that were actually caused by Lyme disease. Additionally, Lyme literate doctors in other fields may have experience treating ALS/Lyme patients. Here are a few links you may want to review if you have been diagnosed with ALS and aren't sure if you have Lyme disease or you are sure you do and need to be treated.
When you contact these offices or those listed in other places on this site, please ask if they can and will treat ALS/Lyme patients.
California Neurologist
https://sites.google.com/site/lymedoctors/california
Florida Neurologist
https://sites.google.com/site/lymedoctors/florida
New York Neurologist
https://sites.google.com/site/lymedoctors/new-york
Massachusetts Neurologist
https://sites.google.com/site/lymedoctors/massachusetts
Connecticut Neurologist
https://sites.google.com/site/lymedoctors/connecticut
Illinois Neurologist
https://sites.google.com/site/lymedoctors/illinois
Pennsylvania- Dr. Gregory Bach
https://sites.google.com/site/lymedoctors/pennsylvania
Texas- Dr. Moayad
http://lymediseasedr.com/about-dr-moayad/
ALS/Lyme
http://www.connersclinic.com/lyme-and-als/
Father passed away, but son may still be practicing
http://www.waisbrenclinic.com/ALS-MS-lyme-disease.html
Dr. Harvey & Dr. Martz Info/Clinic
http://www.creektrailmedicalclinic.com/html/about.html
Additional Information
Studies on ALS/Lyme- Credit to Dr. Bernt-Dieter Huismans
https://sites.google.com/site/marylandlyme/lyme/als-lyme/als-lyme-articles
MarylandLyme.org ALS/Lyme
https://sites.google.com/site/marylandlyme/lyme/als-lyme
When ALS Is Lyme
http://www.als-cure.com/ALS.pdf
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The abstract below states 9 out of 19 ALS patients had Lyme disease. The actual study, however, indicates 21 of 24 had Lyme disease. To see the full study click here.
Article | May 1990
Immunologic Reactivity Against Borrelia burgdorferi in Patients With Motor Neuron Disease
John J. Halperin, MD; Gary P. Kaplan, MD, PhD; Shari Brazinsky, MD; T. F. Tsai, MD; Teresa Cheng; Audrey Ironside, RPT; Priscilla Wu, MA; Joel Delfiner, MD; Marc Golightly, PhD; Robert H. Brown, MD; Raymond J. Dattwyler, MD; Benjamin J. Luft, MD
Arch Neurol. 1990;47(5):586-594. doi:10.1001/archneur.1990.00530050110021.
ABSTRACT
• Of 19 unselected patients with the diagnosis of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) living in Suffolk County, New York (an area of high Lyme disease prevalence), 9 had serologic evidence of exposure to Borrelia burgdorferi; 4 of 38 matched controls were seropositive. Eight of 9 sero-positive patients were male (8 of 12 male patients vs 2 of 24 controls). Rates of seropositivity were lower among patients with ALS from nonendemic areas. All patients had typical ALS; none had typical Lyme disease. Cerebrospinal fluid was examined in 24 ALS patients—3 (all with severe bulbar involvement) appeared to have intrathecal synthesis of anti-B burgdorferi antibody. Following therapy with antibiotics, 3 patients with predominantly lower motor neuron abnormalities appeared to improve, 3 with severe bulbar dysfunction deteriorated rapidly, and all others appeared unaffected. There appears to be a statistically significant association between ALS and immunoreactivity to B burgdorferi, at least among men living in hyperendemic areas.
Touched By Lyme
Dr. David Martz, Diagnosed as ALS- Lyme Treatment Successful
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NIH- National Institute of Neurological Disorders & Strokes- "Infectious diseases such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), human T-cell leukemia virus (HTLV), polio, West Nile virus, and Lyme disease can in some cases cause ALS-like symptoms." Article here- http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/amyotrophiclateralsclerosis/detail_ALS.htm
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Book- Beating Lyme
Video- ALS Lyme Connection By Statistics
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PubMed
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Ceftriaxone for ALS Clinical Trial- 2013 Apr 17- "Stage 1 analysis revealed linear pharmacokinetics, and CSF trough levels for both dosage levels exceeding the pre-specified target trough level of 1 µM (0.55 µg/mL). Tolerability (Stages 1 and 2) results showed that ceftriaxone at dosages up to 4 grams/day was well tolerated at 20 weeks. Biliary adverse events were more common with ceftriaxone but not dose-dependent and improved with ursodeoxycholic (ursodiol) therapy." Design and initial results of a multi-phase randomized trial of ceftriaxone in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ClinicalTrials.gov NCT00349622
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