News and resources for neurological Lyme disease and co-infections.
Lyme, as we know, is transmitted by ticks. When it moves through the tick, it is coated with a tick salivary protein known as Salp15. The Yale team injected Salp15 into healthy mice and found that it significantly protected the mice from getting Lyme disease. When combined with outer surface proteins of B. burgdorferi, the protection was even greater.
Robert Lane, PhD, uncovered a curious quirk about Lyme disease back in 1998 and the black-legged ticks that carry it there: the infection rates for young ticks, while low, was three to four times higher than the rate in adult ticks.
Early experiments ruled out the possibility that antibodies produced by the lizard’s immune system were able to neutralize the Lyme disease bacteria.
The puzzle continued to interest Lane who found later that when young nymphal ticks feed on the fence lizards, the mysterious protein not only protects the lizard from infection — it actually leaches into the tick’s gut and kills the bacteria there. Additional lab tests showed that when infected nymphs fed on the lizards, and then metamorphosed into adult ticks, they were no longer infected.
In the world of Lyme disease, there so many symptoms that may - and usually do - overlap with one or more co-infections, trying to keep you’re symptoms straight can be dizzying all on its own. With this in mind, what do you think of when you read the following symptoms?
Plus - “prominent calcification of the invertebral cranial artery”. My next “event” is expected to be terminal. (oopsie) Add to that; degenerative disc disease - I am fused L4-S1 w/ fusion of L3-4 pending + C1-4. Fibromyalgia & CFS, Major arthritic changes of every joint viewed so far. Reconstructive surgery to my left shoulder and both wrists. My knees are a wreck; stay swollen to about the size of grapefruits 24/7, swelling to melon size frequently.
It is one thing to lump a couple hundred of sufferers into a group of psychosomatic patients…but how do medical doctors respond to the hundreds of thousands of Lyme sufferers from all 50 states who are becoming more ill and increasingly fragile?
It is time for medical doctors to take their heads out of the sand and re-commit their allegiance to the Hippocratic Oath
According to neuro.psychiatryonline.org, as many as 48% of patients with late-stage neuro-Lyme disease may develop hyperacusis, more commonly known as “tinnitus”.
The symptoms of hyperacusis include continual ringing, buzzing and/or hissing sounds and can cause intense pain and even a post-traumatic stress disorder.
A Jarisch-Herxheimer reaction, shortened to “herx” as slang, is a predictable and temporary “flare-up” or worsening of symptoms caused by the die-off of spirochete bacteria. This condition was discovered and named after the German dermatologist, Karl Herxheimer (1844-1947). The condition was originally observed in syphilis patients. This recurring flare up is physically and emotionally devastating - especially for those who have very chronic and/or severe cases of chronic Lyme disease.
Recently, Under Our Skin Blog wrote extensively about the anti-climactic event encompassing the hard work of so many to have the IDSA Lyme Treatment Guidelines reviewed by an independent panel and re-evaluated based upon new evidence.
It is heartbreaking to read the President of IDSA( Anne Gerson, M.D) assessment afters ruling on the testimonies (5 testimonies [...]
On July 17, 2009 the HHS Appropriations Committee reported an increase of $3.66 million for Lyme disease, from $5.27 million to $8.93 million, for the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), the only increase for diseases in the National Center for Zoonotic and Vector-Borne, and Enteric Diseases.
The following thought-provoking information has been generously given by Geraldine, a chronic Lyme sufferer.
Geraldine owned a massage school “BL” (before Lyme) 15 years ago, and has researched many aspects of coping with Lyme and the parasites and co-infections that are so common with chronic Lyme sufferers. I have added some links and further references [...]
